Sidelink transmission from a relay user equipment (UE) to a remote UE

Abstract

Wireless communications systems and methods related to sidelink transmissions from a relay user equipment (UE) to a remote UE are provided. For example, a first UE receives a configuration from a second UE indicating a set of resource regions that are spaced apart from one another in time. The first UE monitors for sidelink control information in one or more of the resource regions. The first UE receives, based on the monitoring, sidelink control information from the second UE in a first resource region of the set of resource regions. The first UE receives, based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data from the second UE.

Description

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 447,726, filed September 15, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 198,215, filed October 2, 2020, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems and methods. Certain embodiments can enable and provide techniques for sidelink transmissions from a user equipment (UE) to a remote UE. BACKGROUND

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems can be capable of supporting communication for multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multiple-access communication system can include a number of base stations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communications for multiple communication devices, which can be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems can be capable of supporting communication for multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multiple-access communication system can include a number of base stations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communications for multiple communication devices, which can be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).

[0006] In wireless communication networks, a BS can communicate with a UE in the uplink and downlink directions. Sidelink was introduced in LTE to allow a UE to transmit data to another UE without tunneling through a BS and / or associated core network. LTE sidelink technology has been extended to provide device-to-device (D2D) communications, vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communications, and / or cellular vehicle-to-anything (C-V2X) communications. Similarly, NR can be extended to support sidelink communications, D2D communications, V2X communications, and / or C-V2X over licensed bands and / or unlicensed bands. SUMMARY

[0007] The following presents a simplified summary of some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the present disclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the present disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in a generalized form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0008] For example, in one aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE), includes receiving, from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; monitoring, in one or more of the resource regions, for sidelink control information; receiving, from the second UE, the sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions based on the monitoring; and receiving, from the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0009] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE), includes transmitting, to a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; transmitting, to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and transmitting, to the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0010] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a first user equipment (UE) includes at least one processor configured to monitor, in one or more resource regions of a set of resource regions, for sidelink control information; and a transceiver configured to receive, from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; receive, from the second UE, the sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions based on the monitoring; and receive, from the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0011] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a first user equipment (UE) includes a transceiver configured to transmit, to a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; transmit, to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and transmit, to the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0012] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory and at least one processor configured to: receive, from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; monitor for sidelink control information in one or more of the set of resource regions; receive, based on the monitoring, the sidelink control information from the second UE in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and receive, based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data from the second UE.

[0013] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory and at least one processor configured to: provide, to a second UE, a transmission of a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; provide, for transmission to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and provide, for transmission to the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0014] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has program code recorded thereon, the program code executable by a first user equipment (UE) and comprising: code for receiving, by the first UE from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; code for monitoring, by the first UE, for sidelink control information in one or more of the set of resource regions; and code for receiving, by the first UE based on the monitoring, the sidelink control information from the second UE in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and code for receiving, by the first UE based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data from the second UE.

[0015] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has program code stored thereon, the program code executable by a first user equipment (UE) and comprising: code for transmitting, by the first UE to a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; code for transmitting, by the first UE to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and code for transmitting, by the first UE to the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0016] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a first user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving, from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; means for monitoring for sidelink control information in one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions; and means for receiving, based on the monitoring, sidelink control information from the second UE in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and means for receiving, based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data from the second UE.

[0017] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a first user equipment (UE) includes means for transmitting, to a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; means for transmitting, to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and means for transmitting, based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data to the second UE.

[0018] Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the application will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of the application in conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features of the present application can be discussed relative to certain embodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the application can include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more embodiments can be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features can also be used in accordance with the various embodiments of the application discussed herein. In a similar manner, different embodiments of the application can be discussed in terms of methodologies, apparatus, systems, and / or methods. It will be appreciated that each of these terms is used to describe some aspect of the application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A wireless communication network is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2 A wireless communication network providing sidelink communication is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0021] Figure 3 A sidelink communication scheme is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0022] Figure 4 A sidelink deployment scenario is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5 A sidelink deployment scenario is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0024] Figure 6A sidelink communication scheme for forward link operation is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0025] Figure 7 A sidelink communication scheme is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0026] Figure 8 A sidelink communication scheme is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0027] Figure 9 A sequence diagram showing a sidelink communication method in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0028] Figure 10 A block diagram of an exemplary user equipment (UE) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0029] Figure 11 A block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0030] Figure 12 A flow diagram of a communication process in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

[0031] Figure 13 A flow diagram of a communication process in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings and embodiments described therin, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0033] This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. In various embodiments, the techniques and apparatus can be used for wireless communication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, 5thGeneration (5G) or new radio (NR) networks, and other communications networks. As described herein, the terms “networks” and “systems” can be used interchangeably.

[0034] An OFDMA network can implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA (E- UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). In particular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents from the organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations that aims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone specification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project that aims to improve the UMTS mobile phone standard. The 3 GPP can define specifications for the next generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. The present disclosure relates to the evolution of wireless technology from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyond using new and different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces to share access to wireless spectrum between networks.

[0035] In particular, 5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, and diverse services and devices that can be implemented using an OFDM-based unified air interface. In order to achieve these goals, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition to development of a new radio technology for 5G NR networks. 5G NR will be capable of scaling to deliver a continuum of 2 2 high mobility (e.g., ~1M nodes / km

[0036] ​5G NR communications systems can be implemented to use optimized OFDM- based waveforms with scalable numerology and transmission time intervals (TTIs). Additional characteristics can also include having a common, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services and features with dynamic, low-latency time -division duplex (TDD) / frequency-division duplex (FDD) design; and the use of advanced wireless technologies, such as massive multiple -input multiple-output (MIMO), robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding, and device- centric mobility. Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR, along with scaling of subcarrier spacing, can effectively address operating various services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployment scenarios. For example, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments, less than 3 GHz FDD / TDD implementations can occur with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing, for example, over 5, 10, 20 MHz, etc. bandwidths (BW). For other various outdoor and small cell coverage deployments, greater than 3 GHz TDD implementations can occur with 30 kHz subcarrier spacing over 80 / 100 MHz BW. For other various indoor wideband implementations, TDD at 5 GHz band in the unlicensed portion, subcarrier spacing can occur with 60 kHz over 160 MHz BW. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with mmWave components at TDD of 28 GHz, subcarrier spacing can occur with 120 kHz over 500 MHz BW.

[0037] The scalable numerology of 5G NR facilitates scalable TTIs for different latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTIs can be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTIs can be used for higher spectral efficiency. Efficient multiplexing of long and short TTIs allows transmissions to start at symbol boundaries. 5G NR also envisions a self-contained, integrated subframe design, where UL / downlink schedules information, data, and acknowledgements in the same subframe. The self-contained, integrated subframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, adaptive UL / downlink that can be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between UL and downlink to meet current traffic demands.

[0038] Various other aspects and features of the disclosure are further described below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosed herein is merely representative and not limiting. Based on the teachings herein one of an ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein can be implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus can be implemented or a method can be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatus can be implemented or such a method can be practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality consistent with any of the aspects set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Additionally, a skilled artisan will understand that the drawing figures are not drawn to scale.

[0039] Sidelink communication refers to communication between user equipment devices (UEs) without tunneling through a base station (BS) and / or core network. Sidelink communication can communicate over a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). The PSCCH and PSSCH are analogous to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in downlink (DL) communication between a BS and a UE. For example, the PSCCH can carry sidelink control information (SCI), and the PSSCH can carry sidelink data (e.g., user data). Each PSCCH is associated with a corresponding PSSCH, where the SCI in the PSCCH can carry reservation and / or scheduling information for sidelink data transmission in the associated PSSCH. In some implementations, the SCI in the PSCCH can be referred to as SCI part 1 (SCI-1), and additional SCI, which can be referred to as SCI part 2 (SCI-2), can be carried in the PSSCH. The SCI-2 can include more specific control information for the data carrier in the PSSCH (e.g., transmission parameters, modulation coding scheme (MCS)). Use cases for sidelink communication can include V2X, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), industrial internet of things (IIoT), NR-lite, and / or NR-super-lite. NR-lite can refer to a simplified version of NR in terms of UE power consumption, capability, and / or cost. NR-super-lite can refer to a further simplified version of NR in terms of UE power consumption, capability, and / or cost.

[0040] As used herein, the term “sidelink UE” can refer to a user equipment device that performs device-to-device communication or other types of communication with another user equipment device independently of any tunneling through a BS (e.g., gNB) and / or associated core network. As used herein, the term “sidelink transmitting UE” can refer to a user equipment device that performs sidelink transmission operations. As used herein, the term “sidelink receiving UE” can refer to a user equipment device that performs sidelink reception operations. As used herein, the terms “synchronization UE,” “sidelink synchronization UE,” “anchor UE,” or “sidelink anchor UE” refer to a sidelink UE that transmits S-SSBs to facilitate sidelink communications among multiple sidelink UEs (e.g., when operating in a standalone sidelink system), and the terms are interchangeable without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the terms “relay UE” or “sidelink relay” refer to a UE that acts as a relay node between a BS and another UE while within coverage of the BS. As used herein, the term “remote UE” refers to a UE that communicates with a BS via a relay UE. A sidelink UE can operate as a transmitting sidelink UE at one time and as a receiving sidelink UE at another time. A sidelink synchronization UE, relay UE, or remote UE can also operate as a transmitting sidelink UE at one time and as a receiving sidelink UE at another time.

[0041] For sidelink over licensed spectrum, NR supports two radio resource allocation mode (RRA) modes: Mode 1 RRA and Mode 2 RRA. Mode 1 RRA supports network-controlled RRA that can be used for in-coverage sidelink communications. For example, a serving BS (e.g., gNB) can determine radio resources on behalf of a sidelink UE and transmit an indication of the radio resources to the sidelink UE. In some aspects, the serving BS grants a sidelink transmission with downlink control information (DCI). However, for this mode, there is significant base station involvement and it is only operable when the sidelink UE is within the coverage area of the serving BS. Mode 2 RRA supports autonomous RRA that can be used for out-of-coverage sidelink UEs or partial-coverage sidelink UEs. For example, a serving BS can configure a sidelink UE (e.g., within coverage of the serving BS) with a sidelink resource pool that can be used for sidelink when the sidelink UE is outside of the coverage of the serving BS. The serving BS can also configure the sidelink UE to operate as a sidelink anchor UE in order to provide sidelink system information for out-of-coverage sidelink UEs to communicate sidelink communications. For example, a sidelink anchor UE can provide sidelink system information by broadcasting a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB). The S-SSB can be similar to an SSB broadcast by a BS. For example, the S-SSB can include a synchronization signal and / or sidelink system information. Some examples of sidelink system information can include a sidelink bandwidth part (BWP) configuration, one or more sidelink transmission resource pools, and / or one or more sidelink reception resource pools, S-SSB transmission related parameters (e.g., sidelink slots configured for S-SSB transmission and / or S-SSB transmission periodicity), and / or any other configuration information related to sidelink communications. In some implementations, an anchor UE can also schedule other sidelink UEs for communications. Thus, a sidelink anchor UE can operate as a mini-gNB facilitating and / or coordinating communications between sidelink UEs. A sidelink channel in which two UEs can directly communicate with each other can also be referred to as a PC5 interface.

[0042] Development of wireless communication technologies, such as NR, has primarily focused on delivering high-end services (e.g., eMBB) to high-end smartphones, which can have high processing and / or power capabilities, and / or vertical industry services (e.g., URLLC and V2X). To address scalability issues, NR-lite is introduced to enable more efficient and cost-effective deployments, for example, by relaxing (reducing) peak data throughput, latency, and / or reliability. Thus, NR-lite can be more suitable for serving mid-end UEs, which can have lower capabilities compared to high-end UEs. As use cases and diverse deployment scenarios continue to expand in wireless communications, further complexity and / or power reduction can support low-power wide-area (LPWA) deployments. For example, NR-super-lite with further reduced capabilities can support low-end UEs, which can have lower capabilities compared to mid-end UEs. Some example use cases of NR-super-lite can include service delivery related to smart metering, asset tracking, and / or personal Internet of Things (IoT) applications (e.g., health monitoring). Thus, there is a need for improved coverage, complexity, and / or power consumption.

[0043] In some aspects, networks can utilize sidelink to improve coverage, power consumption, and / or complexity for low-end UEs. For example, in some use cases, sidelink transmissions can support UE-to-network relaying, where an in-coverage UE is able to relay signals between a gNB and an out-of-coverage UE (remote UE). Using a relay UE to relay communications between the gNB and the remote UE can improve power efficiency by avoiding a large number of radio signal repetitions (e.g., up to 2048 repetitions) that can otherwise be needed to extend coverage. In certain cases, a remote UE can measure a received signal indicator (RSSI) level from a gNB and, if the RSSI is below a predefined threshold, the remote UE can connect to an in-coverage relay UE. Subsequently, the in-coverage relay UE can receive data and control signaling from the gNB, boost the signal power, and transmit them to the sidelink remote UE. In certain cases, the remote out-of-coverage UE can be located in the same cell as the sidelink relay UE. In some other instances, the remote UE can be located in a different cell than the sidelink relay UE.

[0044] In some use cases, sidelink transmissions can be used to support short-range communications, such as, for example, wearable devices or home new wearable devices. For example, in short-range sidelink communications, a sidelink UE (relay) can be used to support relaying signals from a gNB to several low-power wearable devices. Additionally, in some use cases, sidelink relaying can be used to support low-power modes of operation in some technologies such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems. V2X systems enable vehicles to communicate with surrounding traffic and the environment, then use short-range communications. Sidelink relaying can be used in V2X systems to reduce the power consumption of the communication devices connected to the sidelink relay.

[0045] In some aspects, a sidelink UE can support half-duplex communications. In other words, a sidelink UE can perform either transmission or reception at any given time, but cannot perform both transmission and reception at the same time. Thus, the total amount of resources in a sidelink resource pool is shared between transmission and reception. One issue with half-duplex communications is that when a sidelink UE transmits in a sidelink resource, the sidelink UE can not be able to monitor other sidelink resources at the same time. Thus, if another sidelink UE transmits SCI in one of the other resources indicating a reservation for future sidelink resources, the UE can not detect the SCI and thus can not be aware of the reservation. If the UE determines to transmit in the reserved sidelink resources, the UE can cause a collision or interference and impact sidelink performance.

