Power saving positioning reference signal selection

Abstract

Provided herein are techniques for a user equipment (UE) to down-select positioning reference signals. An example method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals includes receiving a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement, measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the measurement and accuracy requirement, and reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurement results based on the measurement and accuracy requirement.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] Wireless communication systems have developed through several generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephones, second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephones, and third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless phones and fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks (e.g., LTE or WiMax). Today, many different types of wireless communication systems are being used, including cellular and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), modifications to these approaches, and so forth. For example, U.S. digital cellular systems are commonly based on CDMA or TDMA technologies. A typical CDMA system is described in the U.S. standard entitled "cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Multiple Access Communications System Specification," by the Telecommunications Industry Association, TIA / EIA / IS-2000, hereinafter "cdma2000 Standard." The cdma2000 Standard describes a three-way call that is supported by a CDMA system. A typical TDMA system is described in the European standard, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), in the document from the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) entitled "Mobile radio interface operating

[0002] The location of a user equipment (UE) (e.g., a cellular phone) is often desired to be known, where the terms "location" and "position" are synonymous and used interchangeably herein. A location services (LCS) client can desire to know the location of a UE and can communicate with a location center to request the location of the UE. The location center and the UE can exchange messages as appropriate to obtain a location estimate for the UE. The location center can return the location estimate to the LCS client, e.g., for use in one or more applications.

[0003] For many applications, it can be useful to obtain the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless network, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on making measurements of radio signals transmitted from various devices, including satellite vehicles and terrestrial radio sources in a wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Stations in a wireless network can be configured to transmit reference signals to enable a mobile device to perform positioning measurements. Improvements in location-related signaling can improve the efficiency of mobile devices. SUMMARY

[0004] An example method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals according to the present disclosure includes determining positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, measuring a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, determining one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric, measuring a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, where the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals, and reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0005] Implementations of such a method can include one or more of the following features. The cutoff threshold can be based on a normalized measurement of a performance metric. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be received from a TRP or a network server. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be received via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be received from the user equipment via a sidelink. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be included in one or more reports received on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). The method can include receiving sidelink configuration information from one or more TRPs, such that the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via a sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be associated with a positioning frequency layer. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be associated with a set of positioning reference signal resources. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be associated with a positioning reference signal resource. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be associated with a TRP. The performance metric can include one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can include a duration or an expiration time. The duration or expiration time can be configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more of the first set of positioning reference signals for a time period.

[0006] An example method for determining a location of a user equipment according to the present disclosure includes providing positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements to the user equipment, receiving one or more measurement values from the user equipment, where the one or more measurement values are based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, and determining the location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurement values.

[0007] Implementations of such a method can include one or more of the following features. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can include a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric. The performance metric can include one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy. The cutoff threshold can be a normalized measurement value based on the performance metric. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be provided via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can include a duration or an expiration time. The duration or expiration time can be configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals for a time period.

[0008] An example method for determining measurements and accuracy requirements according to the present disclosure includes obtaining a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations; determining measurements and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals; and providing the measurements and accuracy requirements to a network entity.

[0009] Implementations of such a method can include one or more of the following features. The measurements and accuracy requirements can include a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric. The performance metric can include one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy. The cutoff threshold can be a normalized measurement value based on the performance metric. The method can include determining the measurements and accuracy requirements based on a Kalman filter and the plurality of positioning reference signals, and / or determining the measurements and accuracy requirements based on a machine learning algorithm and the plurality of positioning reference signals. Providing the measurements and accuracy requirements can include providing the measurements and accuracy requirements to a base station. Providing the measurements and accuracy requirements can include providing the measurements and accuracy requirements to a network server. Providing the measurements and accuracy requirements can include providing the measurements and accuracy requirements to a user equipment via a sidelink. The positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements can be included in one or more reports provided on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). Sidelink configuration information can be received from one or more TRPs, such that the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are provided to a user equipment via a sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information.

[0010] An example method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals according to the present disclosure includes receiving a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement, measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement, and reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurement results based on the measurement and accuracy requirement.

[0011] Implementations of such methods can include one or more of the following features. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can include a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric. The cutoff threshold can be a normalized measurement value based on the performance metric. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be received from a base station or a network server. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be received via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be received from a user equipment via a sidelink. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be associated with a positioning frequency layer. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be associated with a set of positioning reference signal resources. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be associated with a positioning reference signal resource element. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can be associated with a base station. The positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement can include a duration or an expiration time.

[0012] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to determine a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement, measure a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement, determine one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric, measure a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, where the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals, and report one or more positioning reference signal measurement results based on the measurement of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0013] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to provide a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement to a user equipment, receive one or more measurement values from the user equipment, where the one or more measurement values are based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement, and determine a location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurement values.

[0014] An example apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to obtain a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations, determine measurements and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals, and provide the measurements and accuracy requirements to a network entity.

[0015] An example apparatus for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals according to the present disclosure includes means for determining positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, means for measuring a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, means for determining one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric, means for measuring a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, wherein the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals, and means for reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on measurements of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0016] An example apparatus for determining a location of a user equipment according to the present disclosure includes means for providing positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements to the user equipment, means for receiving one or more measurements from the user equipment, wherein the one or more measurements are based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, and means for determining the location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurements.

[0017] An example apparatus for determining measurements and accuracy requirements according to the present disclosure includes means for obtaining a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations, means for determining measurements and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals, and means for providing the measurements and accuracy requirements to a network entity.

[0018] An example method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals according to the present disclosure includes receiving positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements, and reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurements and accuracy requirements.

[0019] An example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to measure and report positioning reference signals according to the present disclosure includes code to determine positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; code to measure a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; code to determine one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric; code to measure a second set of positioning reference signals based on the one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, wherein the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals; and code to report one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0020] An example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a location of a user equipment according to the present disclosure includes code to provide positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements to the user equipment; code to receive one or more measurement values from the user equipment, wherein the one or more measurement values are based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; and code to determine the location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurement values.

[0021] An example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine measurement and accuracy requirements according to the present disclosure includes code to obtain a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations; code to determine the measurement and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals; and code to provide the measurement and accuracy requirements to a network entity.

[0022] An example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to measure and report positioning reference signals according to the present disclosure includes code to receive positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; code to measure one or more positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; and code to report one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement and accuracy requirements.

[0023] The items and / or techniques described herein can provide one or more of the following capabilities, among other capabilities not mentioned. A user equipment can receive positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements from a network entity. The user equipment can limit a number of obtained, decoded, and reported to the network positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurements and accuracy requirements. Positioning accuracy can be maintained and signaling overhead can be reduced. Reduction in signal measurements can conserve power of the user equipment and improve efficiency of a discontinuous reception mode of the user equipment. Other capabilities can be provided and not every implementation according to the present disclosure necessarily must provide any or even a single one of the discussed capabilities, let alone all of them. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0025] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a block diagram of components of an example user equipment shown in

[0026] Figure 3 is Figure 1 is a block diagram of components of an example transmission / reception point shown in

[0027] Figure 4 is Figure 1 is a block diagram of components of an example server shown in

[0028] Figure 5A and Figure 5B illustrates an example downlink positioning reference signal resource set.

[0029] Figure 6 is an illustration of an example subframe format for positioning reference signal transmission.

[0030] Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram of an example positioning frequency layer.

[0031] Figure 8 is an example of a data structure for positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements.

[0032] Figure 9 is an example positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement including a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with a metric value.

[0033] Figure 10 is a first example diagram of positioning reference signals received by a user equipment.

[0034] Figure 11 is a second example diagram of positioning reference signals received by a user equipment.

[0035] Figure 12is a third example diagram of positioning reference signals received by a user equipment.

[0036] Figure 13 is a process flow of an example method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals based on measurement and accuracy requirements.

[0037] Figure 14 is a process flow of an example method for determining a location of a user equipment.

[0038] Figure 15 is a process flow of an example method for determining measurement and accuracy requirements using a user equipment.

[0039] Figure 16 is a process flow of an example method for reporting positioning reference signal measurements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Techniques for down-selecting positioning reference signals using a user equipment (UE) are discussed herein. A UE can be configured to receive multiple positioning reference signals (PRSs) from multiple stations during a positioning occasion. For example, a UE can be configured to perform positioning while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle / inactive mode. In such a scenario, the UE can need to decode PRS IDs provided in assistance data and then report the PRS IDs back to the network. To decode the PRS IDs, the UE can need to enter an active state, such as a discontinuous reception (DRX) on (ON) cycle, to perform the required measurement and reporting procedures. The UE can then return to a DRX off (OFF) state. As the number of PRS IDs to decode increases, or the time domain resources the UE needs to decode increases, the UE will consume more power. Reducing the number of PRSs to decode during a positioning session can save power consumption and extend the UE’s runtime between charges. These techniques and configurations are examples, and other techniques and configurations can be used.

