Electronic devices and methods for wireless communication, computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an electronic device, a method and a computer readable storage medium for wireless communication, the electronic device comprising: processing circuitry configured to: determine whether a target user equipment is to apply a large intelligent surface (LIS) assisted communication mode; and in a case where it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, send, to the target user equipment, configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in the LIS assisted communication mode.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010824989.3, filed on August 17, 2020, entitled "Electronic Device and Method for Wireless Communication, Computer-Readable Storage Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically to the determination of wireless communication modes assisted by large intelligent surface (LIS). More specifically, it relates to an electronic device and method for wireless communication, as well as a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] One of the major challenges of next-generation wireless networks is meeting the ever-increasing demand for higher data rates. Simultaneously, another concern is the energy efficiency issues arising from the dramatic increase in the number of cellular connected devices. Laser Interpreter (LIS) has emerged as a promising cost-effective technology for improving the spectrum and energy efficiency of future wireless networks. An LIS is a metasurface composed of numerous small passive reflectors capable of modifying the incident signal and guiding the reflected wave in any predetermined direction, thereby achieving an ideal electromagnetic propagation environment with limited power consumption. For example, under the control of a base station, an LIS improves the signal quality of the receiver by modifying the phase of the incident wave to obtain a reflected wave with the appropriate reflection direction.

[0004] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a LIS-based assisted communication mode is shown. In this mode, due to obstacles and other factors, the direct link communication quality between the gNB and the user equipment (UE) served by the gNB is poor. In this case, the UE's transmission mode can be changed to use LIS to assist communication, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the signal to the user is reflected by the LIS and then provided to the user in a certain reflection direction.

[0005] However, when LIS is introduced into cellular communication systems, the switching of user transmission modes not only affects the link quality of the user itself, but also changes the channel quality of other users due to the passive reflection nature of LIS. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a communication mechanism that considers the transmission modes of multiple users in a coordinated manner. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of the application in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the application. This summary is not an extensive overview of the application. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the application or to delineate the scope of the application. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.

[0007] According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: processing circuitry configured to determine whether a target user equipment is to apply a LIS assisted communication mode; and in a case where it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, send configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in the LIS assisted communication mode to the target user equipment.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for wireless communication, comprising: determining whether a target user equipment is to apply a LIS assisted communication mode; and in a case where it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, sending configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in the LIS assisted communication mode to the target user equipment.

[0009] According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: processing circuitry configured to obtain configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in a LIS assisted communication mode from a base station; and perform measurement of the LIS reference signal based on the configuration information.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for wireless communication, comprising: obtaining configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in a LIS assisted communication mode from a base station; and performing measurement of the LIS reference signal based on the configuration information.

[0011] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, there are also provided computer program codes and computer program products for implementing the above-mentioned method for wireless communication and computer-readable storage medium having the computer program codes for implementing the above-mentioned method for wireless communication recorded thereon.

[0012] The electronic device and method according to embodiments of the present application configure a base station and a UE in a LIS assisted communication mode with a dedicated LIS reference signal, thereby enabling accurate channel measurement in the LIS assisted communication mode to avoid or mitigate inter-UE interference.

[0013] These and other aspects of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present application, a more particular description of the application will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. The drawings are included to provide a description of the application and are not intended to limit the scope of the application. The drawings are as follows:

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the LIS-based assisted communication mode is shown;

[0016] Figure 2 An illustrative example of an application scenario of LIS is shown;

[0017] Figure 3 A possible communication mode is shown considering two UEs and one LIS;

[0018] Figure 4 Another possible communication mode is shown considering two UEs and one LIS;

[0019] Figure 5 Another possible communication mode is shown considering two UEs and one LIS;

[0020] Figure 6 is a functional module block diagram showing an electronic device for wireless communication according to one embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 7 An example of a set of LISs and a set of available serving UEs is shown;

[0022] Figure 8 An example of a reflected beam direction of a LIS is shown;

[0023] Figure 9 An example of LIS reference signals configured for two LISs respectively is shown in case the LIS reference signals are unprecoded / unbeamformed reference signals;

[0024] Figure 10 An example of transmission of LIS reference signals of Figure 9 is shown;

[0025] Figures 11 to 16 Another example of configuration of LIS reference signals of multiple LISs is shown in case the LIS reference signals are unprecoded / unbeamformed reference signals;

[0026] Figure 17An example of transmission of LIS reference signals is shown for

[0027] Figure 18 An example of transmission of LIS reference signals is shown for Figure 17

[0028] Figures 19 to 23 Another example of configuration of LIS reference signals for multiple LIS is shown in case the LIS reference signals are precoded / beamformed reference signals;

[0029] Figure 24 A scenario diagram showing LIS 1 and LIS 2 and UEs within their coverage is shown;

[0030] Figure 25 is a functional block diagram showing an electronic device for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 26 is a diagram showing one example of information flow between a base station (gNB), a LIS and a UE;

[0032] Figure 27a is a flowchart showing a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 27b is a flowchart showing a method for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 28 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0035] Figure 29 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0036] Figure 30 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0037] Figure 31 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied; and

[0038] Figure 32 is a block diagram of an example of a general-purpose personal computer in which a method and / or apparatus and / or system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] ​Exemplary embodiments of the present application will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of clarity and a concise description, all the features of the practical embodiments are not described in the specification. It should be appreciated, however, that many implementation-specific decisions can have to be made to develop any such practical embodiments, to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system- and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that while the development effort might be complex and time-consuming, it would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0040] It is also noted herein that, for the sake of brevity and clarity, detailed descriptions of well-known apparatuses, methods, and / or processing techniques are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present application.