[0046] In some aspects, a sidelink resource pool can include a set of sidelink resources (e.g., time-frequency resources). Each sidelink resource can include a PSCCH and a PSSCH. A transmitting sidelink UE can transmit a sidelink transmission using one of the sidelink resources from the resource pool. The sidelink transmission can include SCI (in the PSCCH of the sidelink resource) and sidelink data (in the PSSCH of the sidelink resource). The SCI can indicate control information, such as a destination identifier (ID) identifying a receiving sidelink UE for which sidelink data is being transmitted, and / or a reservation of future sidelink resources. Accordingly, a receiving sidelink UE or a monitoring UE can perform SCI sensing or monitoring in the sidelink resource pool to determine whether there is data addressed to the receiving sidelink UE. If the receiving sidelink UE detects SCI (in the PSCCH of a sidelink resource) including a destination ID identifying the receiving sidelink UE, the receiving sidelink UE can proceed to receive the corresponding sidelink data (in the PSSCH of the sidelink resource). In some aspects, whenever a sidelink UE does not perform a sidelink transmission, the sidelink UE can continue to monitor for SCI in the sidelink resource pool to determine whether there is data for the receiving sidelink UE or a reservation of future sidelink resources. SCI monitoring can be power consuming, and thus it can be undesirable for a low-end sidelink UE to perform frequent SCI monitoring.

[0047] This application describes mechanisms for sidelink transmissions from a relay UE to a remote UE, where power-efficient SCI monitoring is performed at the remote UE. A forward link can refer to a sidelink in a transmission direction from the relay UE to the remote UE. A reverse link can refer to a sidelink in a transmission direction from the remote UE to the relay UE. For example, the relay UE can transmit, to the remote UE over a sidelink, a configuration indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource regions that are spaced apart in time from each other. In some other instances, the configuration for the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be provided to the relay UE by a base station (BS). The remote UE can only receive a configuration and monitor for SCI in the SCI monitoring resource regions, rather than performing SCI monitoring, whenever the remote UE does not perform a sidelink transmission. Thus, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions that are spaced apart in time can provide a power saving opportunity for the remote UE. As discussed above, the SCI can carry control information to facilitate a receiving UE to receive and / or demodulate PSSCH data. For example, the relay UE can transmit, to the remote UE, the SCI in the SCI monitoring resource regions. Thus, the remote UE can monitor the SCI monitoring resource regions and receive the SCI from the relay UE over the SCI resource regions. In some aspects, the relay UE can transmit sidelink data to the remote UE in accordance with the SCI. Thus, the remote UE can receive the sidelink data from the relay UE based on the SCI.

[0048] In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be part of a sidelink resource pool, where the sidelink resource pool can include sidelink resources, each comprising a PSCCH and a PSSCH. Thus, each SCI monitoring resource region can include a PSCCH resource as well as a PSSCH resource. For example, the relay UE can transmit, to the remote UE, the SCI in the PSCCH resource within a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. In some examples, the SCI can indicate or reference a PSSCH resource within the first SCI monitoring resource region (where the relay UE can transmit sidelink data to the remote UE). Additionally or alternatively, the SCI can indicate or reference a PSSCH resource outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region (where the relay UE can transmit sidelink data to the remote UE). Thus, the remote UE can receive the SCI from the relay UE in the PSCCH resource within the first SCI monitoring resource region. If the SCI indicates or references a PSSCH resource that is within the first SCI monitoring resource region, the remote UE can receive data from the relay UE in the PSSCH resource within the first monitoring resource. If the SCI indicates or references a PSSCH resource that is outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region, the remote UE can receive data from the relay UE in the PSSCH resource outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region.

[0049] In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be located within a PSCCH resource pool separate from the PSSCH resource pool, and the relay UE can transmit a SCI using a PSCCH resource within a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions to indicate a PSSCH resource in the PSSCH resource pool. Thus, the remote UE can monitor for the SCI from the relay UE in the PSCCH resource pool. Upon detecting the SCI from the relay UE, the remote UE can receive data from the relay UE in the PSSCH resource indicated by the SCI within the PSSCH resource pool.

[0050] In some aspects, to provide further power saving at the remote UE, the relay UE and / or the BS can configure the remote UE with a wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring occasion. The WUS monitoring occasion can allow the remote UE to enter a sleep mode to save power (e.g., when there is no active communication between the relay UE and the remote UE) and wake up to monitor for the WUS during the WUS monitoring occasion. The WUS monitoring occasion can be configured once before each of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. Thus, if the relay UE has data for the remote UE, the relay UE can transmit a WUS during the WUS monitoring occasion before the first SCI monitoring resource region and transmit the SCI to the remote UE during the SCI monitoring resource region. Thus, the remote UE can wake up during the WUS monitoring occasion and can detect the WUS. Upon detecting the WUS, the remote UE can perform SCI monitoring in the first SCI monitoring resource region. However, if the relay UE does not have data for the remote UE, the relay UE can not transmit a WUS before a subsequent SCI monitoring resource region, such that the remote UE can continue to operate in the sleep mode to save power.

[0051] Aspects of the disclosure can provide several benefits. For example, where the relay UE is an advanced UE (e.g., a high-end or mid-end UE) and the remote UE is an NR ultra-light UE, specifically configuring certain durations for SCI transmissions (in the form of time-spaced SCI monitoring resource regions) can minimize SCI monitoring operations at the remote UE. Thus, power consumption can be reduced at the remote UE. Additionally, utilizing a WUS can allow the remote UE to be in a sleep mode and only wake up when the relay UE has data for the remote UE. Thus, power consumption can be further reduced at the remote UE.

[0052] Figure 1A wireless communication network 100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The network 100 can be a 5G network. The network 100 includes a plurality of base stations (BSs) 105 (labeled as 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f in the figure) and other network entities. A BS 105 can be a station that communicates with UEs 115 and can also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. Each BS 105 can provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coverage area of a BS 105 and / or a BS subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0053] BSs 105 can provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and / or other types of cells. A macro cell can generally cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., 5 km in radius) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell can also generally cover a relatively small geographic area and can allow restricted access by UEs, such as UEs in an associated closed subscriber group (CSG). A BS for a small cell can be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BSs 105d and 105e can be regular macro BSs and the BSs 105a- 105c can be small cell BSs. Figure 1 In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BSs 105d and 105e can be regular macro BSs, while the BSs 105a-105c can be small cell BSs that are one of three-dimensional (3D), full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO enabled. The BSs 105a-105c can utilize their higher dimension MIMO capabilities to employ 3D beamforming in elevation and azimuth to increase coverage and capacity. The BS 105f can be a small cell BS, which can be a home node or a portable access point. A BS can support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.

[0054] The network 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs can have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs can be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs can have different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs can not be aligned in time.

[0055] The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 can also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, etc. A UE 115 can be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. In one aspect, a UE 115 can be a device that includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In another aspect, a UE can be a device that does not include a UICC. In some aspects, UEs 115 that do not include UICCs can also be referred to as IoT devices or Internet of Everything (IoE) devices. UEs 115a-115d are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessing network 100 A UE 115 can also be a machine specifically configured to Figure 1 In general, a lightning ball (e.g., a communication link) indicates a wireless transmission between a UE 115 and a serving BS 105 (which is the BS designated to serve the UE 115 on the downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL)), a desired transmission between BSs 105, a backhaul transmission between BSs, or a sidelink transmission between UEs 115.

[0056] In operation, BSs 105a- 105c can serve UEs 115a and 115b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques, such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. Macro BS 105d can perform backhaul communications with BSs 105a- 105c, as well as small cell BS 105f. Macro BS 105d can also transmit multicast services which are subscribed to and received by UEs 115c and 115d. Such multicast services can include mobile television or stream video, or can include other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alerts or gray alerts.

[0057] The BSs 105 can also communicate with a core network. The core network can provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. At least some of the BSs 105 (e.g., which can be an example of a gNB or an access node controller (ANC)) can interface with the core network through backhaul links (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and can perform radio

[0058] The network 100 can also utilize ultra-reliable and redundant communication links for task-critical devices, such as the UE 115e, which can be a drone. Redundant communication links with the UE 115e can include links from the macro BSs 105d and 105e, as well as links from the small cell BS 105f. Other machine type devices, such as the UE 115f (e.g., a thermometer), the UE 115g (e.g., a smart meter), and UE 115h (e.g., a wearable device) can communicate through the network 100 directly with BSs, such as the small cell BS 105f and the macro BS 105e, or through another user device relaying their information to the network, such as the temperature measuring device UE 115f communicating temperature measurement information to the smart meter UE 115g, which then reports the temperature measurement information to the network through the small cell BS 105f. The network 100 can also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD / FDD communications, such as V2V, V2X, C-V2X communications between the UE 115i, UE 115j, or UE 115k and other UEs 115, and / or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications between the UE 115i, UE 115j, or UE 115k and the BS 105.

[0059] In some implementations, the network 100 communicates utilizing OFDM-based waveforms. An OFDM-based system can partition the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, or the like. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In some instances, the subcarrier spacing can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers K can be dependent on the system BW. The system BW can also be partitioned into subbands. In other instances, the subcarrier spacing and / or the duration of a TTI can be scalable.

[0060] In some aspects, the BS 105 can assign or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RBs)) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in the network 100. DL refers to the transmission direction from a BS 105 to a UE 115, whereas UL refers to the transmission direction from a UE 115 to a BS 105. The communication can be in the form of radio frames. A radio frame can be divided into multiple (e.g., 10) subframes or slots. Each slot can be further divided into mini-slots. In FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions can occur in different frequency bands. For example, each subframe includes a UL subframe in a UL frequency band and a DL subframe in a DL frequency band. In TDD mode, UL and DL transmissions occur at different time periods using the same frequency band. For example, one subset of subframes (e.g., DL subframes) in a radio frame can be used for DL transmissions, while another subset of subframes (e.g., UL subframes) in the radio frame can be used for UL transmissions.

[0061] The DL subframes and the UL subframes can be further divided into several regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe can have pre-defined regions for transmitting reference signals, control information, and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals that facilitate the communications between the BS 105 and the UE 115. For example, the reference signals can have a particular pilot pattern or structure, where pilot tones can span across an operating BW or frequency band, each positioned at a pre-defined time and a pre-defined frequency. For example, the BS 105 can transmit cell specific reference signals (CRS) and / or channel state information - reference signals (CSI-RS) to enable a UE 115 to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, a UE 115 can transmit sounding reference signals (SRS) to enable a BS 105 to estimate a UL channel. Control information can include resource assignments and protocol

[0062] In some aspects, the network 100 can be an NR network deployed over a licensed spectrum. The BSs 105 can transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) in the network 100 to help synchronize transmissions by UEs 115. The BSs 105 can broadcast system information associated with the network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB), remaining system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) to help initial network access. In some instances, the BSs 105 can broadcast the PSS, the SSS, and / or the MIB in the form of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) over a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and can broadcast the RMSI and / or the OSI over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0063] In some aspects, a UE 115 attempting to access the network 100 can perform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from a BS 105. The PSS can enable synchronization of periodic timing and can indicate a physical layer identification value. The UE 115 can then receive an SSS. The SSS can enable radio frame synchronization and can provide a cell identification value that can be combined with the physical layer identification value to identify the cell. The PSS and the SSS can be located in a center portion of a carrier or in any suitable frequency within the carrier.

[0064] After receiving the PSS and the SSS, the UE 115 can receive a MIB. The MIB can include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and / or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 can receive the RMSI and / or the OSI. The RMSI and / or the OSI can include radio resource control (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, paging, control resource sets (CORESETs) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical UL control channel (PUCCH), physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS.

[0065] After obtaining the MIB, the RMSI, and / or the OSI, the UE 115 can perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. In some examples, the random access procedure can be a four-step random access procedure. For example, the UE 115 can transmit a random access preamble and the BS 105 can respond with a random access response. The random access response (RAR) can include a detected random access preamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble, timing advance (TA) information, a UL grant, a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and / or a backoff indicator. After receiving the random access response, the UE 115 can transmit a connection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 can respond with a connection response. The connection response can indicate a contention resolution. In some examples, the random access preamble, the RAR, the connection request, and the connection response can be referred to as message 1 (MSG 1), message 2 (MSG 2), message 3 (MSG 3), and message 4 (MSG 4), respectively. In some examples, the random access procedure can be a two-step random access procedure in which the UE 115 can transmit a random access preamble and a connection request in a single transmission and the BS 105 can respond by transmitting a random access response and a connection response in a single transmission.

[0066] After establishing a connection, the UE 115 and the BS 105 can enter a normal operation state in which operational data can be exchanged. For example, the BS 105 can schedule the UE 115 for UL and / or DL communication. The BS 105 can transmit a UL and / or DL scheduling grant to the UE 115 via a PDCCH. The scheduling grant can be transmitted in the form of a DL control information (DCI). The BS 105 can transmit a DL communication signal (e.g., carrying data) to the UE 115 via a PDSCH in accordance with the DL scheduling grant. The UE 115 can transmit a UL communication signal to the BS 105 via a PUSCH and / or a PUCCH in accordance with the UL scheduling grant.

[0067] In some aspects, the network 100 can operate over a system BW or a component carrier (CC) BW. The network 100 can partition the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., portions). The BSs 105 can dynamically assign the UEs 115 to operate over a certain BWP (e.g., a certain portion of the system BW). The assigned BWP can be referred to as the active BWP. The UEs 115 can monitor the active BWP to obtain signaling information from the BSs 105. The BSs 105 can schedule the UEs 115 for UL or DL communication in the active BWP. In some aspects, the BSs 105 can assign a pair of BWPs within a CC to a UE 115 for UL and DL communication. For example, the BWP pair can include one BWP for UL communication and one BWP for DL communication.

[0068] In some aspects, the network 100 can operate over a shared channel, which can include a shared frequency band or an unlicensed frequency band. For example, the network 100 can be a NR-unlicensed (NR-U) network that operates over an unlicensed frequency band. In such aspects, the BSs 105 and UEs 115 can be operated by multiple network operating entities. To avoid collisions, the BSs 105 and UEs 115 can employ LBT procedures to monitor for transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in the shared channel. A wireless communication device can perform LBT in the shared channel. LBT is a channel access scheme that can be used in unlicensed spectrum. When the LBT outcome is LBT pass (the wireless communication device wins contention for the wireless medium), the wireless communication device can access the shared medium to transmit and / or receive data. For example, a transmitting node (e.g., a BS 105 or a UE 115) can perform LBT before transmitting in the channel. When the LBT passes, the transmitting node can proceed to transmit. When the LBT fails, the transmitting node can refrain from transmitting in the channel. In one example, LBT can be based on energy detection. For example, the LBT outcome passes when the measured signal energy from the channel is below a threshold. Conversely, the LBT outcome fails when the measured signal energy from the channel exceeds the threshold. In another example, LBT can be based on signal detection. For example, the LBT outcome passes when no channel reservation signal (e.g., a predetermined preamble signal) is detected in the channel. Conversely, the LBT outcome fails when a channel reservation signal is detected in the channel. A TXOP can also be referred to as a channel occupancy time (COT).