[0041] REFERENCE Figure 1An example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a radio access network (RAN) 135 (here, a Fifth Generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)), and a 5G Core Network (5GC) 140. The UE 105 can be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, or other device. A 5G network can also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as a 5G RAN or NR RAN; and the 5GC 140 can be referred to as an NG Core Network (NGC). Standardization of the NG-RAN and 5GC is ongoing in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can comply with current or future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. The RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. The communication system 100 can utilize information from a constellation of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 of a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou, or some other local or regional SPS (such as Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 can include additional or alternative components.

[0042] As shown in Figure 1 The NG-RAN 135 includes NR NodeBs (gNBs) 110a, 110b and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, as shown in

[0043] Figure 1A generalized illustration of various components is provided, any or all of which can be utilized as appropriate, and wherein each component can be repeated or omitted as desired. In particular, although one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) can be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 can include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections that connect the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections that can include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components can be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted, depending on desired functionality.

[0044] While Figure 1 A 5G-based network is illustrated, but similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (which are for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location server), and / or compute a location of the UE 105 based on measured quantities of signals transmitted directionally at the UE 105 at a location-capable device such as the UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120. Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and can be replaced with or include various other location server functionality and / or base station functionality, respectively, in various embodiments.

[0045] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), terminal (SET) supporting Secure User Plane Positioning (SUPL), or other names. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop device, tablet device, PDA, tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, asset tracker, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not mandatory, UE 105 may support one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi). Wireless communication using RATs such as BT, WiMAX, and 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140) is permitted. UE105 can support wireless communication using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which can connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs allows UE105 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140) to... Figure 1 (not shown in the diagram) or possibly via GMLC 125, communicate with external client 130 and / or allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to receive location information about UE 105.

[0046] The UE 105 can comprise a single entity or can comprise multiple entities such as in a personal area network, where a user can employ audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices, and / or body sensors and a separate wired or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of the UE 105 can be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate or position fix, and can be geographic, thereby providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) that can or can not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, a floor, or a depth below sea level). Alternatively, a location of the UE 105 can be expressed as a civic location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or the designation of some point or small region in a building such as a particular room or floor). A location of the UE 105 can be expressed as a region or volume (defined geographically or in civic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located at some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). A location of the UE 105 can be expressed as a relative location comprising, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. A relative location can be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location, which can be defined, for example, geographically, in civic form, or reference, for example, a point, area or volume indicated on a map, floor plan or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location can include any of these variants unless otherwise indicated. In computing a location of a UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved for, and then (if needed) converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0047] The UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 can be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links can use any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, etc. One or more UEs in a group of UEs communicating via D2D communications can be within the geographic coverage area of a transmission / reception point (TRP) such as one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in the group can be outside the geographic coverage area of such TRPs, or can be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from base stations. The group of UEs communicating via D2D communications can utilize a one-to-many (1 :M) system in which each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRPs can facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications can be carried out between UEs without involvement of a TRP.

[0048] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR Node Bs (referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b). The gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 can connect to one another via one or more other gNBs. The access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which can provide wireless access to the 5GC 140 for the UE 105 using 5G. In Figure 1 In the example shown in FIG. 1, the serving gNB for the UE 105 is the gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., the gNB 110b) can act as the serving gNB if the UE 105 moves to another location or can act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0049] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 can include an ng-eNB 114 (also referred to as a next generation evolved Node B). The ng-eNB 114 can connect to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 (possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs). The ng-eNB 114 can provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 can be configured to function as a positioning only beacon, which can transmit signals to assist in determining a position of the UE 105 but can not be able to receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs.

[0050] A Base Station (BS) (e.g., gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114) may each include one or more Transmission Points (TRPs). For example, each sector within a cell of a BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). Communication system 100 may include macro TRPs, or communication system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Pico TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Femto or home TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow limited access by terminals associated with that femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a home).

[0051] As mentioned, although Figure 1 The diagram depicts a node configured to communicate according to 5G communication protocols, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, LTE or IEEE 802.11x protocols). For instance, in an evolved packet system (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations comprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 135 and EPC corresponds to... Figure 1 5GC 140.

[0052] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can be in communication with the AMF 115; for positioning functionality, the AMF 115 is in communication with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 can support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handover, and can participate in supporting a signaling connection to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 can be in direct communication with the UE 105, e.g., through wireless communication. The LMF 120 can support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135, and can support various positioning procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 can process location services requests for the UE 105 received, e.g., from the AMF 115 or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 can be connected to the AMF 115 and / or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 can be referred to by other names such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value Added LMF (VLMF). A node / system that implements the LMF 120 can additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least part of the positioning functionality, including derivation of a location for the UE 105, can be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements by the UE 105 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114, and / or assistance data provided, e.g., by the LMF 120 to the UE 105).

[0053] The GMLC 125 can support location requests for the UE 105 received from external clients 130 and can forward the location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or can forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) can be returned to the GMLC 125, either directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown as connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but in some implementations the 5GC 140 can support only one of these connections.

[0054] like Figure 1 As further illustrated, the LMF 120 can use the new Radio Positioning Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) to communicate with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. This new Radio Positioning Protocol A is defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa can be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted via AMF 115 between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120, and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120. Figure 1 As further illustrated, LMF 120 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Location Protocol (LPP), which is defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 can also communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and UE 105's serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols can be used to support the location of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based location methods (such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID). The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the location of UE 105 using network-based location methods (such as E-CID) (e.g., when used in conjunction with measurements obtained from gNB110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or can be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as defining parameters for directional SS transmissions from gNB110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114.

[0055] Using a UE-based positioning method, the UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for computation of a position estimate for the UE 105. For example, the location measurements can include one or more of a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), a reference signal time difference (RSTD), a reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) for gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN APs. The location measurements can additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for SVs 190-193.

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

[0057] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time of arrival (TOA) for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and / or can receive measurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs can send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for computation of a position estimate for the UE 105.

[0058] Information provided by the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120 using NRPPa can include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions as well as location coordinates. The LMF 120 can provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.

[0059] LPP or NPP messages sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 can instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP messages can contain instructions that cause the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP messages can instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement quantities (e.g., beam ID, beam width, mean angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of a directional signal transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 can send these measurement quantities back to the LMF 120 in LPP or NPP messages (e.g., within 5G NAS messages) via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0060] As mentioned, while the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 can be implemented to support other communication technologies such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc. that are used to support and interact with mobile devices such as the UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionality). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, a Non-3GPP Interworking Function (N3IWF, which can be implemented in the 5GC 150, can be used to support non-3GPP access (e.g., WLAN access) to the 5GC 140. In some embodiments, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control different radio access technologies (RATs). For example, the 5GC 140 can be configured to control NR access and LTE access. Figure 1(Not shown) Connect 5GC 140 to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and other components in 5GC 140, such as AMF 115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and 5GC 140 may be replaced by EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) instead of AMF 115, an E-SMLC instead of LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to GMLC 125. In such EPS, E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send location information to and receive location information from eNBs in E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support UE 105's positioning. In these other embodiments, the location of UE 105 using directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, the difference being that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115 and LMF120 can be applied alternatively to other network elements, such as eNB, WiFi AP, MME and E-SMLC, in some cases.

[0061] As mentioned, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may be achieved at least in part using directional SS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) to determine the location of the UE (e.g., Figure 1 Within the range of UE 105. In some instances, the UE can use directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's location.

[0062] Also refer to Figure 2, the UE 200 is an example of the UE 105 and includes a computing platform that includes a processor 210, a memory 211 that includes software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (which includes a wireless transceiver 240 and / or a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning (motion) device 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensors 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the positioning (motion) device 219 can be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 220 (which can be configured, e.g., for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., the camera 218, the positioning (motion) device 219, and / or one or more of the sensors 213, etc.) can be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 can include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.). The processor 210 can include multiple processors including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 can include multiple devices (e.g., a plurality of processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 can include processors for radar, ultrasound, and / or lidar, etc. The modem processor 232 can support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, one SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module) can be used by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and another SIM can be used by an end user of the UE 200 to get connectivity. The memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium that can include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disc storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM) etc. The memory 211 stores the software 212, which can be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 212 can not be directly executable by the processor 210 but can be configured to cause the processor 210 to perform functions (e.g., when compiled and executed). This description can refer to the processor 210 executing the software 212, but this is an example where the software 212 is used by the processor 210 to perform its functions. This description can refer to the processor 210 executing the software 212 as an example where one or more processors 230-234 execute instructions to perform a function. This description can refer to the UE 200 executing functions as an example where one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 perform the function.The processor 210 can include memory having stored instructions as a supplement and / or alternative to the memory 211. The functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0063] Figure 2 The configuration of the UE 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an example and not limiting of the present disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations can be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE includes one or more of the processors 230-234 in the processor 210, the memory 211, and the wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more of the processors 230-234 in the processor 210, the memory 211, the wireless transceiver 240, and one or more of the sensors 213, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, the PMD 219, and / or the wired transceiver 250.