[0041] <First Embodiment>

[0042] Figure 2 An illustrative example of application scenarios of LIS is shown, in which multiple LISs are deployed in a cell, each of which can serve one or more UEs, and each UE can also be served by one or more LISs. For example, considering the case of two UEs and one LIS, there can be three modes: 1) the two UEs are directly served by the gNB without the assistance of LIS, as shown in Figure 3 ; 2) both UEs communicate with the assistance of LIS, as shown in Figure 4 ; and 3) only UE2 communicates with the assistance of LIS, as shown in Figure 5 . It can be seen that in Figure 4 and Figure 5 , due to the passive reflective nature of LIS, the LIS-assisted communication of one UE will cause interference to the other UE. In the case of multiple LISs, the interference situation will be more complex.

[0043] Therefore, the cooperative relationship between multiple LISs and multiple users needs to be considered. To this end, it is desirable to provide a technology for dynamically selecting and switching the transmission mode of the UE. In order to select the appropriate association mode between LIS and user and the appropriate reflection beam direction of each LIS, it is necessary to accurately estimate the channel state information of the channel between the base station-LIS-UE. For this purpose, but not limited to, the present embodiment provides an electronic device 100 for wireless communication.

[0044] Figure 6A functional module block diagram of the electronic device 100 according to the embodiments of the present application is shown, including: a determination unit 101 configured to determine whether a target UE is to apply a LIS-assisted communication mode; and a communication unit 102 configured to, in a case where the determination unit 101 determines that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, send, to the target UE, configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in the LIS-assisted communication mode.

[0045] The determination unit 101 and the communication unit 102 can be implemented by one or more processing circuits, which can be implemented as a chip, a processor, for example. It should be understood that, Figure 6 Each functional unit in the electronic device shown in the above is only a logical module divided according to the specific function it implements, and is not intended to limit the specific implementation manner.

[0046] The electronic device 100 can be disposed at a base station side or communicatively connected to a base station, for example. The base station described in the present application can also be a transmit receive point (TRP) or an access point (AP). It should also be pointed out here that the electronic device 100 can be implemented at a chip level or also at a device level. For example, the electronic device 100 can work as the base station itself, and can also include external devices such as a memory, a transceiver (not shown), etc. The memory can be used to store programs and related data information required for the base station to implement various functions. The transceiver can include one or more communication interfaces to support communication with different devices (e.g., UEs, other base stations, etc.), and the implementation form of the transceiver is not specifically limited here.

[0047] Since the LIS is a passive array and cannot transmit new signals by itself, in the LIS-assisted communication mode, the base station needs to assist the LIS to perform beam sweeping for channel state measurement. The present embodiment proposes a LIS reference signal to assist the LIS to perform beam sweeping, through which the UE can measure the channel state information of the channel corresponding to the base station-LIS-UE for each beam from each LIS, and select an appropriate beam, i.e., the corresponding LIS and reflection direction, to perform communication based on the channel state information obtained by measurement.

[0048] The target UE described herein is a UE that can apply the LIS-assisted communication mode. For example, the determination unit 101 is configured to determine that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode in a case where the communication quality of the target UE is lower than a predetermined threshold. The communication quality of the target UE can be measured by quality of service (QoS) indicators such as reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0049] For example, the communication unit 102 can obtain information of the communication quality of the target UE, such as Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) and the like, from the target UE, or the determination unit 101 can estimate the communication quality of the target UE.

[0050] In addition, the determination unit 101 can also determine that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode in response to a LIS assistance request from the target UE. In this case, for example, the target UE sends a LIS assistance request to the base station to request switching to the LIS-assisted communication mode when it detects that its communication quality is lower than a predetermined threshold.

[0051] In determining whether the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, the determination unit 101 can also take into account the priority of the target UE, for example, when the priority of the target UE is high, the likelihood of applying the LIS-assisted communication mode is increased. The information of the priority of the target UE can be obtained by the communication unit 102 from the target UE, or can be pre-stored at the base station side.

[0052] The communication unit 102 sends configuration information of the LIS reference signal to the target UE for channel state measurement in the LIS-assisted communication mode in response to the determination unit 101 determining that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode.

[0053] In one example, the pattern of the LIS reference signal of each LIS can be pre-determined. The communication unit 102 provides the pre-determined configuration information of the LIS reference signal of each LIS to the UE.

[0054] In another example, the configuration information of the LIS reference signal to be provided to the UE can be dynamically determined. For example, the determination unit 101 can also be configured to, in the case of determining that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, determine a set of LISs to be used for the LIS-assisted communication of the target UE and a set of available service UEs of each LIS in the set of LISs. For example, the set of LISs includes each LIS within the coverage range of which the target UE is located, and the set of available service UEs of a LIS includes the UEs within the coverage range of the LIS.