[0069] In some aspects, the network 100 can provide sidelink communication to allow a UE 115 to communicate with another UE 115 without needing to Figure 2The sidelink communications are shown transmitted through a tunneling of the BS 105 and / or core network. As discussed above, the sidelink communications can be communicated through a PSCCH and a PSSCH. For example, the PSCCH can carry SCI and the PSSCH can carry SCI and / or sidelink data (e.g., user data). Each PSCCH is associated with a corresponding PSSCH, where the SCI in the PSCCH can carry reservation and / or scheduling information for sidelink data transmissions in the associated PSSCH. In some examples, a transmitting sidelink UE 115 can indicate SCI in two stages. In a first stage SCI, the UE 115 can transmit SCI in a PSCCH carrying information for resource allocation and decode a second stage SCI. The first stage SCI can include at least one of a priority, a PSSCH resource allocation, a resource reservation period (if enabled), a PSSCH DMRS pattern (if more than one pattern is configured), a second stage SCI format (e.g., a size of the second stage SCI), a quantity of resources for the second stage SCI, a number of PSSCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ports, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and the like. In the second stage SCI, the UE 115 can transmit SCI in a PSSCH carrying information for decoding the PSSCH. The second stage SCI can include a 1-bit Ll destination identifier (ID), an 8-bit Ll source ID, a HARQ process ID, a new data indicator (NDI), a redundancy version (RV), and the like. It should be understood that these are examples, and the first stage SCI and / or the second stage SCI can include or indicate more or different information than those examples provided. The sidelink communications can also be communicated through a physical sidelink feedback control channel (PSFCH) indicating an acknowledgement (ACK)-negative acknowledgement (NACK) for a previously transmitted PSSCH.

[0070] In some aspects, the BS 105 can configure a UE 115 to operate as a sidelink synchronization or anchor UE 115 to provide sidelink system information to other sidelink UEs 115 that can be located outside of the coverage of the BS 105 to communicate sidelink communications. The sidelink synchronization UE 115 can transmit the sidelink system information in the form of an S-SSB. The S-SSB can include a synchronization signal (e.g., a PSS and / or a SSS) and sidelink system information, such as a sidelink BWP configuration, one or more sidelink transmission resource pools, and / or one or more sidelink reception resource pools, S-SSB transmission related parameters (e.g., sidelink slots configured for S-SSB transmissions and / or S-SSB transmission periodicity), and / or any other configuration information related to sidelink communications. In some aspects, the BS 105 can configure the sidelink synchronization UE 115 to transmit the S-SSB according to a synchronization raster defined for NR-U. In some instances, the S-SSB according to the NR-U synchronization raster can be offset from the lowest frequency of the corresponding sidelink BWP in which the S-SSB is transmitted. In some other aspects, the BS 105 can transmit the S-SSB according to a synchronization raster defined for sidelink. The sidelink synchronization raster can be defined such that the S-SSB can be aligned with the lowest frequency of the corresponding sidelink BWP in which the S-SSB is transmitted.

[0071] In some aspects, a UE 115 can operate as a relay sidelink UE 115 based on a pre-configuration or configuration received from a BS 105. The relay sidelink UE 115 can communicate with at least one remote UE 115. The relay UE 115 can relay signals between the remote UE 115 and the BS 105. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the relay UE 115 can transmit, to the remote UE 115, a configuration indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource regions for transmitting SCI. The set of SCI monitoring resource regions are spaced apart in time, and thus the remote UE 115 can monitor for SCI during the SCI monitoring resource regions, and can operate in a low power mode or sleep mode at other times when there are no active transmissions between the relay UE 115 and the remote UE 115. Thus, the remote UE 115 can operate with improved power efficiency.

[0072] In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be part of a sidelink resource pool, where the sidelink resource pool can include sidelink resources, each including a PSCCH and a PSSCH. Thus, each SCI monitoring resource region can include PSCCH resources as well as PSSCH resources. For example, the relay UE 115 can transmit a SCI to the remote UE 115 in the PSCCH resources within a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. In some examples, the SCI can reference PSSCH resources within the first SCI monitoring resource region, where the relay UE 115 can transmit sidelink data to the remote UE 115. Additionally or alternatively, the SCI can reference PSSCH resources outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region, where the relay UE 115 can transmit sidelink data to the remote UE 115. Thus, the remote UE 115 can receive the SCI from the relay UE 115 in the PSCCH resources within the first SCI monitoring resource region. If the SCI references PSSCH resources within the first SCI monitoring resource region, the remote UE 115 can receive data from the relay UE 115 in the PSSCH resources within the first monitoring resource. If the SCI references PSSCH resources outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region, the remote UE 115 can receive data from the relay UE 115 in the PSSCH resources outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the SCI further includes an indication of an extended region of the first SCI monitoring resource region, and the sidelink relay UE 115 can monitor for another SCI during the extended region.

[0073] In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be located within a PSCCH resource pool separate from a PSSCH resource pool, and the relay UE 115 can transmit a SCI using PSCCH resources within a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions to indicate PSSCH resources in the PSSCH resource pool. Thus, the remote UE 115 can monitor for the SCI from the relay UE 115 in the PSCCH resource pool. Upon detecting the SCI from the relay UE 115, the remote UE 115 can receive data from the relay UE 115 in PSSCH resources within the PSSCH resource pool indicated by the SCI.

[0074] In some aspects, to provide further power saving at the remote UE 115, the relay UE 115 and / or the BS 105 can configure the remote UE 115 with a wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring occasion. The WUS monitoring occasion can allow the remote UE 115 to enter a sleep mode to save power (e.g., when there is no active communication between the relay UE 115 and the remote UE 115) and to wake up to monitor for a WUS during the WUS monitoring occasion. The WUS monitoring occasion can be configured at a time prior to each SCI monitoring resource region in the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. Thus, if the relay UE 115 has data for the remote UE 115, the relay UE 115 can transmit a WUS during the WUS monitoring occasion prior to the SCI monitoring resource region and transmit the SCI to the remote UE 115 during the SCI monitoring resource region. Thus, the remote UE 115 can detect the WUS and perform SCI monitoring in the SCI monitoring resource region. However, if the relay UE 115 does not have data for the remote UE 115, the relay UE 115 can not transmit a WUS prior to a subsequent SCI monitoring resource region, such that the remote UE 115 can continue to operate in a sleep mode to save power.

[0075] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication network 200 that provides sidelink communication is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The network 200 can correspond to a portion of the network 100. For the purpose of simplifying the discussion, Figure 2 One BS 205 and five UEs 215 (shown as 215a, 215b, 215c, 215d, and 215e) are shown, but it will be recognized that embodiments of the present disclosure can scale to any suitable number of UEs 215 (e.g., about 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, or more) and / or BSs 205 (e.g., about 2, 3, or more). The BS 205 and the UEs 215 can be similar to the BSs 105 and the UEs 115, respectively. The BS 205 and the UEs 215 can share the same radio frequency band for communication. In some instances, the radio frequency band can be a 2.4 GHz unlicensed band, a 5 GHz unlicensed band, or a 6 GHz unlicensed band. Generally, the shared radio frequency band can be at any suitable frequency.

[0076] In the network 200, some of the UEs 215a-215e can communicate with each other in peer-to-peer communications. For example, UE 215c can communicate with UE 215e over a sidelink 254, and can communicate with UE 215d over yet another sidelink 252. The sidelinks 252 and 254 are unicast, two-way links. Some of the UEs 215 can also communicate with the BS 205 in the UL and / or DL direction via a communication link 253. For example, UEs 215a, 215b are within the coverage area 210 of the BS 205 and can thus communicate with the BS 205. In some instances, UE 215c can operate as a relay for UEs 215e, 215d to reach the BS 205. In some aspects, some of the UEs 215 are associated with vehicles (e.g., similar to UEs 115i-k), and the communications over the sidelinks 252 and 254 can be C-V2X communications. C-V2X communications can refer to communications between a vehicle and any other wireless communication device in a cellular network. In some aspects, some of the UEs 215 are IoT devices, such as metering devices, asset tracking devices, health monitoring devices, personal wearable devices, and the communications over the sidelinks 252 and 254 can be IoT data associated with a corresponding service or application.

[0077] In some aspects, the UE 215e can function as a sidelink anchor UE, and the UE 215c can function as a sidelink receiving UE, where the UE 215e transmits system parameter information including timing synchronization signals over a sidelink broadcast channel (e.g., PSBCH) so that the UE 215c can receive and recover resource allocation and timing information to facilitate sidelink communications with the UE 215e. For purposes of explanation and brief discussion, the remaining description will be discussed with reference to the UE 215c (e.g., sidelink receiving UE) and the UE 215e (e.g., sidelink anchor UE). Figure 2

[0078] Sidelink discovery of other sidelink transmitting UEs (such as other anchor nodes) can be facilitated through the use of a transport channel known as the transport sidelink discovery channel (SL-DCH) and its physical counterpart, the physical sidelink discovery channel (e.g., PSDCH). In some aspects, a sidelink transmitting UE can transmit one or more announcement messages generated using a physical layer transport block with zero medium access control overhead. For example, the UE 215e can broadcast an announcement message over the PSDCH to announce its status as an anchor node.

[0079] ​In various embodiments, a sidelink anchor UE can utilize a sidelink discovery procedure for: 1) announcing its presence as an anchor UE to potentially nearby sidelink UEs by transmitting messages containing its application information or other useful information fields (e.g., GPS coordinates, time, etc.), and 2) monitoring for the presence of other nearby sidelink UEs by detecting and decoding corresponding discovery messages, and responding to the sidelink transmitting UEs with similar discovery messages. In some instances, the discovery messages can include information about the type of discovery being performed and / or the type of content being provided by the sidelink transmitting UEs (e.g., an announcement, a query). For example, UE 215e can broadcast a discovery message on a PSDCH, where the discovery message includes an indication that the discovery message belongs to an announcement of its anchor node status.

[0080] In some aspects, depending on the implementation, UE 215e can perform sensing operations on one or more of a discovery channel, such as a PSDCH, and a sidelink broadcast channel, such as a PSBCH. If UE 215e does not detect an existing anchor UE on the discovery channel, UE 215e can configure itself as an anchor UE and broadcast an announcement indicating that it is an anchor UE. If UE 215e detects an existing anchor UE, UE 215e can determine whether it is needed to become an anchor node within wireless communications network 200.

[0081] In some aspects, UE 215e can provide a transmission resource pool configuration including configuration information for a discovery resource pool configuration and a control / data communication resource pool configuration. Sidelink receiving UEs (e.g., UE 215c) can monitor multiple resources to listen for discovery announcements transmitted by an anchor UE (e.g., UE 215e) to minimize and / or avoid sidelink UE interference. At the end of the discovery procedure, UE 215e and UE 215c can establish a communication link for sidelink communications.

[0082] Figure 3 A sidelink communication scheme 300 is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. Scheme 300 can be employed by a UE, such as UE 115 and / or 215, in a network, such as network 100 and / or 200. In particular, a sidelink UE can employ scheme 300 to transmit a sidelink on a shared radio frequency band (e.g., in a shared spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum). The shared radio frequency band can be shared by multiple RATs, such as discussed in Figure 2 In Figure 3 In

[0083] In the scheme 300, a shared radio frequency band 301 is divided into multiple sub-channels or frequency sub-bands 302 (shown as 302 S0 , 302 S1 , 302 S2 ,...) in frequency and multiple sidelink frames 304 (shown as 304a, 304b, 304c, 304d,...) in time for sidelink communications. The band 301 can be at any suitable frequency (e.g., at approximately 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz). The band 301 can have any suitable BW and can be divided into any suitable number of frequency sub-bands 302. The number of frequency sub-bands 302 can depend on sidelink communication BW requirements. The band 301 can be at any suitable frequency. In some aspects, the band 301 is a 2.4 GHz unlicensed band and can have a bandwidth of approximately 80 megahertz (MHz) divided into approximately fifteen 5 MHz frequency sub-bands 302.

[0084] Sidelink UEs (e.g., UEs 115 and / or 215) can be equipped with a wideband receiver and a narrowband transmitter. For example, a UE can utilize a narrowband transmitter to access a frequency sub-band 302 S2 for sidelink transmissions with the frame structure 305. The frame structure 305 repeats in each frequency sub-band 302. In some instances, for example, in Figure 3 There can be a frequency gap or guard band between adjacent frequency sub-bands 302 as shown to mitigate adjacent band interference. Thus, multiple sidelink data can be transmitted simultaneously in different frequency sub-bands 302 (e.g., FDM). The frame structure 305 also repeats in time. For example, the frequency sub-band 302 S2 may be time divided into multiple frames with the frame structure 305.

[0085] The frame structure 305 includes sidelink resources 306 in each frequency sub-band 302. The sidelink resources 306 can have a structure substantially similar to NR sidelink resources. For example, the sidelink resources 306 can include multiple subcarriers or RBs in frequency and multiple symbols in time. In some instances, the sidelink resources 306 can have a duration between approximately 1 millisecond (ms) and approximately 20 ms. Each sidelink resource 306 can include a PSCCH 310 and a PSSCH 320. The PSCCH 310 and the PSSCH 320 can be multiplexed in time and / or frequency. In some aspects, the PSCCH 310 and the PSSCH 320 can be multiplexed in time. For example, the PSCCH 310 can be transmitted in the first symbol of the sidelink resource 306 and the PSSCH 320 can be transmitted in the remaining symbols of the sidelink resource 306. Figure 3In the illustrated example, for each sidelink resource 306, the PSCCH 310 is located during the beginning symbol (e.g., about 1 symbol or about 2 symbols) of the sidelink resource 306 and occupies a portion of the corresponding frequency sub-band 302, and the PSSCH 320 occupies the remaining time-frequency resources in the sidelink resource 306. In some instances, the sidelink resource 306 can also include, for example, a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) located during the ending symbol of the sidelink resource 306. Generally, the PSCCH 310, PSSCH 320, and / or PSFCH can be multiplexed within the sidelink resource 306 in any suitable configuration.