[0064] The UE 200 can include a modem processor 232, which can be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and down-converted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 can perform baseband processing of signals to be up-converted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, baseband processing can be performed by the general-purpose processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. However, other configurations can be used to perform baseband processing.

[0065] The UE 200 can include sensors 213, which can include, for example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 270, one or more magnetometers 271, and / or one or more environmental sensors 272. The IMU 270 can include one or more inertial sensors, e.g., one or more accelerometers 273 (e.g., which collectively respond to acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes 274. The magnetometer(s) can provide measurements to determine an orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic and / or true north) that can be used for any of a variety of purposes, e.g., to support one or more compass applications. The environmental sensors 272 can include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, among others. The sensors 213 can generate analog and / or digital signals, indications of which can be stored in the memory 211 and processed by the DSP 231 and / or the general-purpose processor 230 to support one or more applications, such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations.

[0066] The sensors 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the sensors 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. The sensors 213 can be used to determine whether the UE 200 is stationary (stationary) or mobile and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on information obtained / measured by the sensors 213, the UE 200 can inform / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or the UE 200 has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination implemented by the sensors 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensors / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to the UE 200, etc.

[0067] The IMU 270 can be configured to provide measurements regarding the direction of motion and / or the speed of motion of the UE 200, which can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers 273 and / or one or more gyroscopes 274 of the IMU 270 can detect linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE 200, respectively. Linear acceleration measurements and rotational velocity measurements of the UE 200 can be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement can be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, a reference position of the UE 200 at a certain time can be determined, e.g., using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements obtained from the accelerometers 273 and gyroscopes 274 after that time can be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference position.

[0068] The magnetometer 271 can determine magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer 271 can include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Additionally or alternatively, the magnetometer 271 can include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer 271 can provide a means for sensing a magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field to, for example, the processor 210.

[0069] Transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 240 may include a transmitter 242 and a receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and converting signals from wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. Thus, transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 can be configured to communicate signals according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., with TRPs and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone Systems), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), V2C (Uu), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, and WiFi Direct (WiFi-D). Zigbee, etc. NR systems can be configured to operate on different frequency layers, such as FR1 (e.g., 410-7125MHz) and FR2 (e.g., 24.25-52.6GHz), and can be extended to new frequency bands, such as sub-6GHz and / or 100GHz and higher (e.g., FR2x, FR3, FR4). Wired transceiver 250 may include transmitter 252 and receiver 254 configured for wired communication (e.g., with NG-RAN 135) to, for example, send and receive communication to and from gNB 110a. Transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 250 may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication. Transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver interface 214 (e.g., via optical and / or electrical connections). Transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with transceiver 215.

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

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

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

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

[0074] Reference is also made to Figure 3Examples of a TRP 300 of a BS (e.g., gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114) include a computing platform that includes a processor 310, a memory 311 that includes software (SW) 312, a transceiver 315, and (optionally) an SPS receiver 317. The processor 310, the memory 311, the transceiver 315, and the SPS receiver 317 can be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320, which can be configured, for example, for optical and / or electrical communication. One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., the wireless interface and / or the SPS receiver 317) can be omitted from the TRP 300. The SPS receiver 317 can be configured similarly to the SPS receiver 217 to be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 360 via an SPS antenna 362. The processor 310 can include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.). The processor 310 can include multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as illustrated in FIG. 3B). The memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium that can include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disc storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM) 313, among others. The memory 311 stores the software 312, which can be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 312 can not be directly executable by the processor 310 but can be configured to cause the processor 310 to perform functions (e.g., when compiled and executed). This description can refer to the processor 310 executing the software 312, but this is an example only. A processor 310 can also be specifically designed and configured to perform various functions as described herein, or a processor 310 can include a combination of Figure 2 general-purpose / special-purpose processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors, and / or sensor processors, as illustrated in FIG. 3B). The memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium that can include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disc storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM) 313, among others. The memory 311 stores the software 312, which can be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 312 can not be directly executable by the processor 310 but can be configured to cause the processor 310 to perform functions (e.g., when compiled and executed). This description can refer to the processor 310 executing the software 312, but this is an example only. A processor 310 can also be specifically designed and configured to perform various functions as described herein, or a processor 310 can include a combination of

[0075] The transceiver 315 can include a wireless transceiver 340 and a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 can include a transmitter 342 and a receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 348 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels, downlink channels, and / or sidelink channels) and converting the signals from wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. As such, the transmitter 342 can include multiple transmitters, which can be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 344 can include multiple receivers, which can be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 can be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. The wired transceiver 350 can include a transmitter 352 and a receiver 354 configured for wired communication (e.g., with the network 140), for example, to transmit communications to and receive communications from the LMF 120 or other network servers. The transmitter 352 can include multiple transmitters, which can be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 354 can include multiple receivers, which can be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 can be configured for optical communication and / or electrical communication, for example. Zigbee, etc. The wired transceiver 350 can include a transmitter 352 and a receiver 354 configured for wired communication (e.g., with the network 140), for example, to transmit communications to and receive communications from the LMF 120 or other network servers. The transmitter 352 can include multiple transmitters, which can be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 354 can include multiple receivers, which can be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 can be configured for optical communication and / or electrical communication, for example.

[0076] Figure 3 The configuration of the TRP 300 shown in FIG. 3 is an example and not limiting of the present disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations can be used. For example, the description herein discusses the TRP 300 being configured to perform several functions or perform several functionalities, but one or more of these functions can be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 can be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0077] Reference is also made to Figure 4Example servers (such as LMF 120) include a computing platform including processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and transceiver 415. Processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 can be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 420 (which can be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., wireless interfaces) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.). Processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including such...). Figure 2 (The general-purpose / dedicated processor, DSP, modem processor, video processor, and / or sensor processor shown). Memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 stores software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executable by processor 410, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 410 to perform various functions. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 410 performing that function. This description may refer to server 400 (or LMF 120) performing functions as a shorthand for one or more suitable components of server 400 performing that function. Processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement to and / or replacement of memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0078] Transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may include a transmitter 442 and a receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and converting signals from wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 448. Thus, transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 can be configured to support various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, and WiFi Direct (WiFi-D). The wired transceiver 450 may include a transmitter 452 and a receiver 454 configured for wired communication (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) to, for example, send and receive communications to and from TRP 300. The transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the receiver 454 may include multiple receivers, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0079] Figure 4 The configuration of server 400 shown is exemplary and not intended to limit this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 being configured to perform several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0080] Reference Figure 5A and Figure 5BFIG. 5 shows example downlink PRS resource sets. Generally, a PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources across one base station (e.g., TRP 300) that have a same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and a same repetition factor across slots. A first PRS resource set 502 includes 4 resources and a repetition factor of 4 with a time gap equal to 1 slot. A second PRS resource set 504 includes 4 resources and a repetition factor of 4 with a time gap equal to 4 slots. The repetition factor indicates the number of times each PRS resource is repeated in each individual instance of the PRS resource set (e.g., values 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32). The time gap represents the offset in slots between two repeated instances of a PRS resource corresponding to the same PRS resource ID within an individual instance of the PRS resource set (e.g., values 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32). The duration spanned by one DL PRS resource set containing repeated PRS resources does not exceed the PRS periodicity. The repetition of PRS resources supports receiver beam sweeping across repetitions and combining of radio frequency (RF) gain to increase coverage. The repetition can also support intra-instance muting.