[0055] For ease of understanding, Figure 7 An example of the set of LISs and the set of available service UEs is shown. In Figure 7 In the example, two LISs (LIS1 and LIS2) and several UEs are shown, where UE k is the target UE, and the coverage range of the LIS is represented by a semicircle (with a radius R n It can be seen that UE k is located within the coverage range of both LIS1 and LIS2, and thus its set of LISs is Lk The set of UEs that can be served in the coverage of LIS1 (i.e., the set of available serving UEs) is S1 = {UE1, UE2, UE3, UEk}. Similarly, the set of available serving UEs for LIS2 is S2 = {UE4, UE5, UEk}. Thus, the final set of available serving UEs is the union of S1 and S2, i.e., S = S1∪S2 = {UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4, UE5, UEk}. k

[0056] To determine the set of LISs and the set of available serving UEs, the communication unit 102 can further be configured to acquire, from the target UE, the identities of the LISs in the coverage of the target UE. On the other hand, since the locations of the LISs are fixed, their locations can be pre-stored at the base station side, and the determination unit 101 can determine the set of LISs and the set of available serving UEs based on the pre-stored location information of the LISs and the location information of the respective UEs.

[0057] The communication unit 102 is configured to transmit, to each UE in the set of available UEs, configuration information of the LIS reference signals related to the LISs in the set of LISs. The communication unit 102 can transmit the configuration information to the UEs via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The configuration information is, for example, used to inform the UEs how to receive and parse the LIS reference signals, how to report the measurement results, etc.

[0058] The communication unit 102 transmits, to each UE, the LIS reference signals via the corresponding LISs according to the configuration information of the LIS reference signals, and acquires the measurement results reported by each UE on the LIS reference signals.

[0059] For example, the communication unit 102 can periodically transmit the LIS reference signals, and periodically acquire the measurement results of the LIS reference signals.

[0060] In addition, in the case where the configuration information indicates non-periodic reporting of the measurement results, the communication unit 102 is further configured to transmit, to each UE, triggering signaling for reporting the measurement results of the LIS reference signals, and acquire the non-periodic measurement results of the LIS reference signals.

[0061] For example, the configuration information of the LIS reference signals can include one or more of the following: the time-frequency resource locations where the LIS reference signals are located, the correspondence between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource locations and the LISs, the periodic reporting or the non-periodic reporting of the measurement results.

[0062] ​By the configuration information, the UE can know on which time-frequency resources to receive the LIS reference signals, from which LIS the received LIS reference signals come from and further from which reflection beam direction of the LIS, and whether to report the measurement results periodically or aperiodically.

[0063] In other words, the corresponding relationship between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource locations and the LIS can further include a corresponding relationship between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource locations and the reflection beam directions of different LISs in more detail.

[0064] Figure 8 An example of the reflection beam direction of the LIS is shown. Among them, the semicircular reflection range of the LIS is divided into 6 sectors, each part represents a reflection beam direction, and can be labeled with an ID (marked as beam 1, beam 2 … beam 6 in the figure).

[0065] For example, the LIS reference signals can be configured as follows: the LIS reference signals for different LISs are distinguished in the frequency domain, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distinguished in the time domain. That is, the LIS reference signals of different LISs occupy different frequency domain resources, and the LIS reference signals of different reflection beam directions of the same LIS occupy different time domain parts of the frequency domain resources of the LIS.

[0066] For example, the reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distributed on different resource elements (REs) of the same subcarrier of the OFDM.

[0067] In one example, the LIS reference signal is an unprecoded / unbeamformed reference signal, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs do not overlap in the time domain. In this case, since the LIS reference signal is undirectional and can be reflected by multiple LISs at the same time, the LIS reference signals of different LISs should be allocated different time durations to enable the UE to distinguish the LIS reference signals from different LISs.

[0068] Figure 9An example of LIS reference signals configured for two LISs is shown when the LIS reference signal is an uncoded / unbeamshaped reference signal. The 4th row of subcarriers is assigned to LIS 1, and the 10th row to LIS 2. That is, the LIS reference signals of different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of the OFDM symbol, and the REs occupied by the LIS reference signal in the 4th row and the REs occupied by the LIS reference signal in the 10th row are interleaved in the time domain. Different columns of each row are assigned to different reflection beam directions of the corresponding LIS, assuming the LIS has… Figure 8 The reflected beam direction distribution shown is as follows: for example, the second column of the fourth row is assigned to beam 1 of LIS 1, the third column of the tenth row is assigned to beam 2 of LIS 2, and so on.

[0069] Figure 10 It shows Figure 9 An example of LIS reference signal transmission is provided, wherein the LIS reference signal is first sent by the base station to the corresponding LIS, and then the LIS sends a reflected beam with a reflection beam direction corresponding to the LIS reference signal to the UE. Figure 10 The upper part shows the transmission of the LIS reference signal (LIS-RS) for LIS1, where LIS ID=1 represents LIS1, Beam ID=1 represents beam 1, Subcarrier=4 indicates that the LIS-RS is assigned a subcarrier in the 4th row, and Type ID=2 indicates that the reference signal is uncoded / unbeamshaped. Figure 10 The lower half shows the transmission of the LIS reference signal (LIS-RS) for LIS 2. Similarly, LIS ID = 2 represents LIS 2, Beam ID = 2 represents beam 2, and Subcarrier = 10 indicates that the LIS-RS is assigned the 10th row of subcarriers. Figure 10 As shown, the transmission of LIS reference signals for LIS 1 and LIS 2 is time-separated.