[0086] In sidelink communications, in order for the sidelink receiving UE to successfully decode the PSCCH 310 and PSSCH 320, information describing the specific resources and transmission configuration assigned by the sidelink anchor UE for the transmission can be carried in SCI. In this regard, control information for sidelink communications can be conveyed in the form of SCI messages. The SCI messages can be sent on the PSCCH 310, which carries information related to the transmission of data on the PSSCH 320.

[0087] The SCI can inform the sidelink receiving UE about the frequency locations of the resource reservation interval, the initial transmission and retransmission, the time interval between the initial transmission and retransmission, and the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used to modulate the data sent on the PSSCH 320.

[0088] The SCI message can be populated based on a mode of radio resource allocation (e.g., mode 1 RRA or mode 2 RRA). For mode 1 RRA, the SCI can be populated using higher layer information carried by L3 control signaling (e.g., RRC and L1 control signaling configured at a cell such as BS 205). For mode 2 RRA, the SCI can be populated based on autonomous decisions taken by each sidelink anchor UE. The structure of the SCI message can include a frequency hopping flag field, a resource block assignment and frequency hopping resource allocation field, a time resource pattern field, an MCS field, a timing advance field, and a group destination identifier field. The structure of the SCI message can include other additional fields as appropriate to support V2X control signaling. The frequency hopping flag field and the resource block assignment and frequency hopping resource allocation field can provide information for a sidelink receiving UE to identify RBs in which a data channel (e.g., PSSCH 320) is located. The sidelink anchor UE can autonomously configure each of these two fields. The identified RBs can belong to a sidelink communication resource pool (e.g., PSSCH resource pool). The time resource pattern field can provide time domain resource allocation for a data channel (e.g., PSSCH 320), and in particular, potential subframes for PSSCH transmission. The MCS field can provide an MCS for PSSCH 320, which can be autonomously selected by the sidelink anchor UE. The timing advance field can provide a sidelink time adjustment for mode 2 RRA or other applicable modes. The group destination identifier field can indicate a group of sidelink receiving UEs that are potentially interested in messages transmitted from the sidelink anchor UE. This can be used by a sidelink receiving UE in order to ignore messages intended for other groups of sidelink UEs.

[0089] In some aspects, the SCI message can be processed with transport channel coding to generate a SCI message transport block, followed by physical channel coding to generate a corresponding PSCCH block. The PSCCH block is carried on various subframe resource units for transmission. A sidelink receiving UE can receive one or more resource units on various subframes to recover the control signaling information, and can extract the data channel allocation and transmission configuration.

[0090] The PSCCH 310 can be used to carry SCI 330. The PSSCH 320 can be used to carry sidelink data. Depending on the sidelink application, the sidelink data can have various forms and types. For example, when the sidelink application is a V2X application, the sidelink data can carry V2X data (e.g., vehicle location information, travel speed and / or direction, vehicle sensing measurements, etc.). Alternatively, when the sidelink application is an IIoT application, the sidelink data can carry IIoT data (e.g., sensor measurements, device measurements, temperature readings, etc.). The PSFCH can be used to carry feedback information, e.g., HARQ ACK / NACK for sidelink data received in an earlier sidelink resource 306.

[0091] In some aspects, the scheme 300 is used to synchronize sidelink communications. In other words, the sidelink UEs are synchronized in time and aligned in terms of symbol boundaries, sidelink resource boundaries (e.g., start time of the sidelink frame 304). The sidelink UEs can perform synchronization in various forms, e.g., within coverage of a BS, based on a sidelink SSB received from a sidelink UE and / or a NR-U SSB received from a BS (e.g., the BS 105 and / or 205). In some aspects, the sidelink UEs can be preconfigured with a resource pool 308 in the frequency band 301, e.g., within coverage of a serving BS configured according to a mode 1 RRA. The resource pool 308 can include multiple sidelink resources 306.

[0092] In the NR sidelink frame structure, the sidelink frames 304 in the resource pool 308 can be contiguous in time. A sidelink receiving UE (e.g., the UE 115 and / or 215) can include a reservation in the SCI 330 for a sidelink resource 306 in a later sidelink frame 304. Accordingly, another sidelink UE (e.g., a UE in the same NR-U sidelink system) can perform SCI sensing in the resource pool 308 to determine whether the sidelink resource 306 is available or occupied. For example, if the sidelink UE detects SCI indicating a reservation for the sidelink resource 306, the sidelink UE can refrain from transmitting in the reserved sidelink resource 306. If the sidelink UE determines that no reservation for the sidelink resource 306 is detected, the sidelink UE can transmit in the sidelink resource 306. Accordingly, SCI sensing can help the UEs identify target frequency sub-bands 302 to reserve for sidelink communications and avoid intra-system collisions with another sidelink UE in the NR-U sidelink system. In some aspects, the UEs can be configured with a sensing window for SCI sensing or monitoring to reduce intra-system collisions.

[0093] In some aspects, a sidelink UE can be configured with a frequency hopping pattern. In this regard, the sidelink UE can hop from one frequency sub-band 302 in one sidelink frame 304 to another frequency sub-band 302 in another sidelink frame 304. In the example shown, during the sidelink frame 304a, the sidelink UE transmits SCI 330 in the sidelink resources 306 located in the frequency sub-band 302 Figure 3 during the sidelink frame 304b, the sidelink UE transmits SCI 332 in the sidelink resources 306 located in the frequency sub-band 302 S2 to reserve the sidelink resources 306 in the next sidelink frame 304b located in the frequency sub-band 302 S1 . Similarly, during the sidelink frame 304b, the sidelink UE transmits SCI 332 in the sidelink resources 306 located in the frequency sub-band 302 S1 to reserve the sidelink resources 306 in the next sidelink frame 304c located in the frequency sub-band 302 S1 . During the sidelink frame 304c, the sidelink UE transmits SCI 334 in the sidelink resources 306 located in the frequency sub-band 302 S1 to reserve the sidelink resources 306 in the next sidelink frame 304d located in the frequency sub-band 302 S0 . During the sidelink frame 304d, the sidelink UE transmits SCI 336 in the sidelink resources 306 located in the frequency sub-band 302 S0 . SCI 336 can reserve the sidelink resources 306 in a later sidelink frame 304.

[0094] SCI can also indicate scheduling information and / or a destination identifier (ID) that identifies a target sidelink receiving UE for the next sidelink resources 306. Thus, a sidelink UE can monitor for SCI transmitted by other sidelink UEs. Upon detecting SCI in the sidelink resources 306, the sidelink UE can determine whether the sidelink UE is the target receiver based on the destination ID. If the sidelink UE is the target receiver, the sidelink UE can proceed to receive and decode the sidelink data indicated by the SCI. In some aspects, multiple sidelink UEs can simultaneously communicate sidelink data in a sidelink frame 304 in different frequency sub-bands (e.g., via FDM). For example, in the sidelink frame 304b, one pair of sidelink UEs can communicate sidelink data using the sidelink resources 306 in the frequency sub-band 302 S2 , while another pair of sidelink UEs can communicate sidelink data using the sidelink resources 306 in the frequency sub-band 302 S1 .

[0095] Figure 4A sidelink deployment scenario 400 is shown in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. The scenario 400 illustrates utilization for coverage extension of sidelinks. In the scenario 400, relay UEs 415 (shown as 415a, 415b, 415c) are deployed in communication with a BS 405 to extend the coverage area 410 of the BS 105. The relay UEs 415a, 415b, 415c can be similar to the UEs 115 and / or 215. The BS 405 can be similar to the UEs 115 and / or 215. Although Figure 4 Three relay UEs 415 are shown, but it is to be understood that in other examples, the network can include any suitable number of relay UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 4, 5, 6, or more). The relay UEs 415 can facilitate communication between the BS 405 and UEs located outside of the coverage area 410.

[0096] In Figure 4 In the example shown, the relay UE 415c operates as a relay for a remote UE 420 that is outside of the coverage area 410 of the BS 405. The remote UE 420 can be similar to the UEs 115 and / or 215. In some aspects, the relay UE 415c can be a higher- ranked UE than the remote UE 420. Although Figure 4 The relay UE 415c is shown operating as a relay for one remote UE 420, but it is to be understood that in other examples, the relay UE can operate as a relay for any suitable number of remote UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 4, 5, 6, or more). The relay UE 415c can receive data and / or control information from the remote UE 420 and forward the received data and / or control to the BS 405. For example, the data and / or control information received from the remote UE 420 is UL data and / or control information for the BS 405. The relay UE 415c can also receive data and / or control information from the BS 405 and forward the received data and / or control to the remote UE 420. For example, the data and / or control information received from the BS 405 is DL data and / or control information for the remote UE 420. Thus, the relay UE 415c can provide a communication path between the BS 405 and the UE 420 that the BS 405 can not otherwise be able to reach. The communication path between the relay UE 415c and the remote UE 420 can be a PC5 interface (shown as sidelink 422). For example, the relay UE 415c and the remote UE 420 can communicate using sidelink channels PSSCH and / or PSCCH and / or sidelink resources as discussed above with respect to the sidelink 122 and / or 222. Figure 3 The relay UE 415c is shown operating as a relay for one remote UE 420, but it is to be understood that in other examples, the relay UE can operate as a relay for any suitable number of remote UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 4, 5, 6, or more). The relay UE 415c can receive data and / or control information from the remote UE 420 and forward the received data and / or control to the BS 405. For example, the data and / or control information received from the remote UE 420 is UL data and / or control information for the BS 405. The relay UE 415c can also receive data and / or control information from the BS 405 and forward the received data and / or control to the remote UE 420. For example, the data and / or control information received from the BS 405 is DL data and / or control information for the remote UE 420. Thus, the relay UE 415c can provide a communication path between the BS 405 and the UE 420 that the BS 405 can not otherwise be able to reach. The communication path between the relay UE 415c and the remote UE 420 can be a PC5 interface (shown as sidelink 422). For example, the relay UE 415c and the remote UE 420 can communicate using sidelink channels PSSCH and / or PSCCH and / or sidelink resources as discussed above with respect to the sidelink 122 and / or 222.

[0097] Utilization of sidelink can extend the coverage area of the BS 405 without increasing the utilization of system resources. For example, transmissions between the BS 405 and the remote UE 420 can require a large number of repetitions without the use of the relay UE 415c. For example, the BS 405 can repeat each block of information data in a transmission approximately 2048 times before the transmission can be received by the remote UE 420. Similarly, the remote UE 420 can repeat each block of information data in a transmission approximately 2048 times before the transmission can be received by the BS 405. Although the use of high repetition can potentially allow the BS 405 to communicate with the remote UE 420, the use of high repetition can increase the power consumption at the remote UE 420. For example, when the remote UE 420 is a low-end UE with limited processing and / or power resources, high repetition and / or high power consumption at the remote UE 420 can not be feasible. Thus, the deployment of the relay UE 415c allows the remote UE 420 to communicate with the relay UE 415c, which can be located at a distance closer to the remote UE 420 than the BS 405. Thus, the remote UE 420 can communicate with the relay UE 415c without consuming a large amount of power. Thus, sidelink can improve power efficiency for long distance UL and / or DL communications. In some instances, sidelink can extend the reach or coverage by providing a power boost of approximately 20 decibels (dB).

[0098] Figure 5 A sidelink deployment scenario 500 is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The scenario 500 illustrates utilization of sidelink for short distance, low power sidelink communications, e.g., for wearable or in-home networks. In the scenario 500, a relay UE 515 in communication with a BS 505 is deployed to operate as a central hub or anchor UE for a remote UE 520. The BS 505 can be similar to the UEs 115 and / or 215. The relay UE 515 and / or the remote UE 520 can be similar to the UEs 115 and / or 215. However, the relay UE 515 can be a more advanced UE than the remote UE 420. For example, the relay UE 515 can be a high-end UE or a mid-end UE, while the remote UE 420 can be a low-end UE (e.g., a personal wearable device, a health monitoring device, etc.). Although the relay UE 515 is shown as a single device, it should be understood that in other examples, the network can include any suitable number of relay UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more) serving any suitable number of remote UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 3, 4, 5, or more). Figure 5 A single relay UE 515 is shown serving one remote UE 520, but it should be understood that in other examples, the network can include any suitable number of relay UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more) serving any suitable number of remote UEs (e.g., approximately 2, 3, 4, 5, or more).

[0099] Similar to scenario 400, relay UE 515 can communicate with remote UE 520 via sidelink 522. However, remote UE 520 can or can not establish a communication link with BS 505, e.g., depending on the type of device used and / or application. In some other instances, a V2X or D2D system can be deployed in a scenario similar to scenario 500.

[0100] As can be seen from scenario 400 and scenario 500, for example, for NR-super-lite with a focus on low power operation for low-end UEs, sidelink can be leveraged to improve power efficiency.

[0101] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides sidelink resource allocation techniques that can facilitate low power communication over sidelink, e.g., by reducing SCI monitoring duration at a remote UE. For example, a remote UE can be configured with a set of SCI monitoring resource regions (of particular duration) that are spaced out in time. Whenever the remote UE is not in transmission mode, the remote UE can monitor for SCI (on the forward link) from a relay UE only in the configured SCI monitoring resource regions, rather than continuous SCI monitoring. In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be part of a sidelink resource pool, where the sidelink resource pool can include sidelink resources, each comprising a PSCCH and a PSSCH, as will be discussed more fully below with respect to Figures 6-7 In some other aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be located within a PSCCH resource pool separate from a PSSCH resource pool, and a relay UE 115 can transmit SCI using a PSCCH resource within a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions to indicate a PSSCH resource in the PSSCH resource pool, as will be discussed more fully below with respect to Figure 8 Additionally, WUS signaling techniques can be applied to allow the remote UE to save power further, as will be discussed more fully below with respect to Figures 6-9

[0102] Figure 6 A sidelink communication scheme 600 for forward link operation is shown in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. Scheme 600 can be employed by a UE, such as UEs 115, 215, and / or 415, 420, 515, 520, in a network, such as networks 100 and / or 200 for sidelink communication. In particular, a sidelink UE can employ scheme 600 for SCI monitoring and SCI / data communication on a sidelink, e.g., in a forward direction from a relay sidelink UE to a remote sidelink UE. In some aspects, scheme 600 can be used in conjunction with scheme 300. In​Figure 6 In scheme 600, a relay UE 615 within a coverage area 610 of a BS 605 and in communication with the BS 605 over a link 606 can operate as a relay for a remote UE 620 in scheme 600. For example, the relay UE 615 can relay UL communications (received on a reverse link 604) from the remote UE 620 to the BS 605 (on the link 606) and / or relay DL communications from the BS 605 (on the link 606) to the remote UE 620 (on a forward link 602). The BS 605 can be similar to the BSs 105, 205, 405, and / or 505. The relay UE 615 and / or the remote UE 620 can be similar to the UEs 115 and / or 215. In some instances, the relay UE 615 can correspond to the relay UE 415c and the remote UE 620 can correspond to the remote UE 420 in the scenario 400. In some instances, the relay UE 615 can correspond to the relay UE 515 and the remote UE 620 can correspond to the remote UE 520 in the scenario 500. The relay UE 615 can transmit sidelink transmissions to the remote UE 620 on the forward link 602 and the remote UE 620 can transmit sidelink transmissions to the relay UE 615 on the reverse link 604. Although Figure 6 The relay UE 615 is shown relaying for one remote UE 620, but it is understood that in other examples, the relay UE can operate as a relay for a group (e.g., on the order of 2, 3, 4, 5, or more) of remote UEs 620.