[0081] Referring to Figure 6 FIG. 6 shows example subframe and slot formats for positioning reference signal transmissions. The example subframe and slot formats are included in PRS resource sets shown in Figure 5A and Figure 5B Figure 6 The subframe and slot formats in FIG. 6 are examples and not limiting, and include a comb-2 format 602 with 2 symbols, a comb-4 format 604 with 4 symbols, a comb-2 format 606 with 12 symbols, a comb-4 format 608 with 12 symbols, a comb-6 format 610 with 6 symbols, a comb-12 format 612 with 12 symbols, a comb-2 format 614 with 6 symbols, and a comb-6 format 616 with 12 symbols. Generally, a subframe can include 14 symbol periods with indices 0 through 13. The subframe and slot formats can be used for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Generally, a base station can transmit PRS from antenna port 6 on one or more slots in each subframe configured for PRS transmissions. Regardless of antenna port, the base station can avoid transmitting PRS on resource elements allocated to PBCH, a primary synchronization signal (PSS), or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). A cell can generate reference symbols for PRS based on a cell ID, a symbol period index, and a slot index. Generally, a UE can be able to distinguish PRS from different cells.

[0082] ​A base station can transmit PRS on a specific PRS bandwidth, which can be configured by a higher layer. The base station can transmit PRS on subcarriers spaced across the PRS bandwidth. The base station can also transmit PRS based on parameters such as PRS periodicity (TPRS), subframe offset (PRS), and PRS duration (NPRS). PRS periodicity is the periodicity of PRS transmission. PRS periodicity can be, for example, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 ms. Subframe offset indicates the specific subframe in which PRS is transmitted. And PRS duration indicates the number of consecutive subframes (PRS moments) in which PRS is transmitted within each period of PRS transmission. For example, PRS duration can be 1, 2, 4, or 6 ms.

[0083] PRS periodicity (TPRS) and subframe offset (PRS) can be transmitted via the PRS configuration index (IPRS). The PRS configuration index and PRS duration can be configured independently by higher layers. The set of consecutive subframes in which PRS is transmitted can be referred to as the PRS timing. Each PRS timing can be enabled or silenced; for example, the UE can apply a silence bit to each cell. The PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources across base stations that have the same periodicity, a common silence pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across time slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32 time slots).

[0084] generally, Figure 5A and Figure 5B The PRS resource depicted can be a set of resource elements used for PRS transmission. The set of resource elements can span multiple Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, the PRS resource occupies a consecutive PRB. A PRS resource is described by at least the following parameters: PRS resource identifier (ID), sequence ID, comb size - N, resource element offset in the frequency domain, start time slot and start symbol, number of symbols per PRS resource (i.e., duration of the PRS resource), and QCL information (e.g., QCL with other DL reference signals). Currently, one antenna port is supported. The comb size indicates the number of subcarriers carrying the PRS in each symbol. For example, a comb size of comb-4 means that every fourth subcarrier in a given symbol carries the PRS.

[0085] A PRS resource set is a set of PRS resources for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Further, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmission-reception point (e.g., TRP 300). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set has the same periodicity, a common muting pattern, and the same repetition factor across slots. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and can be associated with a particular TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by an antenna panel of a base station. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set can be associated with an omni-directional signal, and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station can transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a PRS resource (or simply resource) can also be referred to as a beam. Note that this does not have any implications on whether the UE knows the base station and the beam from which the PRS is transmitted.

[0086] Referring to Figure 7 a conceptual diagram of an example positioning frequency layer 700 is shown. In an example, the positioning frequency layer 700 can be a collection of PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs. A positioning frequency layer can have the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type, the same point A, the same DL PRS bandwidth value, the same starting PRB, and the same comb size value. The numerology supported for PDSCH can be supported for PRS. Each PRS resource set in the positioning frequency layer 700 is a collection of PRS resources across one TRP that have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across slots. As will be discussed, PRS measurement and accuracy requirements can be associated with a positioning frequency layer, a TRP, a PRS resource set, and / or each PRS resource.

[0087] Note that the terms positioning reference signal and PRS are reference signals that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to PRS signals, navigation reference signals (NRS) in 5G, downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS), uplink positioning reference signals (UL-PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc.

[0088] Referring to Figure 8FIG. 8 shows an example data structure 800 for positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements. In embodiments, the data structure 800 can be an information element in a network object or other data object, such as a flat file (e.g., JSON, XML, CSV, etc.), and can persist on the LMF 120, TRP 300, and / or UE 200. Other data formats can also be used as the data structure 800. Generally, the data structure 800 provides measurement and accuracy requirements based on UE 200 metrics to enable the UE 200 to reduce the number of PRS measurements needed to determine a position. The fields in the data structure 800 are examples and not limiting, as other fields can be used to constrain the number of PRS measurements. In embodiments, the data structure 800 can include one or more fields associated with performance metrics 802, cutoff thresholds 804, and station quantities 806. The UE 200 is configured to use the cutoff thresholds 804 and station quantities 806 associated with the relevant performance metrics 802 to determine the number of PRS transmissions to measure and report. For example, the UE 200 can report a subset of received PRS based at least in part on the performance metrics and thresholds. For example, the performance metrics 802 can include PRS measurement values such as RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy. In examples, the measurement and accuracy requirements can be based on a time period (e.g., an expiration timer), and the UE 200 can apply the constraints during the time period.

[0089] Referring to Figure 9 and further referring to Figure 8 FIG. 9 shows an example positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements 900 including cutoff thresholds and base station quantities associated with metric values. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirements 900 include performance metrics 902, cutoff thresholds 904, and base station quantity values 906. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirements 900 include three example requirements, including a first requirement 912, a second requirement 914, and a third requirement 916. The number of requirements, performance metrics, thresholds, and base station quantity values are examples and not limiting, as other metrics, values, and requirements can be employed. The impact of the cutoff thresholds 904 and base station quantity values 906 are demonstrated with the RSRP performance metric as an example. One or more measurement values such as RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy can also be used individually and / or in combination with other measurement values. In examples, the cutoff thresholds 904 can be normalized values based on a predetermined measurement range (e.g., values 0 to 10). For example, the metric and corresponding raw measurement range can include values such as: RSRP: dBm [-50, -100]; RSRQ: dBm [-50, -100]; SNR: dB [-15, 0]; TOA accuracy: nanoseconds or meters, which can also be combined with 2 n *Tc= 2n 0.5 nanoseconds proportional to n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 (where Tc is the sampling rate); RSTD accuracy: nanoseconds or meters, which can also be scaled by 2 n Tc = 2 n 0.5 nanoseconds proportional to n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4; and RX-TX accuracy: nanoseconds or meters, which can also be scaled by 2 n Tc = 2 n 0.5 nanoseconds proportional to n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.

[0090] The requirements 912, 914, 916 of PRS measurement and accuracy requirements 900 are based on the measured RSRP on a normalized scale from 0 to 10 and the number of base stations on which PRS are received. For example, the first requirement 912 configures the UE 200 to report at least 4 TRPs with a minimum RSRP threshold greater than 8, the second requirement 914 configures the UE 200 to report at least 6 TRPs with a minimum RSRP threshold greater than 6, and the third requirement 916 configures the UE 200 to report at least 8 TRPs with a minimum RSRP threshold greater than 4. The requirements 912, 914, 916 and the associated thresholds and TRP values are examples. Other metrics and values can be used to obtain sufficient positioning accuracy (e.g., based on regulatory or commercial requirements) and reduce the number of PRS measurements obtained and reported by the UE 200. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirements 900 and associated timers (if any) can be configured for each PRS resource, each PRS resource set, each positioning frequency layer, and each TRP.

[0091] In operation, the UE 200 can receive one or more PRS measurement and accuracy requirements 900 from network resources such as the NG-RAN 135 (e.g., gNBs 110a, ng-eNB 114) and / or network servers such as the LMF 120. The gNBs can utilize NAS transport layer messaging (e.g., LPP / NPP), RRC messaging, Uu interface, or other communication protocols to provide the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements 900 to the UE. In examples, a first UE can be configured to provide PRS measurement and accuracy requirements to another UE via a D2D sidelink (e.g., a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH)). In V2X applications, a roadside unit (RSU) and a UE can exchange PRS measurement and accuracy requirement information via a PC5 interface.

[0092] In embodiments, the UE 200 can be configured to determine values for PRS measurements and accuracy requirements. For example, the UE 200 can be configured to utilize a local positioning accuracy model, where thresholds are defined for metrics such as PRS-RSRP, PRS-Pathloss, PRS-RSRQ, PRS-SNR, PRS-TOA accuracy, PRS-RSTD accuracy, and PRS-RX-TX accuracy. The local positioning accuracy model can be based on Kalman filtering, machine learning algorithms, deep learning, one or more neural networks, or other statistical processes in order to correlate positioning accuracy with one or more metrics. The local positioning accuracy model can be provided to a network entity such as the TRP 300, the LMF 120, or another network server 400. In examples, the network entity can be configured to receive positioning and PRS measurement and accuracy requirement information from the UE 200 and provide it to other UEs in the network. In embodiments, the LMF 120 can be configured to receive PRS measurement and accuracy requirement information from multiple UEs in the network in a crowdsourcing application. The LMF 120 can be configured to aggregate and smooth the crowdsourced PRS measurement and accuracy requirement information in order to disseminate to other UEs in the network. The UE 200 can provide locally generated PRS measurements and accuracy requirements to other UEs via a sidelink protocol. In a V2X environment, the UE 200 can provide locally generated PRS measurements and accuracy requirements to an RSU via a PC5 interface, and the RSU can subsequently provide the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements to another UE and / or the communication system 100.