[0070] It should be understood that Figure 9 This is merely a configuration example and is not restrictive; any configuration method that meets the above principles is feasible. For ease of understanding, Figures 11-16 This illustrates another configuration example of the LIS reference signal for multiple LISs when the LIS reference signal is an uncoded / unbeamshaped reference signal. Specifically, in... Figure 13 , Figure 14 and Figure 16In the example, each row represents a reference signal block with fewer than 6 reflected beam directions, meaning that it is not possible to scan all reflected beam directions of the LIS at once. In this case, two reference signal blocks can be sent consecutively to represent different reflected beam directions in different time slots to complete the scanning of all reflected beam directions.

[0071] In another example, the LIS reference signal is a precoded / beamforming reference signal, with LIS reference signals for different LISs overlapping in the time domain. Because the LIS reference signal is digitally precoded, each OFDM symbol can have a different subcarrier. The base station can directionally transmit the corresponding LIS reference signal based on the location of each LIS, and the UE can distinguish LIS reference signals from different LISs based on the subcarrier. In other words, in this case, the LIS reference signals of different LISs can overlap in the time domain, thus providing greater configuration flexibility.

[0072] Figure 17 An example of LIS reference signals configured for three LISs is shown, where the LIS reference signal is a precoded / beamforming reference signal. The 4th row of subcarriers is assigned to LIS 1, the 7th row to LIS 2, and the 10th row to LIS 3. That is, the LIS reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of the OFDM symbol, and the REs occupied in each row overlap in the time domain. Different columns of each row are assigned to different reflection beam directions of the corresponding LIS, assuming the LIS has… Figure 8 The reflected beam direction distribution shown is as follows: for example, the fourth column of the fourth row, the seventh row, and the tenth row are respectively assigned to beam 1 of LIS 1, beam 1 of LIS 2, and beam 1 of LIS 3, and so on.

[0073] Figure 18 It shows Figure 17 The transmission example of the LIS reference signal is similar; the LIS reference signal is first sent by the base station to the corresponding LIS, and then the LIS sends a reflected beam with a reflection beam direction corresponding to the LIS reference signal to the UE. For example... Figure 18 As shown, the base station simultaneously transmits LIS reference signals for LIS 1, LIS 2, and LIS 3 on different subcarriers (subcarriers 4, 7, and 10), and the reflected beam direction is beam 1 for all of them. Type ID = 1 indicates that the reference signal is precoded / beamshaped.

[0074] It should be understood that Figure 17 This is merely a configuration example and is not restrictive; any configuration method that meets the above principles is feasible. For ease of understanding, Figures 19-23Another configuration example of LIS reference signals of multiple LISs is shown in the case where LIS reference signals are precoding / beamformed reference signals. Among them, in the example of Figures 20-23 The LIS reference signals of multiple LISs are partially overlapped in the time domain.

[0075] As described above, the communication unit 102 transmits LIS reference signals according to the configuration information of the LIS reference signals, while the base station controls the reflection beam directions of each LIS in turn to obtain the desired reflection beam to perform base station-LIS-UE downlink beam sweeping. The UE measures the received signal strength of the corresponding LIS reference signal in turn and feeds back the measurement result to the base station. The base station selects an appropriate channel for the UE based on the measurement result to perform LIS-assisted communication.

[0076] As an example, the communication unit 102 can be configured to obtain, from the target UE, for each LIS in the LIS set, information of a reflection beam direction from which the target UE receives the maximum signal strength from the LIS.

[0077] Specifically, the target UE measures the LIS reference signals of each reflection beam direction from each LIS, and uses P n,k,i to represent that the target UE k receives the signal strength from the i-th reflection beam direction of the LIS n, the reflection beam direction i n,k,opt from which the maximum signal strength is received from the LIS n (i.e., the optimal reflection beam direction) is determined by the following formula:

[0078]

[0079] where P N is the noise power, n is the ID of the LIS in the LIS set L k , k is the ID of the target UE, and i is the reflection beam ID.

[0080] In addition, the communication unit 102 is also configured to obtain, from each UE in at least part of the other UEs in the set of available service UEs except the target UE, for each LIS in the LIS set, information of a reflection beam direction from which the UE receives a signal strength that meets the communication quality requirement.

[0081] The other UEs k' (k'≠k) in the set of available service UEs S k may determine the set of reflection beam directions that meet its communication quality requirement as follows:

[0082]

[0083] where i n,k′a set of reflection beam directions of LIS n satisfying the communication quality requirement of UE k' n,k′,i a signal strength for UE k' received from the i-th reflection beam direction of LIS n for the UE k' n,m,i a signal strength for other UEs than UE k' received from the i-th reflection beam direction of LIS n for the UE k' min,k′ a minimum value of SINR required to satisfy the communication quality requirement of UE k'.

[0084] If all reflection beams of one LIS cannot satisfy the communication quality requirement of UE k', the UE k' can not report for this LIS. If all reflection beams of all LIS cannot satisfy the communication quality requirement of UE k', the UE k' can not report the measurement results and continue to maintain direct communication with the base station.

[0085] For example, the measurement results reported by the UE can include the identification (ID) of the LIS and the ID of the reflection beam direction, which, for the target UE, indicates the optimal reflection beam direction of the LIS in the set of LISs, and for other UEs, indicates the LIS and the reflection beam direction of the LIS that satisfy their communication quality requirements.