[0103] In scheme 600, the relay UE 615 can communicate with the remote UE 620 using resources from a sidelink resource pool 632, as shown at 630. The sidelink resource pool 632 can be on a licensed band or a shared radio band (e.g., in a shared or unlicensed spectrum). The resource pool 632 can have the same sidelink slot resource structure (including 14 symbols) as in scheme 600. For example, the resource pool 632 can include a set of sidelink resources 660, arranged in multiple slots across time and multiple subbands across frequency, similar to the sidelink resources 306 shown in scheme 600. Each sidelink resource 660 can include a PSCCH 612 (e.g., PSCCH 310) and a PSSCH 614 (e.g., PSSCH 320). For simplicity of illustration and discussion, Figure 3 In scheme 600, the relay UE 615 can communicate with the remote UE 620 using resources from a sidelink resource pool 632, as shown at 630. The sidelink resource pool 632 can be on a licensed band or a shared radio band (e.g., in a shared or unlicensed spectrum). The resource pool 632 can have the same sidelink slot resource structure (including 14 symbols) as in scheme 600. For example, the resource pool 632 can include a set of sidelink resources 660, arranged in multiple slots across time and multiple subbands across frequency, similar to the sidelink resources 306 shown in scheme 600. Each sidelink resource 660 can include a PSCCH 612 (e.g., PSCCH 310) and a PSSCH 614 (e.g., PSSCH 320). For simplicity of illustration and discussion, Figure 3 In scheme 600, the relay UE 615 can communicate with the remote UE 620 using resources from a sidelink resource pool 632, as shown at 630. The sidelink resource pool 632 can be on a licensed band or a shared radio band (e.g., in a shared or unlicensed spectrum). The resource pool 632 can have the same sidelink slot resource structure (including 14 symbols) as in scheme 600. For example, the resource pool 632 can include a set of sidelink resources 660, arranged in multiple slots across time and multiple subbands across frequency, similar to the sidelink resources 306 shown in scheme 600. Each sidelink resource 660 can include a PSCCH 612 (e.g., PSCCH 310) and a PSSCH 614 (e.g., PSSCH 320). For simplicity of illustration and discussion, Figure 6Three sidelink resources 660 are shown (shown as 660a, 660b, and 660c). In some aspects, the BS 605 can configure the relay UE 615 with a sidelink resource pool. In some other aspects, the relay UE 615 can determine the sidelink resource pool based on a configuration received from the BS 605. In some aspects, the sidelink resource pool 632 can be used for transmissions from the relay UE 615 to the remote UE 620 on the forward link 602. In some aspects, the sidelink resource pool 632 can also be used for transmissions from the remote UE 620 to the relay UE 615 on the reverse link 604.

[0104] To reduce the amount of SCI monitoring time at the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can determine a set of SCI monitoring resource regions 640 from the sidelink resource pool 632. The set of SCI monitoring resource regions 640 are spaced out in time. For example, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions 640 can be periodic, repeating with a time interval 642. The relay UE 615 can transmit a configuration to the remote UE 620 indicating the set of SCI monitoring resource regions 640 in which the remote UE 620 can monitor for SCI from the relay UE 615. The SCI candidates that the remote UE 620 monitors can not be all possible SCI candidates in the SCI monitoring resource regions 640, but the remote UE 620 can monitor a subset of all possible SCI candidates. The SCI candidates for the UE 620 can be determined based on a UE ID of the UE 620. Thus, the relay UE 615 can monitor for SCI in the SCI monitoring resource regions 640. In this regard, the relay UE 615 can perform SCI decoding in the PSCCH 612 of each resource 660 within the SCI monitoring resource regions 640. For example, the relay UE 615 can transmit SCI on the PSCCH 612 in the resource 660a within the monitoring resource regions 640. Thus, the remote UE 620 can successfully decode the SCI from the PSCCH 612 in the resource 660a. In some aspects, the relay UE 615 can include a destination ID indicating the UE ID of the remote UE 620, and thus the remote UE 620 can determine that the SCI is addressed to the remote UE based on the destination ID.

[0105] In some aspects, the SCI in resource 660a can indicate or reference the PSSCH 614 within the SCI monitoring resource region 640 in which the SCI is transmitted. For example, the SCI can reference the PSSCH 614 of resource 660a. In some aspects, the SCI can also include a MCS and / or transport block size associated with the sidelink data in the PSSCH 614 of resource 660a. Accordingly, the remote UE 620 can receive, demodulate, and decode data from the PSSCH 614 of resource 660a in accordance with the SCI.

[0106] In some aspects, the SCI in resource 660a can indicate or reference the PSSCH 614 outside of the SCI monitoring resource region 640 in which the SCI is transmitted. For example, the relay UE 615 can include an indication or reference to resource 660b outside of the SCI monitoring resource region 640 in the SCI (transmitted in the PSCCH 612 in resource 660a), as shown by the dashed arrow from resource 660a to resource 660b. Similarly, the relay UE 615 can transmit the SCI in the PSSCH 612 of resource 660b to provide information such as a MCS and / or transport block size associated with the sidelink data in the PSSCH 614 of resource 660b. Accordingly, the remote UE 620 can receive, demodulate, and decode data from the PSSCH 614 of resource 660b in accordance with the SCI. In some aspects, the relay UE 615 can also include an indication or reference to resource 660c in the SCI (transmitted in the PSCCH 612 in resource 660b), as shown by the dashed arrow from resource 660b to resource 660c. Similarly, the relay UE 615 can also include an indication or reference to another resource 660 in the SCI (transmitted in the PSCCH 612 in resource 660c), and so on.

[0107] In some aspects, the relay UE 615 can select the resources 660a, 660b, and / or 660c based on SCI sensing results. For example, the relay UE 615 can perform SCI sensing in the sidelink resource pool 632 to determine whether a resource 660 in the SCI monitoring resource region 640 is available or reserved by another sidelink UE. If a resource 660 (e.g., resource 660) is available, the relay UE 615 can transmit in the resource 660. However, if the resource 660 is already reserved by another sidelink UE, the relay UE 615 can not transmit in the resource 660. Similarly, the relay UE 615 can perform SCI sensing in resource regions outside of the SCI monitoring resource region 640 to select a resource 660 (e.g., resource 660b and / or 660c) for transmission to the remote UE 620.

[0108] In some aspects, the relay UE 615 and the remote UE 620 can utilize HARQ techniques for sidelink communications to improve reliability. For example, after the remote UE 620 receives sidelink data from the relay UE 615, if the data is successfully decoded, the remote UE 620 can feed back an ACK to the relay UE 615. Conversely, if the remote UE 620 fails to successfully decode the data, the remote UE 620 can send a NACK to the relay UE 615. If the relay UE 615 receives a NACK from the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can retransmit the data to the remote UE 620. When HARQ is applied, the relay UE 615 can include HARQ related information (e.g., a HARQ process ID, an NDI, and / or an RV associated with the data) in the corresponding SCI. In some aspects, the relay UE 615 can utilize a PSSCH 614 of resource 660a for an initial data transmission and can utilize a PSSCH 614 of resource 660b and / or 660c for a data retransmission, in a case where a NACK is received from the remote UE 620.

[0109] In some aspects, to provide further power saving at the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can configure the remote UE 620 with WUS monitoring occasions 650. The WUS monitoring occasions 650 can allow the remote UE 115 to enter a sleep mode to conserve power (e.g., when there is no active communication between the relay UE 615 and the remote UE 620). When the relay UE 615 has data for the remote UE 620, the WUS monitoring occasions 650 can be used by the relay UE 615 to transmit a WUS 652 (e.g., a predetermined waveform sequence or SCI indicating a wake-up request) to wake up the remote UE 620. For example, when the remote UE 620 is operating in a sleep mode, the remote UE 620 can wake up during the WUS monitoring occasions 650 to monitor for the WUS 652. If the remote UE 620 detects the WUS 652, the remote UE 620 can monitor for transmissions from the relay UE 615. However, if no WUS 652 is detected, the remote UE 620 can return to operating in the sleep mode. In some instances, the remote UE 620 can be capable of operating in multiple sleep mode levels, e.g., a deep sleep mode or a light sleep mode. For example, the light sleep mode can include turning off power to some components at the remote UE 620 (e.g., RF components), and the deep sleep mode can include turning off power to more components at the remote UE 620 (e.g., RF components and some band-based processing components). Thus, the deep sleep mode can provide a greater amount of power saving than the light sleep mode. In some aspects, the remote UE 620 can determine whether to enter the deep sleep mode or the light sleep mode upon determining that no WUS is detected in the WUS monitoring occasion 650, e.g., based on a length of the sleep time.

[0110] In some aspects, the WUS monitoring occasions 650 can be configured with respect to the SCI monitoring resource regions 640, e.g., one WUS monitoring occasion 650 before each SCI monitoring resource region 640. In this way, if the relay UE 615 has data for the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can transmit a WUS 652 during the WUS monitoring occasion 650 (shown by a checkmark) and continue to transmit SCI for the remote UE 620 in the subsequent SCI monitoring resource region 640. If the relay UE 615 does not have data for the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can not transmit a WUS 652 during the WUS monitoring occasion 650 (shown by the symbol “X”). Thus, the remote UE 620 can not detect a WUS signal 652 in the WUS monitoring occasion 650 and skip SCI monitoring in the subsequent SCI monitoring resource region 640 (shown by the symbol “X”).

[0111] In some aspects, the remote UE 620 can wake up to receive SCI in resources 660a, 660b, and 660c, and if there is no more data for the remote UE 620, the remote UE 620 can go to sleep for longer after receiving data from resource 660c. The remote UE 620 can remain in the sleep mode until the next WUS monitoring occasion 650, in which the remote UE 620 can monitor for the WUS 652 in the next WUS monitoring occasion 650.

[0112] In some aspects, the relay UE 615 can configure a group of remote UEs similar to the remote UE 620 with the WUS monitoring occasions 650 and / or the SCI monitoring resource region 640.

[0113] Figure 7 A sidelink communication scheme 600 for forward link operation is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The scheme 700 can be employed by a UE, such as a UE 115, 215, and / or 415, 420, 515, 520, in a network, such as the networks 100 and / or 200 for sidelink communication. In particular, a sidelink UE can employ the scheme 600 for SCI monitoring and SCI / data communication on a sidelink in a forward direction, e.g., from a relay sidelink UE to a remote sidelink UE. In Figure 7 In particular, the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units, and the y-axis represents frequency in some arbitrary units. The scheme 700 is similar in many respects to the scheme 600, and can further illustrate a mechanism for extending the SCI monitoring resource region.

[0114] As shown, the relay UE 615 transmits SCI on a PSCCH 612 in a resource 660d within the monitoring resource region 640. The relay UE 615 can determine to extend the monitoring region 640, e.g., with an extended duration, by including an indication of the extended region 710 in the SCI. The SCI can include a destination ID that is specifically addressed to the remote UE 620 or a group of remote UEs that includes the remote UE 620. In other aspects, the relay UE 615 can determine to extend the monitoring region 640, e.g., with the extended region 710, by detecting SCI in the monitoring region 640 that is for the UE 620 or a group of remote UEs that includes the remote UE 620. Subsequently, the relay UE 615 can transmit another SCI in a PSCCH 612 of a resource 660e within the extended region 710. Thus, the remote UE 620 can monitor / decode the SCI in the SCI monitoring resource region and detect the SCI in the resource 660d. The remote UE 620 can know the extended region 710 based on the SCI and continue to monitor for SCI in the extended region 710. The SCI candidates that the remote UE 620 monitors can not be all possible SCI candidates in the extended region 710, but the remote UE 620 can monitor a subset of all possible SCI candidates. The SCI candidates for the UE 620 can be determined based on a UE ID of the UE 620.

[0115] The remote UE 620 can detect the SCI transmitted by the relay UE 615 in the PSCCH 612 of the resource 660e according to the monitoring during the extended region 710. For example, the relay UE 615 can also include an indication or reference to a resource 660f outside of the extended region 710 in the SCI (destined for the remote UE 620), as shown by the dashed arrow from the resource 660e to the resource 660f. The relay UE 615 can also transmit the SCI in the PSCCH 612 and data in the PSSCH 614 of the resource 660f to the remote UE 620. Thus, the remote UE 620 can detect and receive the SCI from the PSCCH 612 of the resource 660f and receive the data from the PSSCH 614 of the resource 660f according to the SCI.

[0116] In some aspects, the relay UE 615 and the remote UE 620 can also apply similar WUS signaling techniques to allow for power saving at the remote UE 620, as discussed above with respect to Figure 6 .

[0117] As can be observed from the scheme 700, the extension of the SCI monitoring resource region can provide the relay UE 615 with the flexibility to extend the duration of the SCI monitoring resource region from the initial configuration, if necessary, e.g., based on traffic arrival time and / or traffic load.

[0118] Figure 8 A resource partitioning scheme 800 is shown in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The scheme 800 can be employed by a UE, such as the UEs 115, 215, and / or 415, 420, 515, 520, in a network, such as the networks 100 and / or 200 for sidelink communications. In particular, a sidelink UE can employ the scheme 800 for SCI monitoring and SCI / data communications on a sidelink, e.g., in a forward direction from a relay sidelink UE to a remote sidelink UE. In Figure 8 In the scheme 800, the x-axis represents time in some arbitrary units, and the y-axis represents frequency in some arbitrary units.