[0093] Referring now to Figure 10 and further referring to Figure 9 a first example diagram 1000 of positioning reference signals received by a UE is shown. The first example diagram 1000 illustrates Figure 9The first requirement 912 in FIG. 9. The UE 200 can receive PRS signals from nine different TRPs, which can include the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, the fourth PRS 1008, the fifth PRS 1010, the sixth PRS 1012, the seventh PRS 1014, the eighth PRS 1016, and the ninth PRS 1018. The UE 200 can perform the first requirement 912 to report only 4 TRPs with a minimum RSRP threshold of 8. Thus, the UE 200 will only decode the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008, and report only 4 PRS IDs to the serving station (e.g., gNB 110a) and / or LMF 120. The UE 200 can stop measuring at time point 1020 because the 4-TRP requirement is satisfied after receiving the fourth PRS 1008. Power consumption savings can be achieved since the UE 200 does not decode the fifth PRS 1010, the sixth PRS 1012, the seventh PRS 1014, the eighth PRS 1016, and the ninth PRS 1018.

[0094] Referring to Figure 11 and further to Figure 9 a second example plot 1100 of positioning reference signals received by a UE is shown. The second example plot 1100 illustrates Figure 9 the second requirement 914 in FIG. 9. The UE 200 can receive PRS signals from nine different TRPs, which can include the first PRS 1102, the second PRS 1104, the third PRS 1106, the fourth PRS 1108, the fifth PRS 1110, the sixth PRS 1112, the seventh PRS 1114, the eighth PRS 1116, and the ninth PRS 1118. The UE 200 can perform the second requirement 914 to report only 6 TRPs with a minimum RSRP threshold of 6. Thus, the UE 200 will only decode the first PRS 1102, the second PRS 1104, the third PRS 1106, the fourth PRS 1108, the fifth PRS 1110, the sixth PRS 1112, the seventh PRS 1114, and the eighth PRS 1116, and report 8 PRS IDs to the serving station (e.g., gNB 110a) and / or LMF 120. The UE 200 can stop measuring at time point 1120 because the 6-TRP requirement is satisfied after receiving the eighth PRS 1116. Power consumption savings can be achieved since the UE 200 does not decode the ninth PRS 1118.

[0095] Referring to Figure 12 and further toFigure 9 A third example diagram 1200 showing positioning reference signals received by a UE is shown. The third example diagram 1200 illustrates a case where none of the requirements 912, 914, 916 are met. Figure 9 The UE 200 can receive PRS signals from nine different TRPs, which nine PRS can include a first PRS 1202, a second PRS 1204, a third PRS 1206, a fourth PRS 1208, a fifth PRS 1210, a sixth PRS 1212, a seventh PRS 1214, an eighth PRS 1216, and a ninth PRS 1218. The UE 200 can attempt to perform the first requirement 912, the second requirement 914, and the third requirement 916. In this example, the UE 200 decodes two PRS IDs with a threshold above 8 (i.e., the first PRS 1202, the fourth PRS 1208), 4 PRS IDs with a threshold above 6 (i.e., the first PRS 1202, the third PRS 1206, the fourth PRS 1208, the eighth PRS 1216), and 5 PRS IDs with a threshold above 4 (i.e., the first PRS 1202, the third PRS 1206, the fourth PRS 1208, the sixth PRS 1212, the eighth PRS 1216). In this example, since the UE 200 measures and reports all PRS, no power consumption savings are achieved compared to the first example diagram 1000 and the second example diagram 1100.

[0096] Referring to Figure 13 and further to Figures 1 to 12 The method 1300 for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals based on measurements and accuracy requirements includes the stages shown. The method 1300 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1300 can be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and / or split into multiple stages. For example, reporting the first PRS measurements at stage 1306 can occur before measuring the second PRS at stage 1304.

[0097] At stage 1302, the method includes receiving a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement. UE 200, including general-purpose processor 230 and transceiver 215, is a means for receiving the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement. In embodiments, the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can be data structure 800, including one or more performance metrics 802 and corresponding cutoff thresholds 804 and number of stations 806. The metrics and values can be associated with a positioning frequency layer, a base station, a PRS resource set, and / or a PRS resource. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can include a timer value indicating a time period and / or duration in which the requirement is to be applied. That is, UE 200 can be configured to revert to a default operation upon expiration of the timer value. In examples, a network entity such as LMF 120, gNB 110a, or UE 105 can provide the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement to UE 200. gNB 110a can be configured to transmit the metrics and values in LPP / NPP or RRC messaging. In examples, the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can be included in one or more system information blocks (SIBs). In embodiments, lower level messaging can be used, such as via downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs). UE 105 can be configured to provide the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement to UE 200 via a sidelink interface.

[0098] At stage 1304, the method includes measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the measurement and accuracy requirement. UE 200, including general-purpose processor 230 and transceiver 215, is a means for measuring the PRS. UE 200 can be configured to determine measurement values based on PRS signals transmitted from multiple base stations. Figure 5A 、 Figure 5B and Figure 6 The PRS resources depicted in FIGS. 1 1-13 are examples of PRS signals. UE 200 can be configured to obtain one or more measurement metrics, such as RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy for each PRS signal. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can indicate one or more metrics and associated cutoff thresholds. The cutoff thresholds can indicate the result of the measurement based on raw measurement values, normalized values, or relative values. UE 200 can obtain measurement values based on the metrics indicated in the PRS measurement and accuracy and decode the PRS ID of the measured beam. In examples, UE 200 can apply the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement upon receiving each PRS. For example, with reference to Figure 9 and Figure 10, the UE 200 can be configured to limit the number of PRS signals based on the first requirement 912 to include 4 TRPs whose measured values of RSRP signals are above 8. The UE 200 can measure, decode, and report the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008, and then stop measuring and reporting when the first requirement 912 (or any other requirement) is met. The UE 200 can continue to measure and report only the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008 until the measurement requirement is not met (i.e., the RSRP of one PRS falls below 8). The UE 200 can then receive additional PRS measurements until other requirements are met. In an example, the UE 200 can initially measure and decode all nine PRSs in Figure 10 , and report only the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008. At a subsequent positioning occasion, the UE 200 can measure and report only the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008 until the first requirement 912 is not met (i.e., the RSRP value of one of the PRSs falls below 8). The UE 200 can then initiate a full scan or partial scan until the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements are met.

[0099] At stage 1306, the method includes reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement and accuracy requirements. The UE 200 including the general processor 230 and the transceiver 215 are means for reporting one or more PRS measurements. The UE 200 can report one or more measurement values (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy) associated with a PRS (or multiple PRSs for RSTD) to the network (e.g., gNB 110a, LMF 120). The UE 200 can report the PRS measurements with LPP / NPP, RRC, or other messaging. In an example, the UE 200 can obtain PRS measurements from multiple base stations and limit the report to only PRS IDs that meet the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements. For example, referring to Figure 10PRS transmissions, and report measurements for only the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008. In other examples, the UE 200 measures PRS based only on the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements and reports each measurement. The reduction in measurement time, decoding, or reporting can reduce the power consumed by the UE 200 for PRS. Further, for UEs in DRX mode, this reduction can also shorten the amount of time the UE must be in DRX ON state, which can also reduce power consumption.

[0100] Referring to Figure 14 and further to Figures 1 to 12 Method 1400 for determining a location of a user equipment includes the stages shown. The method 1400 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1400 can be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and / or split into multiple stages.

[0101] At stage 1402, the method includes providing a positioning reference signal measurement and an accuracy requirement to a user equipment. The TRP 300 and the LMF 120 are example components for providing the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement. In embodiments, the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can be the data structure 800 including one or more performance metrics 802 and corresponding cutoff thresholds 804 and number of stations 806. The data structure 800 or other equivalent information element can persist on the TRP 300, the LMF 120, or another network server 400. The metrics and values can be associated with a positioning frequency layer, a base station, a PRS resource set, and / or a PRS resource. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can include a timer value indicating a time period and / or duration for which the UE is to apply the requirement. In examples, another UE (e.g., UE 105) can provide the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement to the UE 200 via a sidelink. The gNB 110a can be configured to send the metrics and values in LPP or RRC messaging. In examples, the PRS measurement and accuracy requirement can be included in one or more SIBs, or other lower level messaging (e.g., DCI, MAC CE).