[0086] Alternatively, the measurement results reported by the UE can include the time-frequency resource location of the LIS reference signal, since the time-frequency resource location of the LIS reference signal corresponds to the reflection beam direction of the LIS, the determination unit 101 can determine the corresponding LIS and reflection beam direction based on the time-frequency resource location.

[0087] After the communication unit 102 obtains the above information, the determination unit 101 is configured to determine the specific LIS-assisted communication mode based on the measurement results, for example, to determine one or more LISs to be used in LIS-assisted communication of the target UE and the reflection beam direction of each LIS. The determination unit 101 is also configured to determine the associated user set of the target UE based on the measurement results, wherein the determined one or more LISs also serve the UEs in the associated user set. In this way, LIS-assisted cooperative transmission based on multiple LISs between multiple UEs can be achieved, avoiding interference between UEs.

[0088] For example, the determination unit 101 can be configured to take the reflection beam direction of each LIS reported by the target UE as the reflection beam direction of the LIS to be used in LIS-assisted communication, and take the UE whose signal strength received in the reflection beam direction of the LIS satisfies the communication quality requirement as the UE in the associated user set of the target UE, and the LIS also serves the UEs in the associated user set.

[0089] Reference is made below Figure 24 An example of the determining unit 101 determining a specific LIS-assisted communication mode is given. Figure 24 A scenario diagram of LIS 1 and LIS 2 and UEs in their coverage is shown. Among them, UE k is the target UE, the available LIS set includes LIS 1 and LIS 2, and the available serving UE set includes UE1-UE5 and UE k. After the base station provides the UE with the reference signal configuration information of LIS 1 and LIS 2, it sends LIS reference signals to the UE via the corresponding LIS. The UE measures the LIS reference signals for each reflection beam direction from each LIS and reports them in the above-mentioned manner. Among them, UE 4 and UE 5 do not detect reflection beams that meet their communication quality requirements, so they do not report.

[0090] The measurement results reported by the target UE k and other UEs 1-3 are represented in the following tables. Table 1 shows the measurement results of these UEs for each reflection beam direction of LIS 1. Table 2 shows the measurement results of these UEs for each reflection beam direction of LIS 2.

[0091] Table 1

[0092] LIS 1 Beam 1 Beam 2 Beam 3 Beam 4 Beam 5 Beam 6 UE 1 √ √ UE 2 √ √ √ UE 3 √ √ UE k √

[0093] Table 2

[0094] LIS 2 Beam 1 Beam 2 Beam 3 Beam 4 Beam 5 Beam 6 UE 1 √ √ √ UE 2 √ √ √ UE 3 √ √ UE k √

[0095] As shown in Table 1, the optimal reflection beam direction of LIS 1 fed back by the target UE is beam 2, so the determining unit 101 determines beam 2 of LIS 1 as the reflection beam direction to be used. At the same time, beam 2 is also included in the reflection beam directions of LIS 1 that meet the communication quality requirements fed back by UE 2 and UE 3, so the determining unit 101 determines UE2, UE3 and UE k as the associated user set of LIS 1, and LIS 1 serves the UEs in the associated user set.

[0096] Similarly, as shown in Table 2, the optimal reflection beam direction of LIS 2 fed back by the target UE is beam 5, so the determining unit 101 determines beam 5 of LIS 2 as the reflection beam direction to be used. At the same time, beam 5 is also included in the reflection beam directions of LIS 2 that meet the communication quality requirements fed back by UE 1, so the determining unit 101 determines UE1 and UE k as the associated user set of LIS 2, and LIS 2 serves the UEs in the associated user set.

[0097] In this way, LIS 1 serves UE 2, UE 3 and UE k, and LIS 2 serves UE 1 and UE k, thereby realizing the cooperative transmission mode of multiple LISs serving multiple UEs.

[0098] Next, the base station and the UE perform LIS-assisted communication transmission. For example, the base station transmits a directional beam to the determined set of LISs, and the communication unit 102 is further configured to provide control information to one or more LISs in the set of LISs to cause the respective LISs to reflect the incident beam in the determined reflected beam direction. That is, the base station controls the reflection phase of the respective LISs through the control information.

[0099] In summary, the electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment configures the base station and the UE in the LIS-assisted communication mode with a dedicated LIS reference signal, thereby realizing accurate channel measurement in the LIS-assisted communication mode, and further realizing the cooperative transmission mode of multiple LISs and multiple UEs to avoid or mitigate inter-UE interference. Since the LIS is a passive device, the overhead can be reduced, and energy-saving and green communication can be realized. In addition, through LIS-assisted communication, the problem of communication blind spots in the cell is solved.

[0100] <Second Embodiment>

[0101] Figure 25 A functional module block diagram of an electronic device 200 according to another embodiment of the present application is shown as follows. Figure 25 As shown, the electronic device 200 includes a communication unit 201 configured to obtain configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in a LIS-assisted communication mode from a base station, and a measurement unit 202 configured to perform measurement of the LIS reference signal based on the configuration information.