[0119] In the scheme 800, the relay UE 615 can communicate with the remote UE 620 using a separate PSCCH resource pool 810 and PSSCH resource pool 820. The PSCCH resource pool 810 and PSSCH resource pool 820 can be on a licensed band or a shared radio band, e.g., in a shared spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. The PSCCH resource pool 810 can include a set of PSCCH resources 812, e.g., time-frequency resources, which can be used for SCI transmissions from the relay UE 615 to the remote UE 620. The PSCCH resource pool 810 can include multiple PSCCH resources 812 across time and multiple PSCCH resources 812 across frequency. The PSSCH resource pool 820 can include a set of PSSCH resources 822, which can be used for data transmissions from the relay UE 615 to the remote UE 620. Similarly, the PSSCH resource pool 820 can include multiple PSSCH resources 822 across time and multiple PSSCH resources 822 across frequency. For simplicity of illustration and discussion, Figure 8 One PSCCH resource 812a in the PSCCH resource pool 810 and two PSSCH resources 822 in the PSSCH resource pool 820 are shown. In some aspects, the BS 605 in communication with the relay UE 615 can configure the relay UE 615 with resources for sidelink communications, and the relay UE 615 can determine the PSCCH resource pool 810 and PSSCH resource pool 820 in accordance with the configured resources.

[0120] Similar to scheme 600, to reduce the amount of SCI monitoring time at remote UE 620, relay UE 615 can configure PSCCH resource pool 810 such that PSCCH resource pool 810 can include PSCCH resource regions 814 that are spaced apart from each other in time. In some aspects, PSCCH resource regions 814 can be referred to as monitoring resource regions. For example, the set of PSCCH resource regions 814 can be periodic, repeating with a time interval 842. PSCCH resource regions 814 can be interleaved with PSSCH resource regions 824 of PSSCH resource pool 820. In this way, relay UE 615 can transmit SCI in PSCCH resource regions 814 to indicate one or more PSSCH resources 822 in the following PSSCH resource regions 824. In some aspects, relay UE 615 can transmit a configuration to remote UE 620 indicating the set of PSCCH resource regions 814 in which remote UE 620 can monitor for SCI from relay UE 615. Thus, PSCCH resource regions 814 can also be referred to as SCI monitoring resource regions.

[0121] In the illustrated example, relay UE 615 transmits SCI in PSCCH resource 812a within PSCCH resource region 814. Remote UE 620 can monitor for SCI in monitoring resource regions 814 and can receive the SCI in PSCCH resource 812a within resource region 840. The SCI candidates that remote UE 620 monitors can not be all possible SCI candidates in monitoring resource regions 814, but remote UE 620 can monitor a subset of all possible SCI candidates. The SCI candidates for UE 620 can be determined based on the UE ID of UE 620. In some aspects, the SCI in PSCCH resource 812a can indicate one or more PSSCH resources 822 in subsequent PSSCH resource regions 824. For example, the SCI can include an indication or reference to PSSCH resources 822a and 822b in PSSCH resource pool 820 (outside of PSCCH resource regions 814). Remote UE 620 can monitor for SCI in SCI monitoring resource regions 814. For example, remote UE 620 can decode each PSCCH resource 812 in SCI monitoring resource regions 814 to determine whether there is any SCI for remote UE 620. In some aspects, remote UE 620 can be configured (e.g., by relay UE 615) to monitor a subset (fewer than all) of PSCCH resources 812 in SCI monitoring resource regions 814. Remote UE 620 can detect the SCI in PSCCH resource 812a and subsequently receive data from PSSCH resources 822a and 822b indicated by the SCI.

[0122] In some aspects, similar to the scenario 600, the relay UE 615 can configure the remote UE 620 with the WUS monitoring occasions 850. When the relay UE 615 has data for the remote UE 620, the WUS monitoring occasions 850 can be used by the relay UE 615 to transmit a WUS 852 (e.g., a predetermined waveform sequence or SCI indicating a wake-up request) to wake up the remote UE 620. The relay UE 615 can also configure the WUS monitoring occasions 850 with respect to the SCI monitoring resource regions 814, e.g., one WUS monitoring occasion 650 before each SCI monitoring resource region 640. In this way, if the relay UE 615 has data for the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can transmit a WUS 852 during the WUS monitoring occasion 850 (indicated by a checkmark) and proceed to transmit SCI for the remote UE 620 in the subsequent SCI monitoring resource region 814. If the relay UE 615 does not have data for the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can not transmit a WUS 852 during the WUS monitoring occasion 850 (indicated by the symbol “X”). Thus, the remote UE 620 can not detect a WUS 852 in the WUS monitoring occasion 850 and skip SCI monitoring in the subsequent SCI monitoring resource region 814 (indicated by the symbol “X”).

[0123] In some aspects, the remote UE 620 can wake up to receive SCI in the PSCCH resource 812a and data in the PSSCH resources 822a and 822b, and if there is no more data for the remote UE 620, the remote UE 620 can enter sleep for longer after receiving data from the resource 822b. The remote UE 620 can remain in the sleep mode until the next WUS monitoring occasion 850. In some aspects, the remote UE 620 can be able to operate in multiple sleep mode levels (e.g., a deep sleep mode or a light sleep mode) and can determine whether to enter a deep sleep mode or a light sleep mode until the next WUS monitoring occasion 850.

[0124] In some aspects, similar to the remote UE 620, the relay UE 615 can configure a group of remote UEs with the WUS monitoring occasions 850, the PSCCH resource pool, and / or the PSSCH resource pool 820.

[0125] Although Figures 6-8The above is described in the context of the relay UE 615 determining sidelink resources, SCI resource monitoring regions, and / or separate PSCCH resource pools and PSSCH resource pools, but it should be understood that in other examples, the BS 605 can configure the UE 615 and / or the remote UE 620 with similar resource monitoring information.

[0126] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a method 900 of sidelink communication in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure. The method 900 can be implemented between a relay UE 615 and a remote UE 620. The method 900 can employ similar mechanisms for communication as discussed above with respect to Figures 4-8 Although the method 900 illustrates a relay UE 615 communicating with one remote UE 620, it should be understood that in other examples, the relay UE 615 can communicate over a sidelink with any suitable number of remote UEs 620 (e.g., about 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more). As illustrated, the method 900 includes a number of enumerated actions, but embodiments of the method 900 can include additional actions before, after, and in between the enumerated actions. In some embodiments, one or more of the enumerated actions can be omitted, or performed in a different order.

[0127] At action 910, the relay UE 615 transmits, to the remote UE 620, a configuration indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource regions (e.g., the resource regions 640 and / or 814). The set of SCI monitoring resource regions are spaced apart from each other in time. In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be periodic. Thus, the remote UE 620 can receive the SCI monitoring configuration.

[0128] At action 915, the relay UE 615 transmits, to the remote UE 620, a WUS configuration. The WUS configuration can indicate WUS monitoring occasions 902a and 902b (e.g., the WUS monitoring occasions 650 and 850) in which the relay UE 615 can transmit a WUS (e.g., the WUS 652 and / or 852). Thus, the remote UE 620 can receive the WUS configuration. Each WUS monitoring occasion can be associated with a SCI monitoring resource region, as discussed above with respect to Figure 6 and Figure 8 In some aspects, the remote UE 620 can enter a sleep mode when the remote UE 620 does not have active communication with the relay UE 615.

[0129] At action 920, the remote UE 620 can wake up during a WUS monitoring occasion to monitor for a WUS from the relay UE 615.

[0130] For example, at action 925, during WUS monitoring opportunity 902a, relay UE 615 may send a WUS associated with one of the SCI monitoring resource areas (e.g., prior to this) to remote UE 620. Remote UE 620 may monitor the WUS during WUS monitoring opportunity 902a. Therefore, remote UE 620 can detect the WUS.

[0131] At action 930, in response to detecting WUS during WUS monitoring opportunity 902a, remote UE 620 can monitor SCI within the associated SCI monitoring resource area.

[0132] At action 935, relay UE 615 sends an SCI to UE 620 within the SCI monitoring resource area associated with WUS monitoring opportunity 902a. In some aspects, UE 620 may send an SCI to UE 620 within the PSCCH resource area.

[0133] In some respects, the SCI monitoring resource area set can be part of a sidelink resource pool that includes PSCCH resources and PSSCH resources, as mentioned above. Figure 6 and Figure 7 The SCI can indicate PSCCH resources within the SCI monitoring resource area. Additionally or alternatively, the SCI can indicate PSSCH resources outside the SCI monitoring resource area.

[0134] In some aspects, SCI monitoring resource areas are aggregated within the PSSCH resource pool, for example, as mentioned above. Figure 8 The discussion also includes the fact that SCI can indicate PSSCH resources used for side link data, where PSSCH resources can be in a different PSSCH resource pool than the PSCCH resource pool.

[0135] At action 940, relay UE 615 transmits sidelink data to remote UE 620 in a PSSCH resource indicated by the SCI. The SCI may include information for UE 620 to receive data in the indicated PSSCH resource. For example, the SCI may include a destination ID indicating the UE ID of remote UE 620. The SCI may also include information for remote UE 620 to demodulate and / or decode the data in the indicated PSSCH resource. For example, the SCI may include a data format associated with the data in the indicated PSSCH resource, wherein the data format may include an MCS for encoding the data, the transport block size of the data, and / or HARQ-related information (e.g., HARQ procedure ID, NDI, and / or RV).

[0136] At action 945, after receiving the side link data, the remote UE 620 can enter sleep mode until the next WUS monitoring opportunity 902b.

[0137] At action 950, the remote UE 620 may wake up during WUS monitoring timing 902b to monitor WUS from the relay UE 615. The relay UE 615 can determine that there is no data for the remote UE 620, and therefore the relay UE 615 may not send WUS to the remote UE 620 during WUS monitoring timing 902b, as indicated by the dashed arrow 955 with the symbol "X". Therefore, at action 960, the remote UE 620 re-enters sleep mode.

[0138] Figure 10 This is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 1000 based on some aspects of this disclosure. UE 1000 may be as described above regarding... Figure 1 The UE 115 discussed above, as mentioned above... Figure 2 The UE 215 discussed above, as mentioned above... Figure 4 The UE415 or 420 discussed above, as mentioned above... Figure 5 The UE 515 or 520 discussed, or as mentioned above... Figure 6 The UE 615 or 620 under discussion. As shown in the figure, UE 1000 may include a processor 1002, a memory 1004, a sidelink communication module 1008, a transceiver 1010 including a modem subsystem 1012 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 1014, and one or more antennas 1016. These components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0139] The UE 1000 can be stationary or mobile. The UE 1000 can also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, a AT, a subscriber unit, a station, a customer premises equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a PDA, a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a WLL station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a home entertainment device, a medical device or medical equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device such as a smartwatch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. In some aspects, the UE 1000 can be considered a machine type communication (MTC) device or an evolved MTC (eMTC) device. MTC and eMTC UEs can include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., that can communicate with a BS (e.g., BS 1100), another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. The UE 1000 can be considered a

[0140] The processor 1002 can include a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field

[0141] The memory 1004 can include cache memory (e.g., of the processor 1002), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory devices, hard disk drive, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof. In one aspect, the memory 1004 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 1004 can store or have recorded thereon, instructions 1006. The instructions 1006 can include instructions that, when executed by the processor 1002, cause the processor 1002 to perform operations described herein with reference to the UE 115, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure (e.g., Figures 2 to 9

[0142] The sidelink communications 1008 can be implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof. For example, the sidelink communications module 1008 can be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 1006 stored in the memory 1004 and executed by the processor 1002. In some examples, the sidelink communications module 1008 can be integrated within the modem subsystem 1012. For example, the sidelink communications module 1008 can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem 1012.

[0143] The sidelink communications module 1008 can communicate with various components of the UE 1000 to perform aspects of the present disclosure (e.g., Figures 2-9 In some aspects, the UE 1000 is a sidelink UE that initiates transmission / reception of data in a half duplex mode. In some aspects, the sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to transmit, to a second UE (e.g., a remote UE similar to the UEs 115, 215, 420, or 520) over a sidelink, a configuration indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource regions. The sidelink communications module 1008 is further configured to transmit, to the second UE, a SCI in a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. Moreover, the sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to transmit, to the second UE, in a resource indicated by the SCI.

[0144] ​In some instances, the sidelink communication module 1008 is configured to send an SCI to a second UE within a PSCCH resource within a first SCI monitoring resource. In some examples, the SCI may indicate a first PSSCH resource within the first SCI monitoring resource area. In some other examples, the SCI may indicate a second PSSCH resource outside the first SCI monitoring resource area. In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource areas may be part of a sidelink resource pool that includes both PSCCH resources and PSSCH resources, as described above. Figure 6 and Figure 7 The discussion focuses on the fact that, in some aspects, the SCI monitoring resource area is set within the PSSCH resource pool, for example, as mentioned above. Figure 8 The discussion also includes the fact that SCI can indicate PSSCH resources used for side link data, where PSSCH resources can be in a PSSCH resource pool that is different from the PSCCH resource pool.

[0145] In some aspects, the sidelink communication module 1008 is configured to configure the second UE with respect to the SCI monitoring resource area set using WUS monitoring timing. The sidelink communication module 1008 is configured to send WUS during the WUS monitoring timing if the UE 1000 has data for the second UE, and to send SCI in subsequent SCI monitoring resource areas. The sidelink communication module 1008 is also configured to avoid sending WUS during the WUS monitoring timing if the UE 1000 does not have data for the second UE.

[0146] In some respects, UE 1000 is related to Figure 4 Remote UE 420 Figure 5 Remote UE 520 or Figure 6 This is a remote sidelink UE similar to the remote UE 620. For example, the sidelink communication module 1008 is configured to receive a configuration indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource areas from a second UE (e.g., a relay UE similar to UE 115, 215, 415, or 615) via a sidelink. The sidelink communication module 1008 is also configured to monitor SCIs from the second UE in a first SCI monitoring resource area within the set of SCI monitoring resource areas. Furthermore, the sidelink communication module 1008 is configured to detect SCIs from the second UE based on monitoring and receive them from the second UE in the resources indicated by the SCIs.