[0102] At stage 1404, the method includes receiving one or more measurement values from the user equipment, where the one or more measurement values are based on the measurements and accuracy requirements. The TRP 300 and the LMF 120 are examples of means for receiving one or more PRS measurements from a UE. In an example, the UE 105 can receive one or more measurement values from a UE via a sidelink. The UE 200 can report one or more measurement values (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy) associated with a PRS (or multiple PRS for RSTD) to the network (e.g., gNB 110a, LMF 120). The UE 200 can report PRS measurements with LPP / NPP, RRC, or other messaging. In an example, the UE 200 can obtain PRS measurements from multiple base stations and limit the report to only PRS IDs that meet the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements. For example, referring to Figure 10 FIG. 10, the UE 200 can initially obtain PRS measurements on nine PRS transmissions and report measurements for only the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008. In other examples, the UE 200 measures PRS based only on the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements and reports each measurement.

[0103] At stage 1406, the method includes determining a location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurements. The TRPs 300 and the LMF 120 are examples of components used to determine the location of the UE. In an example, the UE 200 can be configured to determine a location based on measurements and assistance data received from the network. One or more of a number of different techniques can be used to determine the location of the UE based on the received measurements. For example, known location determination techniques based on RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy values can include one or more of RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), enhanced cell identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time for a signal to travel from one entity to another entity and back to determine the distance between the two entities. That distance, plus a known location of a first of the entities and an angle (e.g., azimuth angle) between the two entities, can be used to determine a location of a second of the entities. In multi-RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple distances from one entity (e.g., a UE) to other entities (e.g., TRPs) and known locations of the other entities can be used to determine a location of the one entity. In TDOA techniques, differences in travel times between one entity and other entities can be used to determine relative distances from the other entities, and these relative distances, in combination with known locations of the other entities, can be used to determine a location of the one entity. Angles of arrival and / or angles of departure can be used to help determine locations of entities. For example, an angle of arrival or an angle of departure of a signal, in combination with a distance between devices (determined using the signal, e.g., a travel time of the signal, a received power of the signal, etc.) and a known location of one of the devices can be used to determine a location of the other device. The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction (e.g., true north). The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be a zenith angle relative to directly upward from an entity (i.e., relative to radially outward from the center of the Earth). E-CID uses an identity of a serving cell, a timing advance (i.e., a difference between a reception time and a transmission time at the UE), estimated timings and powers and possibly angles of arrival of detected neighbor cell signals (e.g., from a base station at the UE and vice versa) to determine a location of the UE. In TDOA, differences in times of arrival of signals from different sources at a receiving device, together with known locations of the sources and known offsets in transmission times from the sources, are used to determine a location of the receiving device.

[0104] Referring to Figure 15 and further referring to Figures 1 to 12The method 1500 for determining measurements and accuracy requirements using a user equipment includes the stages shown. The method 1500 can be extended to include further stages or fewer stages. For example, additional stages can include obtaining additional measurements, determining additional accuracy requirements, and / or the like. Also, stages can be performed in a different order than the one shown.

[0105] At stage 1502, the method includes obtaining a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations. The UE 200, including the general purpose processor 230 and the transceiver 215, is a means for obtaining the plurality of PRS. The UE 200 can obtain PRS signals at a location to generate PRS measurements and accuracy requirements. Reference is made to FIG. 9 for further details. Figure 10 For example, the UE 200 can be configured to obtain PRS signals from nine different TRPs, including the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, the fourth PRS 1008, the fifth PRS 1010, the sixth PRS 1012, the seventh PRS 1014, the eighth PRS 1016, and the ninth PRS 1018. The UE 200 can obtain measurements, such as the RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy values discussed previously for each of the nine PRS. The UE 200 can obtain the measurements at different times to form a measurement sample size related to statistics, which in turn determines the measurements and accuracy requirements.

[0106] At stage 1504, the method includes determining measurements and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals. The UE 200, including the general purpose processor 230 and the transceiver 215, is a means for determining the measurements and accuracy requirements. For example, the UE 200 can be configured to utilize a local positioning accuracy model with defined thresholds for PRS-RSRP, PRS-Pathloss, PRS-RSRQ, PRS-SNR, PRS-TOA accuracy, PRS-RSTD accuracy, and PRS-RX-TX accuracy, among other metrics. The local positioning accuracy model can be based on a Kalman filter, a machine learning algorithm, deep learning, one or more neural networks, or other statistical processes in order to correlate positioning accuracy with one or more metrics. The UE 200 can determine a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations for respective performance metrics.

[0107] In phase 1506, the method includes providing measurement and accuracy requirements to network entities. UE 200, including general-purpose processor 230 and transceiver 215, is the component used to provide measurement and accuracy requirements. Measurement and accuracy requirements can be provided to network entities such as TRP 300, LMF 120, or another network server 400. Measurement and accuracy requirements can be data structure 800 or other electronic formats, such as one or more information elements in a messaging protocol (e.g., LPP, RRC, etc.). UE 200 can be configured to provide measurement and accuracy requirements to another UE (e.g., D2D, PSSCH), RSU (e.g., PC5), or another network entity via a measurement path. Network entities can be configured to receive measurement and accuracy requirement information from UE 200 and provide it to other UEs in the network. In crowdsourcing applications, LMF 120 or another network server 400 can be configured to receive measurement and accuracy requirement information from multiple UEs and propagate the measurement and accuracy requirement information to other UEs in the network.

[0108] Reference Figure 16 And further refer to Figures 1 to 12 The method 1600 for reporting positioning reference signal measurements includes the stages shown. However, method 1600 is merely illustrative and not limiting. Method 1600 can be modified, for example by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing the stages simultaneously, and / or dividing a single stage into multiple stages.

[0109] At stage 1602, the method includes determining positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements. UE 200, including general-purpose processor 230 and transceiver 215, is a means for determining PRS measurements and accuracy requirements. In embodiments, the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements can be data structure 800, including one or more performance metrics 802 and corresponding cutoff thresholds 804 and numbers of stations 806. The metrics and values can be associated with a positioning frequency layer, a base station, a PRS resource set, and / or a PRS resource. The PRS measurements and accuracy requirements can include a timer value indicating a time period and / or duration in which the requirements are to be applied. That is, UE 200 can be configured to revert to a default operation upon expiration of the timer value. In examples, a network entity, such as LMF 120, gNB 110a, or UE 105, can provide the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements to UE 200. gNB 110a can be configured to transmit the metrics and values in LPP / NPP or RRC messaging. In examples, the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements can be included in one or more SIBs. In embodiments, lower level messaging can be used, such as DCI or MAC CE. In embodiments, UE 105 can be configured to provide the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements to UE 200 via a sidelink interface. For example, UE 200 can receive the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements via one or more reports over a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). A network station, such as TRP 300, can provide sidelink configuration information to the UE to enable the UE to utilize sidelink communications.

[0110] At stage 1604, the method includes measuring a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements. UE 200, including general-purpose processor 230 and transceiver 215, is a means for measuring the PRS. In examples, the first set of PRS can include PRS that UE 200 can detect at an initial scan. Referring to Figure 10 For example, the first set of positioning reference signals can include PRS1-PRS9. UE 200 can be configured to obtain one or more measurement metrics, such as RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy for each of the first set of PRS (e.g., PRS1-9).

[0111] At stage 1606, the method includes determining one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric. UE 200, including general-purpose processor 230 and transceiver 215, is a means for determining the PRS measurements and accuracy requirements. Continuing from Figure 10In the example of FIG. 10, the UE 200 is configured to compare the performance metric measurements obtained for the first set of PRSs (e.g., PRS1-9) to the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements received at stage 1602. The PRS measurement and accuracy requirements indicate one or more metrics and associated cutoff thresholds. The cutoff thresholds can indicate the outcome of the measurements based on raw measurement values, normalized values, or relative values. The UE 200 can apply the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements to each of the measurements in the first set of PRSs. For example, the UE 200 can be configured to identify PRS signals based on the first requirements 912, which include a measurement of RSRP signals above 8 for 4 TRPs. The UE 200 will utilize the PRSs within the first set of PRSs that satisfy the measurement and accuracy requirements at a subsequent positioning occasion. Thus, in this example, the UE 200 can measure, decode, and report the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008 at a future positioning occasion.