[0102] The communication unit 201 and the measurement unit 202 can be implemented by one or more processing circuits, which can be implemented as a chip, a processor, for example. It should be understood that each functional unit in the electronic device shown in Figure 25

[0103] ​The electronic device 200 may, for example, be disposed at a UE side or communicatively connected to a UE. It should also be noted here that the electronic device 200 may, for example, be implemented in a chip level or in a device level. For example, the electronic device 200 may, for example, work as a UE itself and further include external devices such as a memory, a transceiver (not shown in the figure) and the like. The memory may, for example, be used to store programs and related data information required by the user equipment to implement various functions. The transceiver may, for example, include one or more communication interfaces to support communication with different devices (e.g., a base station, other user equipment and the like), and the implementation form of the transceiver is not specifically limited here.

[0104] As described in the first embodiment, the LIS assisted communication mode may, for example, be determined by the base station to be applied by the target UE, or triggered by the target UE to be applied. In the following, for the convenience of distinction, the UE determined to apply the LIS assisted communication mode or requested to apply the LIS assisted communication mode is referred to as the target UE.

[0105] In the former case, the communication unit 201 may, for example, be configured to send information such as CQI of the communication quality of the target UE to the base station, so that the base station determines the target UE to apply the LIS assisted communication mode when the communication quality of the target UE falls below a predetermined threshold. In addition, the communication unit 201 may, for example, also send the priority of the target UE to the base station, so that the base station may, for example, also take the priority of the target UE into account when determining whether the target UE applies the LIS assisted communication mode. For example, when the priority of the target UE is high, the base station increases the possibility of applying the LIS assisted communication mode.

[0106] In the latter case, for example, the communication unit 201 may, for example, also be configured to send a LIS assistance request to the base station when the communication quality of the target UE is below a predetermined threshold, to indicate to the base station that the target UE requests to apply the LIS assisted communication mode.

[0107] Here, the communication quality of the target UE may, for example, be measured by various QoS indicators such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR and the like.

[0108] As described in the first embodiment, in case that the base station determines that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, the base station determines a set of LISs to be used for the LIS-assisted communication of the target UE and a set of available serving UEs of each LIS in the set of LISs. For example, the set of LISs includes each LIS whose coverage the target UE is located in, and the set of available serving UEs of a LIS includes UEs in the coverage of the LIS. In one example, the communication unit 201 is further configured to send, to the base station, an identification of a LIS whose coverage the target UE is located in, to enable the base station to determine the set of LISs. Of course, the base station can also determine the set of LISs and the set of available serving UEs according to its pre-stored location information of the LISs and location information of each UE. The specific details have been given in the first embodiment and are not repeated here.

[0109] The communication unit 201 obtains, from the base station, configuration information of LIS reference signals related to the LISs in the set of LISs, e.g., through RRC signaling. The configuration information is used to know, for example, how the UE receives and parses the LIS reference signals, how to report the measurement results, etc.

[0110] The measurement unit 202 performs the measurement of the LIS reference signals and the reporting of the measurement results according to the configuration information.

[0111] For example, the configuration information of the LIS reference signals can include one or more of the following: time-frequency resource locations where the LIS reference signals are located, correspondence between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource locations and the LISs, periodic reporting or aperiodic reporting of the measurement results.

[0112] Through the configuration information, the UE is able to know on which time-frequency resources to receive the LIS reference signals, from which LIS the received LIS reference signals come from and further from which reflection beam direction of the LIS, and whether to periodically report the measurement results or aperiodically report the measurement results. In other words, the correspondence between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource locations and the LISs can further include a correspondence between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource locations and reflection beam directions of different LISs in more details.

[0113] For example, in response to the configuration information, the measurement unit 202 can periodically measure the LIS reference signals, and the communication unit 201 periodically reports the measurement results of the LIS reference signals to the base station.

[0114] In addition, the communication unit 201 can further obtain, from the base station, triggering signaling for reporting the measurement results of the LIS reference signals, the measurement unit 202 measures the LIS reference signals aperiodically in response to the triggering signaling, and the communication unit 201 reports the aperiodic measurement results of the LIS reference signals.

[0115] For example, the LIS reference signals can be configured as follows: LIS reference signals for different LISs are distinguished in the frequency domain, and LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distinguished in the time domain. That is, LIS reference signals for different LISs occupy different frequency domain resources, and LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS occupy different time domain parts of the frequency domain resources of the LIS.

[0116] For example, the reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of an OFDM symbol, and LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distributed on different resource elements (REs) of the same subcarrier of the OFDM.

[0117] In one example, the LIS reference signals are unprecoded / unbeamformed reference signals, and LIS reference signals for different LISs do not overlap in the time domain. In this case, since the LIS reference signals are omnidirectional and can be reflected by multiple LISs at the same time, LIS reference signals for different LISs should be allocated different time durations to enable the UE to distinguish LIS reference signals from different LISs.

[0118] In another example, the LIS reference signals are precoded / beamformed reference signals, and LIS reference signals for different LISs overlap in the time domain. Since the LIS reference signals are digitally precoded, each OFDM symbol can have different subcarriers, and the base station can transmit the corresponding LIS reference signals according to the location of each LIS, and the UE can distinguish LIS reference signals from different LISs according to the subcarriers. In other words, in this case, LIS reference signals for different LISs can overlap in the time domain, thereby having higher configuration flexibility.

[0119] In the first embodiment, reference has been made to Figures 9 to 23 The configuration of the LIS reference signals is described in detail and will not be repeated here.