[0147] In some instances, the sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to receive a SCI from a second UE in a PSCCH resource within a first SCI monitoring resource. In some examples, the SCI can indicate a first PSSCH resource within the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some other examples, the SCI can indicate a second PSSCH resource outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions can be part of a sidelink resource pool including PSCCH resources and PSSCH resources, as discussed above with respect to Figure 6 and Figure 7 In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions is within a PSSCH resource pool, for example, as discussed above with respect to Figure 8 and the SCI can indicate a PSSCH resource for sidelink data, where the PSSCH resource can be in a different PSSCH resource pool than the PSCCH resource pool.

[0148] In some aspects, the sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to receive a configuration of a WUS monitoring occasion from a second UE, where the WUS monitoring occasion is configured with respect to the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. The sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to monitor for a WUS in the WUS monitoring occasion. The sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to wake up to monitor for a SCI in a subsequent SCI monitoring resource region if the WUS is detected according to the monitoring. Alternatively, the sidelink communications module 1008 is configured to sleep until a next WUS monitoring occasion if the WUS is not detected according to the monitoring.

[0149] As shown, the transceiver 1010 can include the modem subsystem 1012 and the RF unit 1014. The transceiver 1010 can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with other devices, such as the BS 105. The modem subsystem 1012 can be configured to modulate and / or encode data from the memory 1004 and / or the beam module 1008 based on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) (e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.). The RF unit 1014 can be configured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion, etc.) modulated / encoded data from the modem subsystem 1012 (on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from another source such as a UE 115 or a BS 105 (on inbound transmissions). The RF unit 1014 can be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver 1010, the modem subsystem 1012 and the RF unit 1014 can be separate devices coupled together at the UE 115 to enable the UE 115 to communicate with other devices.

[0150] The RF unit 1014 can provide the modulated and / or processed data, e.g., data packets (or, more generally, data messages that can include one or more data packets and other information), to the antennas 1016 for transmission to one or more other devices. The antennas 1016 can further receive data messages transmitted from other devices. The antennas 1016 can provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at the transceiver 1010. The transceiver 1010 can provide demodulated and decoded data (e.g., PSCCH, PSSCH, SCI-1, SCI-2, PSCCH monitoring resource region configuration, PSSCH resource pool configuration, PSCCH resource pool configuration, WUS, WUS monitoring occasion configuration, RRC configuration, sidelink resource pool allocation) to the beam module 1008 for processing. The antennas 1016 can include multiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmission links. The RF unit 1014 can configure the antennas 1016.

[0151] In one aspect, the UE 1000 can include multiple transceivers 1010 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the UE 1000 can include a single transceiver 1010 implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the transceiver 1010 can include various components, where different combinations of components can implement the different RATs.

[0152] Figure 11 is a block diagram of an example BS 1100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The BS 1100 can be a BS 105 in the network 100 as discussed above in Figure 1 , a BS 205 as discussed above in Figure 2 , a BS 405 as discussed above in Figure 4 , a BS 505 as discussed above in Figure 5 , or a BS 605 as discussed above in Figure 6 . As illustrated, the BS 1100 can include a processor 1102, a memory 1104, a sidelink configuration module 1108, a transceiver 1110 including a modem subsystem 1112 and a RF unit 1114, and one or more antennas 1116. These elements can be in direct or indirect communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses). The BS 1100 can additionally include other components (e.g., a power supply, one or more communication interfaces, etc.) in some aspects.

[0153] The processor 1102 can have various features as a specific-type processor. These can include, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, a FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 1102 can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0154] The memory 1104 can include a cache memory (e.g., of the processor 1102), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid state memory devices, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the memory 1104 can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 1104 can store instructions 1106. The instructions 1106 can include instructions that, when executed by the processor 1102, enable the processor 1102 to perform operations described herein, such as Figures 2-9instructions 1106 can also be referred to as program code. The program code can be used by wireless communication device to perform the operations described herein, e.g., by causing one or more processors (e.g., processor 1102) to control or command wireless communication device to do so. The terms “instructions” and “code” should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statement(s). For example, the terms “instructions” and “code” can refer to one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures, etc. “Instructions” and “code” can include a single computer-readable statement or many computer-readable statements.

[0155] The sidelink configuration module 1108 can be implemented via hardware, software, or any combination of these. For example, the sidelink configuration module 1108 can be implemented as processor, circuitry, and / or instructions 1106 stored in memory 1104 and executed by processor 1102. In some examples, the sidelink configuration module 1108 can be integrated within modem subsystem 1112. For example, the sidelink configuration module 1108 can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or general processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within modem subsystem 1112.

[0156] The sidelink configuration module 1108 can communicate with various components of BS 1100 to perform various aspects of the present disclosure (e.g., aspects of Figures 2-9 The sidelink configuration module 1108 is configured to configure UEs (e.g., UEs 115, 215, 415, and / or 515) with a pool of sidelink resources for sidelink communications. In some aspects, the sidelink configuration module 1108 can configure a UE with a pool of resources for sidelink communications, e.g., as discussed above with respect to Figures 6-8

[0157] ​As illustrated, transceiver 1110 can include modem subsystem 1112 and RF unit 1114. Transceiver 1110 can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with other devices, such as UEs 115 and / or another core network element. Modem subsystem 1112 can be configured to modulate and / or encode data according to a MCS (e.g., an LDPC coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.). RF unit 1114 can be configured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion, etc.) modulated / encoded data from modem subsystem 1112 (on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from another source such as a UE 115. RF unit 1114 can be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming of the modulation subsystem 1112. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver 1110, modem subsystem 1112 and / or RF unit 1114 can be separate devices coupled together at BS 105 to enable BS 105 to communicate with other devices.

[0158] RF unit 1114 can provide the modulated and / or processed data, e.g., data packets (or, more generally, data messages that can contain one or more data packets and other information) to antenna 1116 for transmission to one or more other devices. This can include transmission of information according to some aspects of the present disclosure to complete attachment to a network and communication with a camped UE 115, for example. Antenna 1116 can also receive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at transceiver 1110. Transceiver 1110 can provide demodulated and decoded data to sidelink configuration module 1108 for processing. Antenna 1116 can include multiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmission links.

[0159] In one aspect, BS 1100 can include multiple transceivers 1110 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, BS 1100 can include a single transceiver 1110 implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, transceiver 1110 can include various components, where different combinations of components can implement different RATs.

[0160] Various components, where different combinations of components can implement different RATs.

[0161] Figure 12This is a flowchart of a sidelink communication process 1200 according to some aspects of this disclosure. Aspects of process 1200 may be performed by a computing device of a wireless communication device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other suitable components) or other suitable components for performing these steps. For example, a wireless communication device such as UE 115, 215, 420, and / or 520 may utilize one or more components such as processor 1002, memory 1004, sidelink communication module 1008, transceiver 1010, modem 1012, and one or more antennas 1016 to perform the steps of process 1200. Process 1200 may at least partially employ the methods described above regarding... Figures 6-10 The mechanism discussed is similar. As shown in the figure, process 1200 includes multiple enumerated steps, but aspects of process 1200 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumeration steps. In some aspects, one or more steps in the enumeration steps may be omitted or executed in a different order.

[0162] At box 1210, the first UE can receive a configuration from the second UE indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource areas spaced apart from each other in time. The first UE can be a remote UE similar to remote UEs 420, 520, and 620, and the second UE can be a relay UE similar to relay UEs 415, 515, and 615. In some instances, the control information resource area set can be similar to... Figure 6 SCI monitoring resource area 640 Figure 7 Extended SCI monitoring resource area and / or Figure 8 The SCI monitoring resource area. In some instances, the first UE may utilize one or more components such as processor 1002, sidelink communication module 1008, transceiver 1010, modem 1012 and one or more antennas 1016 to perform the operation at block 1210.

[0163] At block 1220, the first UE can monitor an SCI (Signaling Component Index) in one or more SCI monitoring resource areas of a set of SCI monitoring resource areas. In some instances, the SCI may include information for the first UE to decode data associated with the SCI (e.g., PSSCH data). In some aspects, the SCI monitoring resource area is associated with a monitoring period. In some instances, the first UE may utilize one or more components such as processor 1002, sidelink communication module 1008, transceiver 1010, modem 1012, and one or more antennas 1016 to perform the operation at block 1220.

[0164] At block 1230, the first UE can receive, based on the monitoring, a SCI from the second UE in a first SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions. In some aspects, the SCI can be received in a PSCCH resource within the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the SCI can indicate a PSSCH resource within the first SCI monitoring region. In some other aspects, the SCI can indicate a PSSCH resource outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the SCI can indicate a PSSCH resource within the first SCI monitoring region and a second PSSCH resource outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some instances, the first UE can utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the sidelink communication module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, and the one or more antennas 1016, to perform the operations at block 1230.

[0165] At block 1240, the first UE can receive, based on the SCI, sidelink data from the second UE. In some instances, the first UE can receive the data from the second UE over a PSSCH. In some instances, the first UE can utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the sidelink communication module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, and the one or more antennas 1016, to perform the operations at block 1240.

[0166] In some aspects, the SCI received at block 1230 can further indicate an extended region for the first SCI monitoring resource region, and the first UE can further monitor for another SCI during the extended region. In some aspects, the first UE can monitor for a wake-up signal (WUS), and monitoring the first SCI resource region at block 1220 is based on whether the WUS is detected. In some aspects, the first UE can monitor for a WUS associated with a second SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions, and can refrain from monitoring the second SCI monitoring resource region if the WUS is not detected. However, if the first UE detects the WUS according to the monitoring, the first UE can continue to monitor for SCI in the second SCI monitoring resource region. In some instances, if the first UE does not detect any SCI in the second SCI monitoring resource region, the first UE can determine to operate in a sleep mode until at least one of a next WUS monitoring occasion or a next SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions.

[0167] In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource areas indicated by the configuration received at box 1210 may be located within a PSCCH resource pool. The SCI received at box 1230 may indicate PSSCH resources for the SCI data received at box 1240, wherein the PSSCH resources may be located within a different PSSCH resource pool than the PSCCH resource pool. In some aspects, the set of SCI information monitoring resource areas indicated by the configuration received at box 1210 may include a smaller subset of resources compared to all resources in the PSCCH resource pool.

[0168] Figure 13 This is a flowchart of a sidelink system information broadcasting process 1300 according to some aspects of this disclosure. Aspects of process 1300 may be executed by a computing device of a wireless communication device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other suitable components) or other suitable components for performing the steps. For example, a wireless communication device such as UE 115, 215, 415, and / or 515 may utilize one or more components such as processor 1002, memory 1004, sidelink communication module 1008, transceiver 1010, modem 1012, and one or more antennas 1016 to perform the steps of process 1300. Process 1300 may at least partially employ the methods described above regarding... Figures 6-10 A similar mechanism is discussed. As shown in the figure, process 1300 includes multiple enumeration steps, but aspects of process 1300 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumeration steps. In some aspects, one or more steps in the enumeration steps may be omitted or executed in a different order.

[0169] At box 1310, the first UE can send a configuration to the second UE indicating a set of SCI monitoring resource areas that are time-spaced apart from each other. The first UE can be a relay UE similar to relay UEs 415, 515, and 615, and the second UE can be a remote UE similar to remote UEs 420, 520, and 620. In some instances, the control information resource area set can be similar to... Figure 6 SCI monitoring resource area 640 Figure 7 Extended SCI monitoring resource area, and / or Figure 8 The SCI monitoring resource area. In some instances, the first UE may utilize one or more components such as processor 1002, sidelink communication module 1008, transceiver 1010, modem 1012 and one or more antennas 1016 to perform the operation at block 1310.

[0170] At block 1320, the first UE can transmit, to the second UE, SCI in a first SCI monitoring resource region of a set of SCI monitoring resource regions. In some aspects, the SCI can be transmitted in a PSCCH resource within the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the SCI can indicate a PSSCH resource within the first SCI monitoring region. In some other aspects, the SCI can indicate a PSSCH resource outside of the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the SCI can indicate that sidelink data is transmitted in the first or second PSSCH resource. In some instances, the first UE can utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the sidelink communication module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, and the one or more antennas 1016, to perform the operations at block 1320.

[0171] At block 1330, the first UE can transmit, to the second UE, sidelink data based on the SCI. In some instances, the first UE can transmit data to the second UE over a PSSCH. In some instances, the first UE can utilize one or more components, such as the processor 1002, the sidelink communication module 1008, the transceiver 1010, the modem 1012, and the one or more antennas 1016, to perform the operations at block 1330.

[0172] In some aspects, the SCI transmitted at block 1320 can further indicate an extended region of the first SCI monitoring resource region, and the first UE can further transmit another SCI during the extended region. In some aspects, at block 1320, the first UE can determine to transmit the SCI to the second UE in the first SCI monitoring resource region, and based on the determination, transmit a wake-up signal (WUS) to the second UE in a WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first SCI monitoring resource region. In some aspects, the first UE can transmit, to the second UE, a WUS configuration indicating the WUS monitoring occasion. In some aspects, the first UE can further determine not to transmit any SCI in a second SCI monitoring resource region of the set of SCI monitoring resource regions, and based on the determination, refrain from transmitting a wake-up signal (WUS) in a WUS monitoring occasion associated with the second SCI monitoring resource region.

[0173] In some aspects, the set of SCI monitoring resource regions indicated by the configuration transmitted at block 1310 can be within a PSCCH resource pool. The SCI transmitted at block 1320 can indicate PSSCH resources for the SCI data transmitted at block 1330, where the PSSCH resources can be within a PSSCH resource pool that is different from the PSCCH resource pool. In some aspects, the set of SCI information monitoring resource regions indicated by the configuration transmitted at block 1310 includes a subset of fewer resources compared to all resources in the PSCCH resource pool.

[0174] The present disclosure also includes the following aspects:

[0175] Aspect 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration from a second UE indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; monitoring, in one or more of the set of resource regions, for sidelink control information; receiving, based on the monitoring, sidelink control information from the second UE in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and receiving, based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data from the second UE.

[0176] Aspect 2. The method of aspect 1, wherein the set of resource regions is associated with a monitoring periodicity.

[0177] Aspect 3. The method of any one of aspects 1-2, wherein receiving the sidelink control information comprises: receiving the sidelink control information from the second UE in a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource within the first resource region, wherein the sidelink control information indicates at least one of: a first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource within the first resource region; or a second PSSCH resource outside of the first resource region.

[0178] Aspect 4. The method of aspect 3, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the first PSSCH resource; and receiving the sidelink data comprises: receiving the sidelink data in the first PSSCH resource.