[0112] At stage 1608, the method includes measuring a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metrics, the cutoff thresholds, and the number of TRPs, where the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals. The UE 200, including the general purpose processor 230 and the transceiver 215, is a means for measuring the second set of PRSs. Continuing with the example of FIG. 10, the UE 200 can measure and decode the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008 as the set of PRSs. Figure 10 Figure 10 The first requirements 912 depicted in FIG. 10 are merely examples, and other performance metrics, cutoff thresholds for the performance metrics, and number of TRPs associated with the performance metrics can be used to define the second set of PRSs. The UE 200 can continue to measure only the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008 until the measurement requirements are not satisfied (i.e., the RSRP of one of the PRSs in the second set of PRSs falls below 8). At a subsequent positioning occasion, the UE 200 can complete a full scan and apply the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements to identify another subset of PRSs that will satisfy one or more of the requirements.

[0113] ​At stage 1610, the method includes reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on measurements of the second set of positioning reference signals. The UE 200, including the general processor 230 and the transceiver 215, is a means for reporting one or more PRS measurements. The UE 200 can report one or more measurement values (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, TOA accuracy, RSTD accuracy, RX and TX accuracy) associated with PRSs in the second set of PRSs to the network (e.g., gNB 110a, LMF 120) using LPP / NPP, RRC, or other messaging. The UE 200 can report PRS measurements using LPP / NPP, RRC, or other messaging. Continuing Figure 10 In the example of FIG. 10, the UE 200 can obtain PRS measurement reports for the first PRS 1002, the second PRS 1004, the third PRS 1006, and the fourth PRS 1008.

[0114] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, software can be used to implement features described above, where the implementation is implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of the above. Features implementing functions can also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. For example, one or more functions or portions thereof discussed above as occurring in the LMF 120 can be performed outside of the LMF 120, such as by the TRP 300.

[0115] Unless otherwise specified, functions, components, or other items that are connected or in communication with each other in the figures and / or discussed herein are communicatively coupled. That is, they can be directly or indirectly connected to achieve communication between them.

[0116] As used herein, the statement that a function, operation, or structure "is based on" one or more items or conditions means that the function, operation, or structure is based on at least or mostly on the stated items or conditions, and is not based on any other items or conditions.

[0117] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, a "processor" can include one or more processors. As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "include", "including", "contain", "containing", "involving", and / or "including" when used in this disclosure specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0118] Also, as used herein, "or" in the context of a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by "at least one of' or "one or more of') means an "and" of the list. For example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C" or a list of "A or B or C" means A or B or C or AB (A and B) or AC (A and C) or BC (B and C) or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination of more than one of the items (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, the recitation of items (for example, processors) configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or items configured to perform function A or function B means that the items can be configured to perform the function with respect to A, or can be configured to perform the function with respect to B, or can be configured to perform the function with respect to A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor can be configured to measure A (and can or can not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and can or can not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure A and measure B (and can be configured to select which of A and B, or both, to measure). Similarly, a recitation of means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for measuring A (which can or can not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (and can or can not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which can be able to select which of A and B, or both, to measure). As another example, a recitation of items (for example, processors) configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y means that the items can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform function X and perform function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of X or Y" means that the processor can be configured to measure X (and can or can not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and can or can not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure X and measure Y (and can be configured to select which of X and Y, or both, to measure).

[0119] Substantial variations can be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used, and / or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.) executed by a processor, or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input / output devices can be employed.

[0120] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations can omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, features described with respect to certain configurations can be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of configurations can be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many modifications and variations of the examples described herein.

[0121] A wireless communication system is a system in which communication is conveyed wirelessly (i.e., by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through a wire or other physical connection). A wireless communication network can not have all communication sent wirelessly, but is configured to have at least some communication sent wirelessly. Also, the term “wireless communication device” or similar term does not require that functionality of the device be exclusively or primarily for communication, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capability (one-way or two-way), e.g., including at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0122] In the description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations including implementations. However, configurations can be practiced without these specific details. Known structures, processes, algorithms, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring configurations. This description provides example configurations only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of claims. Rather, the preceding description of configurations provides a description of configurations for implementing described techniques. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0123] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media can involve a processor-readable medium that provides instructions / code for execution to a processor and / or can be used to store and / or transport such instructions / code (e.g., as a signal). In many implementations, a processor-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such a medium can take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media includes, but is not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0124] A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., in the resolution of a computing system, the second threshold is one value higher than the first threshold. A statement that a value is less than (or within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, e.g., in the resolution of a computing system, the second threshold is one value lower than the first threshold.

[0125] Implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0126] 1. A method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals, comprising:

[0127] determining positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0128] measuring a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0129] determining one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric;

[0130] measuring a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, wherein the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals; and

[0131] reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0132] 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0133] 3. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from a TRP or a network server.

[0134] 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message.

[0135] 5. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from a user equipment via a sidelink.

[0136] 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are included in one or more reports received on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0137] 7. The method of clause 5, further comprising receiving sidelink configuration information from one or more TRPs, wherein the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via a sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information.

[0138] 8. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning frequency layer.

[0139] 9. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are associated with a set of positioning reference signal resources.

[0140] 10. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning reference signal resource.

[0141] 11. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements are associated with a TRP.

[0142] 12. The method of clause 1, wherein the performance metric comprises one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy.

[0143] 13. The method of clause 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements comprise a duration or an expiration time.

[0144] 14. The method of clause 13, wherein the duration or expiration time is configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals in the first set of positioning reference signals for a period of time.

[0145] 15. A method for determining a location of a user equipment, comprising:

[0146] providing a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement to the user equipment;

[0147] receiving one or more measurement values from the user equipment, wherein the one or more measurement values are based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement; and

[0148] determining the location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurement values.

[0149] 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement comprises a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric.

[0150] 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the performance metric comprises one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy.

[0151] 18. The method of clause 16, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0152] 19. The method of clause 15, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement are provided via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message.

[0153] 20. The method of clause 15, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement comprises a duration or an expiration time.

[0154] 21. The method of clause 20, wherein the duration or expiration time is configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals for a period of time.

[0155] 22. A method for determining a measurement and accuracy requirement, comprising:

[0156] obtaining a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations;

[0157] determining the measurement and accuracy requirement based on the plurality of positioning reference signals; and

[0158] providing the measurement and accuracy requirement to a network entity.

[0159] 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the measurement and accuracy requirement comprises a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric.

[0160] 24. The method of clause 23, wherein the performance metric comprises one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy.

[0161] 25. The method of clause 23, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0162] 26. The method of clause 22, further comprising determining the measurement and accuracy requirement based on a Kalman filter and the plurality of positioning reference signals.

[0163] 27. The method of clause 22, further comprising determining the measurement and accuracy requirements based on a machine learning algorithm and the plurality of positioning reference signals.

[0164] 28. The method of clause 22, wherein providing the measurement and accuracy requirements comprises providing the measurement and accuracy requirements to a base station.

[0165] 29. The method of clause 22, wherein providing the measurement and accuracy requirements comprises providing the measurement and accuracy requirements to a network server.

[0166] 30. The method of clause 22, wherein providing the measurement and accuracy requirements comprises providing the measurement and accuracy requirements to a user equipment via a sidelink.

[0167] 31. The method of clause 30, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are included in one or more reports provided on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0168] 32. The method of clause 30, further comprising receiving sidelink configuration information from one or more TRPs, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are provided to the user equipment via the sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information.

[0169] 33. A method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals, comprising:

[0170] receiving positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0171] measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; and

[0172] reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement and accuracy requirements.

[0173] 34. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements comprise a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric.

[0174] 35. The method of clause 34, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0175] 36. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from a base station or a network server.

[0176] 37. The method of clause 36, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message.

[0177] 38. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via sidelink.

[0178] 39. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning frequency layer.

[0179] 40. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a set of positioning reference signal resources.

[0180] 41. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning reference signal resource element.

[0181] 42. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a base station.

[0182] 43. The method of clause 33, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements comprise a duration or expiration time.

[0183] 44. An apparatus comprising:

[0184] a memory;

[0185] at least one transceiver;

[0186] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to:

[0187] determine positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0188] measure a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0189] determine one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric;

[0190] measure a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, wherein the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals; and

[0191] report one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurement of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0192] 45. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0193] 46. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from a TRP or a network server.

[0194] 47. The apparatus of clause 46, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message.

[0195] 48. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via a sidelink.

[0196] 49. The apparatus of clause 48, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are included in one or more reports received on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0197] 50. The apparatus of clause 48, further comprising receiving sidelink configuration information from one or more TRPs, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via a sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information.

[0198] 51. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning frequency layer.

[0199] 52. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a set of positioning reference signal resources.

[0200] 53. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning reference signal resource.

[0201] 54. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a TRP.

[0202] 55. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the performance metric comprises one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy.

[0203] 56. The apparatus of clause 44, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements comprise a duration or an expiration time.