[0120] The base station transmits LIS reference signals according to the configuration information of the LIS reference signals, and at the same time, controls the reflection beam directions of each LIS in turn to obtain the desired reflection beam to perform downlink beam sweeping of the base station-LIS-UE. The UE measures the received signal strength of the corresponding LIS reference signals in turn and feeds back the measurement results to the base station. The base station selects an appropriate channel for the UE based on the measurement results to perform LIS-assisted communication.

[0121] As an example, in the case that the UE is a target UE, the measurement unit 202 is configured to measure the reception strength of the LIS reference signals corresponding to different reflection beam directions of different LISs, determine the reflection beam direction corresponding to the maximum reception strength for each LIS, and the communication unit 201 reports the LIS and the information of the determined reflection beam direction to the base station.

[0122] In the case that the UE is a non-target UE, for example, other UEs in the set of available service UEs, the measurement unit 202 is configured to measure the reception strength of the LIS reference signals corresponding to different reflection beam directions of different LISs, determine the reflection beam direction of the LIS satisfying the communication quality requirement of the UE, and the communication unit 201 reports the LIS and the information of the determined reflection beam direction to the base station.

[0123] It can be understood that if all reflection beams of a LIS cannot satisfy the communication quality requirement of the UE, the UE can not report for the LIS. If all reflection beams of all LISs cannot satisfy the communication quality requirement of the UE, the UE can not report the measurement results, but continue to maintain direct communication with the base station.

[0124] For example, the measurement results reported by the communication unit 201 can include the identification (ID) of the LIS and the ID of the reflection beam direction. For example, for a target UE, the measurement results represent the optimal reflection beam direction of the LIS in the set of LISs, and for other UEs, the measurement results represent the LIS and the reflection beam direction of the LIS satisfying the communication quality requirement thereof.

[0125] Alternatively, the measurement results reported by the UE can include the time-frequency resource position of the LIS reference signal, since the time-frequency resource position of the LIS reference signal corresponds to the reflection beam direction of the LIS, the base station can determine the corresponding LIS and reflection beam direction based on the time-frequency resource position.

[0126] After the base station obtains the above information, the base station determines the specific LIS-assisted communication mode based on the measurement results, for example, determines one or more LISs to be used in the LIS-assisted communication of the target UE and the reflection beam direction of each LIS. The base station also determines the associated user set of the target UE based on the measurement results, wherein the determined one or more LISs also serve the UEs in the associated user set. In this way, LIS-assisted cooperative transmission based on multiple LISs among multiple UEs can be achieved, avoiding interference between UEs.

[0127] Finally, not only the target UE but all UEs in the associated user set perform LIS-assisted transmission, avoiding interference between UEs. It should be understood that the above description does not exclude the case that only the target UE is included in the associated user set.

[0128] In summary, the electronic device 200 according to the embodiment acquires the LIS reference signals specially configured for the base station and the UE in the LIS-assisted communication mode, so as to realize accurate channel measurement in the LIS-assisted communication mode, and further realize the coordinated transmission mode of multiple LISs and multiple UEs, so as to avoid or mitigate the interference between UEs. Since the LIS is a passive device, the overhead can be reduced, and energy-saving and green communication can be realized. In addition, through the LIS-assisted communication, the problem of communication blind spots in the cell is solved.

[0129] For ease of understanding, Figure 26 A schematic diagram showing one example of the information flow between the base station (gNB), the LIS and the UE is shown, and it should be noted that the UE here represents the target UE and the set of other UEs. First, the target UE detects that its QoS has fallen below a predetermined threshold, and therefore sends a LIS assistance request to the gNB. After receiving the LIS assistance request, the gNB determines to start LIS-assisted communication. The gNB determines the LIS set for the target UE and the set of available service UEs according to the location information of the target UE and the other UEs and the pre-stored location information of the LIS, and sends the configuration information of the LIS reference signal to the UEs in the set of available service UEs. In addition, in the case of non-periodic reporting, the base station also sends the triggering signaling of reporting the measurement results to the UE. Then, the gNB sends the directional beam carrying the LIS reference signal to the LIS according to the configuration information and controls the reflection beam direction of the LIS through the control information. After receiving the passive reflection beam from the LIS, the UE performs measurement, and determines the LIS ID and the beam ID to be reported based on the measurement results, and it should be understood that the corresponding time-frequency resource position can also be reported. As mentioned earlier, the measurement results reported by the target UE indicate the optimal reflection beam direction of each LIS for the target UE, and the measurement results reported by the other UEs indicate the reflection beam direction of the LIS that meets the communication quality requirements of the UEs. The base station determines the specific assistance transmission mode based on the obtained measurement results, i.e., which reflection beam direction of the LIS is used and which associated user set will be simultaneously served by these LISs. Then, the base station provides LIS-assisted communication for the UEs in the associated user set using the specific assistance transmission mode, which is realized by signal transmission and reflection beam control to the related LIS.

[0130] It should be understood that Figure 26 This is only one example and is not limiting.

[0131] <Third Embodiment>

[0132] In the processes for electronic devices for wireless communication described in the embodiments above, some processes or methods are also implicitly disclosed. Hereinafter, a summary of these methods is given without repeating some details already discussed above, but it should be noted that, although these methods are disclosed in the context of processes for electronic devices for wireless communication, these methods are not necessarily implemented with or by the components described. For example, embodiments of electronic devices for wireless communication can be partially or entirely implemented using hardware and / or firmware, while the methods for wireless communication discussed below can be entirely implemented by computer-executable programs, although these methods can also employ hardware and / or firmware of electronic devices for wireless communication.