[0179] Aspect 5. The method of aspect 3, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the second PSSCH resource; and receiving the sidelink data comprises: receiving the sidelink data in the second PSSCH resource.

[0180] Aspect 6. The method of any one of aspects 1-5, wherein: the sidelink control information further comprises an indication of an extended region of the first resource region; and the method further comprises: monitoring for another sidelink control information during the extended region of the first resource region.

[0181] Aspect 7. The method of any one of aspects 1-6, further comprising: monitoring for a wake-up signal (WUS), wherein monitoring the first resource region is based on the WUS detected via the monitoring.

[0182] Aspect 8. The method of aspect 7, wherein the WUS is on a WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first resource region.

[0183] Aspect 9. The method of aspect 8, further comprising: receiving a WUS configuration from the second UE associated with the WUS monitoring occasion, wherein the monitoring for the WUS is based on the WUS configuration.

[0184] Aspect 10. The method of any one of aspects 1-6, further comprising: monitoring for a wake-up signal (WUS) associated with a second resource region of the set of resource regions; and refraining from monitoring the second resource region if no WUS is detected based on the monitoring.

[0185] Aspect 11. The method of any one of aspects 1-6, further comprising: determining from the monitoring that no sidelink control information is detected in a second resource region of the set of resource regions; and based on the determination, configuring the first UE to operate in a sleep mode until one or more of a next wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring occasion and a next resource region of the set of resource regions.

[0186] Aspect 12. The method of any one of aspects 1-11, wherein the set of resource regions is within a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource pool, and wherein the sidelink control information indicates a physical control shared channel (PSSCH) resource for sidelink data, the PSSCH resource being within a PSSCH resource pool different from the PSCCH resource pool.

[0187] Aspect 13. The method of aspect 12, wherein the set of resource regions comprises a subset of fewer resources than all resources in the PSCCH resource pool.

[0188] Aspect 14. The method of aspect 12, wherein receiving the sidelink control information comprises: receiving the sidelink control information indicating a data format for the sidelink data.

[0189] Aspect 15. A method of wireless communication performed by a first user equipment (UE), the method comprising: transmitting, to a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; transmitting, to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and transmitting, to the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0190] Aspect 16. The method of aspect 15, wherein the set of resource regions is associated with a monitoring periodicity.

[0191] Aspect 17. The method of aspect 15 or aspect 16, wherein transmitting the sidelink control information comprises transmitting to the second UE in physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resources within the first resource region, wherein the sidelink control information indicates at least one of: first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources within the first resource region; or second PSSCH resources outside of the first resource region.

[0192] Aspect 18. The method of aspect 17, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the first PSSCH resources; and transmitting the sidelink data comprises transmitting the sidelink data in the first PSSCH resources.

[0193] Aspect 19. The method of aspect 17, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the second PSSCH resources; and transmitting the sidelink data comprises transmitting the sidelink data in the second PSSCH resources.

[0194] Aspect 20. The method of any of aspects 15-19, wherein: the sidelink control information further comprises an indication of an extended region of the first resource region; and the method further comprises transmitting another sidelink control information during the extended region of the first resource region.

[0195] Aspect 21. The method of any of aspects 15-20, further comprising: determining that the sidelink control information is to be transmitted in the first resource region; and based on the determination, transmitting a wake-up signal (WUS) in a WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first resource region.

[0196] Aspect 22. The method of aspect 21, further comprising transmitting, to the second UE, a WUS configuration associated with the WUS monitoring occasion.

[0197] Aspect 23. The method of any of aspects 15-22, further comprising: determining whether any sidelink control information is to be transmitted in a second resource region of the set of resource regions; and based on the determination of whether to transmit, refraining from transmitting a wake-up signal (WUS) in a WUS monitoring occasion associated with the second resource region.

[0198] Aspect 24. The method of any one of aspects 15-22, wherein the set of resource regions are within a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource pool, and wherein the sidelink control information indicates a physical control shared channel (PSSCH) resource for the sidelink data, the PSSCH resource being within a PSSCH resource pool different from the PSCCH resource pool.

[0199] Aspect 25. The method of aspect 24, further comprising: determining the PSCCH resource pool from the set of sidelink resources; and determining the PSSCH resource pool from the set of sidelink resources.

[0200] Aspect 26. The method of aspect 24, wherein the set of resource regions comprises a subset of fewer resources compared to all resources in the PSCCH resource pool.

[0201] Aspect 27. The method of aspect 24, wherein the sidelink control information indicates a data format for the sidelink data.

[0202] Aspect 28. A first user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver, at least one processor, and a memory, the memory comprising code executable by the at least one processor configured to perform the actions of one or more of aspects 1-14.

[0203] Aspect 29. A first user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver, at least one processor, and a memory, the memory comprising code executable by the at least one processor configured to perform the actions of one or more of aspects 15-27.

[0204] Aspect 30. A first user equipment (UE) comprising means for performing the actions of one or more of aspects 1-14.

[0205] Aspect 31. A first user equipment (UE) comprising means for performing the actions of one or more of aspects 15-27.

[0206] Aspect 32. An apparatus for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory comprising instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: receive a configuration from a second UE indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; monitor for sidelink control information in one or more of the set of resource regions; receive, based on the monitoring, sidelink control information from the second UE in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and receive, based on the sidelink control information, sidelink data from the second UE.

[0207] Aspect 33. An apparatus for wireless communications by a first user equipment (UE), comprising a memory including instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to: provide, to a second UE, a transmission of a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; provide, to the second UE, a transmission of sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and provide, to the second UE, a transmission of sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0208] Aspect 34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code stored thereon, wherein the program code includes instructions executable by a first user equipment (UE), the program code comprising: code for receiving, by the first UE from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; code for monitoring, by the first UE, for sidelink control information in one or more of the set of resource regions; code for receiving, by the first UE from the second UE, the sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions based on the monitoring; and code for receiving, by the first UE from the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0209] Aspect 35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code stored thereon, wherein the program code includes instructions executable by a first user equipment (UE), the program code comprising: code for transmitting, by the first UE to a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; code for transmitting, by the first UE to the second UE, sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions; and code for transmitting, by the first UE to the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

[0210] Information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0211] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein can be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0212] The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. 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. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items prefaced by "at least one of indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C" means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

[0213] The means for receiving or the means for obtaining can include a receiver, such as the transceiver 1010 and / or the antenna 1016 of the UE 1000 shown in FIG. 10, or the transceiver and / or the antenna 1116 of the BS 1100 shown in FIG. 11. Figure 10 The means for transmitting or the means for outputting can include a transmitter, such as the transceiver 1010 and / or the antenna 1016 of the UE 1000 shown in FIG. 10, or the transceiver and / or the antenna 1116 of the BS 1100 shown in FIG. 11. Figure 11 The means for transmitting or the means for outputting can include a transmitter, such as the transceiver 1010 and / or the antenna 1016 of the UE 1000 shown in FIG. 10, or the transceiver and / or the antenna 1116 of the BS 1100 shown in FIG. 11. Figure 10 The means for transmitting or the means for outputting can include a transmitter, such as the transceiver 1010 and / or the antenna 1016 of the UE 1000 shown in FIG. 10, or the transceiver and / or the antenna 1116 of the BS 1100 shown in FIG. 11. Figure 11 The means for detecting, the means for forwarding, the means for determining, the means for avoiding, and / or the means for performing can include a processing system, which can comprise one or more processors, such as the processor 1002 of the UE 1000 or the processor 1102 of the BS 1100.

[0214] In some cases, a device can have an interface (a means for outputting) to output frames for transmission, rather than actually transmitting the frames. For example, a processor can output a frame to a radio frequency (RF) front end via a bus interface for transmission. Similarly, a device can have an interface (a means for obtaining) to obtain frames received from another device, rather than actually receiving the frames. For example, a processor can obtain (or receive) a frame from an RF front end via a bus interface for reception.

[0215] As will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings herein, many modifications, substitutions and variations of the devices of the present disclosure can be made in the materials, arrangements, configurations and operating methods thereof without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the specific embodiments described and illustrated herein, as they are merely by way of some examples thereof, but rather should be fully consonant with the scope of the appended claims and functional equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed at a first user equipment (UE), the method comprising: obtaining, from a second UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; configuring the first UE to operate in a power saving mode based on an absence of sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions until one or more control signal monitoring occasions occur prior to one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions that are subsequent to the first resource region; operating in the power saving mode during at least one power saving period; monitoring for sidelink control information in the one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions after operating in the power saving mode; obtaining, from the second UE, the sidelink control information in a second resource region of the one or more resource regions based on the monitoring; and obtaining, from the second UE, sidelink data based on the sidelink control information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The set of resource regions is associated with a monitoring period.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The obtaining the sidelink control information comprises: obtaining the sidelink control information from the second UE in physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resources within the second resource region, wherein the sidelink control information indicates at least one of: first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources within the second resource region; or second PSSCH resources outside of the second resource region.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the first PSSCH resources; and the obtaining the sidelink data comprises: obtaining the sidelink data in the first PSSCH resources.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the second PSSCH resources; and the obtaining the sidelink data comprises: obtaining the sidelink data in the second PSSCH resources.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: the sidelink control information comprises an indication of an extended region of the second resource region; and the method further comprises: monitoring for another sidelink control information during the extended region of the second resource region.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring for a wake-up signal (WUS) associated with the control signal monitoring occasions, wherein the monitoring for the sidelink control information in the set of resource regions is based on the WUS being detected via the monitoring. The control signal monitoring occasions comprise wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring occasions.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: detecting the WUS through the control signal monitoring occasion in the second resource region.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: obtaining, from the second UE, a WUS configuration associated with the control signal monitoring occasion, ​ ​ ​ wherein the monitoring for the WUS is based on the WUS configuration.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring for a wake-up signal (WUS) associated with a second resource region of the set of resource regions; and avoiding monitoring the second resource region if no WUS is detected based on the WUS monitoring.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, from the monitoring, that no sidelink control information is detected in a second resource region of the set of resource regions; and configuring the first UE to operate in a sleep mode until one or more occurrences of a next wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring occasion and a next resource region of the set of resource regions based on the determining.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein, the set of resource regions is within a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource pool, and wherein the sidelink control information indicates physical control shared channel (PSSCH) resources for the sidelink data, the PSSCH resources being within a PSSCH resource pool different from the PSCCH resource pool.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, the set of resource regions includes a subset of fewer resources than all resources in the PSCCH resource pool.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein, the obtaining the sidelink control information includes: receiving the sidelink control information indicating a data format of the sidelink data.

16. A method of wireless communication performed at a second user equipment (UE), the method comprising: outputting, for transmission to a first UE, a first configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from each other in time; based on no sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions, outputting, for transmission to the first UE, a second configuration configuring the first UE to operate in a power saving mode until one or more control signal monitoring occasions occur before one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions, the one or more resource regions being after the first resource region; outputting, for transmission to the first UE, sidelink control information in a second resource region of the one or more resource regions; and based on the sidelink control information, outputting, for transmission to the first UE, sidelink data.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, the set of resource regions is associated with a monitoring periodicity.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein, the outputting the sidelink control information for transmission includes: outputting, for transmission to the first UE, in physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resources within the second resource region, wherein the sidelink control information indicates at least one of: first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resources within the second resource region; or second PSSCH resources outside the second resource region.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the first PSSCH resources; and the outputting the sidelink data includes: outputting the sidelink data in the first PSSCH resources.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein: the sidelink control information indicates the second PSSCH resource; and the outputting the sidelink data includes: outputting the sidelink data in the second PSSCH resource for transmission.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein: the sidelink control information includes an indication of an extended region of the second resource region; and the method further includes: outputting, for transmission, another sidelink control information during the extended region of the first resource region.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein, the control signal monitoring occasion includes a wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring occasion, and wherein the method further includes: outputting, for transmission, a WUS in the WUS monitoring occasion associated with the second resource region after outputting the sidelink control information in the second resource region.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: outputting, for transmission to the second UE, a WUS configuration associated with the WUS monitoring occasion.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: determining whether any sidelink control information is to be output in a second resource region of the set of resource regions; and based on the determining whether to output, refraining from outputting a wake-up signal (WUS) in a WUS monitoring occasion associated with the second resource region. the resource regions of the set are within a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource pool, and wherein the sidelink control information indicates a physical control shared channel (PSSCH) resource for the sidelink data, the PSSCH resource being within a different PSSCH resource pool than the PSCCH resource pool.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein, 26. The method of claim 25, wherein: the PSCCH resource pool is based on a set of sidelink resources; and the PSSCH resource pool is based on the set of sidelink resources. the set of resource regions includes a subset of fewer resources than all resources in the PSCCH resource pool.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein, the sidelink control information indicates a data format of the sidelink data.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein, 29. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory that includes instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: obtain, from a UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions that are spaced apart from each other in time; based on no sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions, operate in a power saving mode until one or more control signal monitoring occasions occur before one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions, the one or more resource regions being after the first resource region; after operating in the power saving mode, monitor for sidelink control information in the one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions; based on the monitoring, obtain, from the UE, the sidelink control information in a second resource region of the one or more resource regions; and based on the sidelink control information, obtain sidelink data from the UE.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for wireless communication, the computer-executable instructions comprising instructions for: obtaining, from a UE, a configuration indicating a set of resource regions that are spaced apart from each other in time; based on no sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions, operating in a power saving mode until one or more control signal monitoring occasions occur before one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions, the one or more resource regions being after the first resource region; after operating in the power saving mode, monitoring for sidelink control information in the one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions; based on the monitoring, obtaining, from the UE, the sidelink control information in a second resource region of the one or more resource regions; and based on the sidelink control information, obtaining sidelink data from the UE.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: obtain the sidelink control information from the UE in a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) resource within the second resource region, the sidelink control information indicating at least one of: a first physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) resource within the second resource region; or a second PSSCH resource outside of the second resource region.

31. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory that includes instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to: output, for transmission to a first UE, a first configuration indicating a set of resource regions spaced apart from one another in time; based on an absence of sidelink control information in a first resource region of the set of resource regions, output, for transmission to the first UE, a second configuration configuring the first UE to operate in a power saving mode until one or more control signal monitoring occasions occur prior to one or more resource regions of the set of resource regions, the one or more resource regions being after the first resource region; output, for transmission to the first UE, the sidelink control information in a second resource region of the one or more resource regions; and based on the sidelink control information, output sidelink data for transmission to the first UE. ​ ​

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