[0204] 57. The apparatus of clause 56, wherein the duration or expiration time is configured to indicate the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals in the first set of positioning reference signals for a period of time.

[0205] 58. An apparatus comprising:

[0206] memory;

[0207] at least one transceiver;

[0208] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to:

[0209] provide a positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement to a user equipment;

[0210] receive one or more measurement values from the user equipment, wherein the one or more measurement values are based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement; and

[0211] determine a location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurement values.

[0212] 59. The apparatus of clause 58, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement comprises a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric.

[0213] 60. The apparatus of clause 59, wherein the performance metric comprises one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy.

[0214] 61. The apparatus of clause 59, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0215] 62. The apparatus of clause 58, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement is provided via one or more of a positioning protocol message or a radio resource control message.

[0216] 63. The apparatus of clause 58, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement comprises a duration or an expiration time.

[0217] 64. The apparatus of clause 63, wherein the duration or expiration time is configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals for a period of time.

[0218] 65. An apparatus comprising:

[0219] memory;

[0220] at least one transceiver;

[0221] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to:

[0222] obtain a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations;

[0223] determine, based on the plurality of positioning reference signals, a measurement and accuracy requirement; and

[0224] provide the measurement and accuracy requirement to a network entity.

[0225] 66. The apparatus of clause 65, wherein the measurement and accuracy requirement comprises a performance metric and a cutoff threshold and a number of base stations associated with the performance metric.

[0226] 67. The apparatus of clause 66, wherein the performance metric comprises one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, a path loss estimate, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) value, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value, a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR) value, a time of arrival (TOA) value, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) value, a quality metric, and a receive-transmit (RX-TX) accuracy.

[0227] 68. The apparatus of clause 66, wherein the cutoff threshold is based on a normalized measurement value of the performance metric.

[0228] 69. The apparatus of clause 65, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the measurement and accuracy requirement based on a Kalman filter and the plurality of positioning reference signals.

[0229] 70. The apparatus of clause 65, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the measurement and accuracy requirement based on a machine learning algorithm and the plurality of positioning reference signals.

[0230] 71. The apparatus of clause 65, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide the measurement and accuracy requirement to a base station.

[0231] 72. The apparatus of clause 65, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide the measurement and accuracy requirement to a network server.

[0232] 73. The apparatus of clause 65, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide the measurement and accuracy requirement to a user equipment via a sidelink.

[0233] 74. The apparatus of clause 73, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement is included in one or more reports provided on a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0234] 75. The apparatus of clause 73, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive sidelink configuration information from one or more TRPs, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirement is provided to the user equipment via the sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information.

[0235] 76. An apparatus for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals, comprising:

[0236] means for determining positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0237] means for measuring a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0238] means for determining one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric;

[0239] means for measuring a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, wherein the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals; and

[0240] means for reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on measurements of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0241] 77. An apparatus for determining a location of a user equipment, comprising:

[0242] means for providing positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements to the user equipment;

[0243] means for receiving one or more measurements from the user equipment, wherein the one or more measurements are based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; and

[0244] means for determining the location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurements.

[0245] 78. An apparatus for determining measurement and accuracy requirements, comprising:

[0246] means for obtaining a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations;

[0247] means for determining measurement and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals; and

[0248] means for providing the measurement and accuracy requirements to a network entity.

[0249] 79. A method for measuring and reporting positioning reference signals, comprising:

[0250] means for receiving positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements;

[0251] means for measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements; and

[0252] a component for reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurement results based on the measurements and accuracy requirements.

[0253] 80. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor- readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to measure and report positioning reference signals, comprising:

[0254] code for determining positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements;

[0255] code for measuring a first set of positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements;

[0256] code for determining one or more of a performance metric, a cutoff threshold for the performance metric, and a number of TRPs associated with the performance metric;

[0257] code for measuring a second set of positioning reference signals based on one or more of the performance metric, the cutoff threshold, and the number of TRPs, wherein the second set of positioning reference signals is a subset of the first set of positioning reference signals; and

[0258] code for reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurement results based on measurements of the second set of positioning reference signals.

[0259] 81. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor- readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine a location of a user equipment, comprising:

[0260] code for providing positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements to the user equipment;

[0261] code for receiving one or more measurement values from the user equipment, wherein the one or more measurement values are based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements; and

[0262] code for determining the location of the user equipment based at least in part on the one or more measurement values.

[0263] 82. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor- readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to determine measurements and accuracy requirements, comprising:

[0264] code for obtaining a plurality of positioning reference signals from one or more base stations;

[0265] code for determining the measurements and accuracy requirements based on the plurality of positioning reference signals; and

[0266] code for providing the measurements and accuracy requirements to a network entity.

[0267] 83. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor- readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to measure and report positioning reference signal, comprising:

[0268] code for receiving positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements;

[0269] code for measuring one or more positioning reference signals based on the positioning reference signal measurements and accuracy requirements; and

[0270] code for reporting one or more positioning reference signal measurements based on the measurements and accuracy requirements.

Claims

1. A method for measuring a positioning reference signal (PRS) and then reporting the measurement of the PRS, the method comprising: The PRS measurement and accuracy requirements are received from i) the user equipment via the side link, ii) the transmit / receive point (TRP), or iii) the network server, wherein the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements include one or more performance metrics and corresponding cutoff thresholds and TRP numbers; Measure the first set of PRS to obtain one or more performance metrics for each PRS in the first set of PRS; The performance metric, the cutoff threshold of the performance metric, and the number of TRPs associated with the performance metric are determined based on the received PRS measurement and accuracy requirements. The performance metrics, cutoff thresholds, and number of TRPs determined based on the received PRS measurement and accuracy requirements are applied to one or more performance metrics for each PRS in the first set of PRS obtained for PRS, to obtain a second set of PRS that meets the received PRS measurement and accuracy requirements, wherein the second set of PRS is a subset of the first set of PRS. The second set of measurements of PRS; and Based on the measurements of the second set of PRS, report one or more PRS measurement results.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cutoff threshold is a normalized measurement based on the performance metric.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from a TRP or network server via one or more positioning protocol messages or radio resource control messages.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via the side link in one or more reports received on the Physical Side Link Shared Channel (PSSCH).

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving sidelink configuration information from one or more TRPs, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are received from the user equipment via the sidelink based on the sidelink configuration information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning frequency layer, wherein the positioning frequency layer is a collection of PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs, wherein the positioning frequency layers have the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix type, the same point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth value, the same starting physical resource block, and the same comb size value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with a positioning reference signal resource set.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with positioning reference signal resource elements.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements are associated with the TRP.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance metric includes one of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Path Loss Estimation, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SINR), Time of Arrival (TOA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Quality Metric, and Receive-to-Transmit (RX-TX) Accuracy.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements include duration or expiration time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the duration or the expiration time is configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals in the first set of positioning reference signals during the time period.

13. An apparatus for measuring a positioning reference signal (PRS) and then reporting the measurement of the PRS, the apparatus comprising: At least one memory containing instructions; At least one transceiver; At least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the device to: The PRS measurement and accuracy requirements are determined by receiving PRS measurement and accuracy requirements from i) user equipment via a side link, ii) a transmit / receive point (TRP), or iii) a network server, wherein the PRS measurement and accuracy requirements include one or more performance metrics and corresponding cutoff thresholds and TRP numbers. Measure the first set of PRS to obtain one or more performance metrics for each PRS in the first set of PRS; The performance metric, the cutoff threshold of the performance metric, and the number of TRPs associated with the performance metric are determined based on the received PRS measurement and accuracy requirements. The performance metrics, cutoff thresholds, and number of TRPs determined based on the received PRS measurement and accuracy requirements are applied to one or more performance metrics for each PRS in the first set of PRS obtained for PRS, to obtain a second set of PRS that meets the received PRS measurement and accuracy requirements, wherein the second set of PRS is a subset of the first set of PRS. The second set of measurements of PRS; and Based on the measurements of the second set of PRS, report one or more PRS measurement results.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the performance metric includes one of the following: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Path Loss Estimation, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SINR), Time of Arrival (TOA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Quality Metric, and Receive-to-Transmit (RX-TX) Accuracy.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the positioning reference signal measurement and accuracy requirements include duration or expiration time.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the duration or the expiration time is configured to instruct the user equipment to stop measuring one or more positioning reference signals in the first set of positioning reference signals during the time period.

17. An apparatus for measuring a positioning reference signal (PRS) and then reporting the measurement of the PRS, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method of any one of claims 1-12.

18. A computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, wherein the program code is executable by one or more processors to cause the processors to perform the method of any one of claims 1-12.

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