[0133] Figure 27a A flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present application is shown, which comprises: determining whether a target UE is to apply a LIS-assisted communication mode (S11); and in a case where it is determined that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, sending configuration information of LIS reference signals for channel state measurement in the LIS-assisted communication mode to the target UE (S12). The method can be performed, for example, at the side of a base station.

[0134] For example, it is determined that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode in a case where the communication quality of the target UE is lower than a predetermined threshold. Alternatively, it is determined that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode in response to a LIS assistance request from the target UE.

[0135] The above step S12 can be implemented, for example, by: in a case where it is determined that the target UE is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, determining a set of LISs to be used for LIS-assisted communication of the target UE and a set of available serving UEs of each LIS in the set of LISs, wherein the set of LISs comprises each LIS within a coverage range of which the target UE is located, and the set of available serving UEs of a LIS comprises UEs within a coverage range of the LIS; and sending configuration information of LIS reference signals related to the LISs in the set of LISs to each UE in the set of available serving UEs.

[0136] For example, the set of LISs and the set of available serving UEs can be determined based on pre-stored location information of the LISs and location information of each UE.

[0137] In addition, one or more of the following can also be obtained from the target UE: the communication quality of the target UE, the identity of the LIS within a coverage range of which the target UE is located, and the priority of the target UE.

[0138] As Figure 27aAs shown in the dashed box in FIG. 13, the method further includes: transmitting, according to the configuration information of the LIS reference signal, the LIS reference signal to each UE via the corresponding LIS (S13), and obtaining the measurement result reported by each UE after measuring the LIS reference signal (S14).

[0139] The LIS reference signal can be periodically transmitted, and the measurement result of the LIS reference signal can be periodically obtained. The trigger signaling for reporting the measurement result of the LIS reference signal can also be transmitted to each UE, and the aperiodic measurement result of the LIS reference signal can be obtained.

[0140] The configuration information of the LIS reference signal can include one or more of the following: the time-frequency resource position of the LIS reference signal, the correspondence between the LIS reference signal at different time-frequency resource positions and the LIS, the periodic reporting or aperiodic reporting of the measurement result.

[0141] For example, the LIS reference signals for different LISs can be distinguished in the frequency domain, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS can be distinguished in the time domain. For example, the LIS reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of an OFDM symbol, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distributed on different resource units of the same subcarrier of an OFDM symbol.

[0142] The LIS reference signal can be an unprecoded / unbeamformed reference signal, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs do not overlap in the time domain. The LIS reference signal can also be a precoded / beamformed reference signal, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs overlap in the time domain.

[0143] In step S14, the target UE can obtain, for each LIS in the LIS set, information of a reflection beam direction from which the target UE receives the maximum signal strength from the LIS. From each UE in at least part of the set of available serving UEs other than the target UE, the information of a reflection beam direction from which the UE receives a signal strength that meets the communication quality requirement can be obtained for each LIS in the LIS set.

[0144] For example, the reflection beam direction of each LIS reported by the target UE can be used as the reflection beam direction of the LIS to be used in LIS-assisted communication, and the UE receiving a signal strength in the reflection beam direction of the LIS that meets the communication quality requirement can be used as a UE in the associated user set of the target UE, wherein the LIS also serves the UEs in the associated user set.

[0145] The measurement result includes, for example, an identity of the LIS and an identity of the reflection beam direction, or includes a time-frequency resource location of the LIS reference signal.

[0146] The method further includes a step S15 of determining, based on the measurement result, one or more LISs to be used in the LIS-assisted communication of the target UE and a reflection beam direction of each of the one or more LISs, and determining, based on the measurement result, an associated user set of the target UE, wherein the one or more LISs also serve the UEs in the associated user set.

[0147] The method further includes providing control information to the one or more LISs to cause each of the one or more LISs to reflect the incident beam in the determined reflection beam direction.

[0148] Figure 27b A flowchart of a method for wireless communication according to another embodiment of the present application is shown, which includes obtaining, from a base station, configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in a LIS-assisted communication mode (S22), and performing measurement of the LIS reference signal based on the configuration information (S23). The method can be performed, for example, at a UE side.

[0149] As shown by the dashed box in the figure, the method can further include a step S21 of sending, to the base station, a LIS assistance request to indicate to the base station that the target UE requests to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, in a case where a communication quality of the target UE is lower than a predetermined threshold.

[0150] In addition, one or more of the following can also be sent to the base station: the communication quality of the target UE, an identity of a LIS within a coverage range of the target UE, a priority of the target UE.

[0151] The configuration information of the LIS reference signal can include one or more of the following: a time-frequency resource location of the LIS reference signal, a correspondence between the LIS reference signal at different time-frequency resource locations and a LIS, a periodic or aperiodic reporting of the measurement result.

[0152] The method can further include a step S24 of reporting the measurement result to the base station.

[0153] In step S23, the LIS reference signal can be measured periodically, and the measurement result of the LIS reference signal is reported to the base station periodically in S24. Alternatively, a trigger signaling for reporting the measurement result of the LIS reference signal can also be obtained from the base station, the LIS reference signal is measured aperiodically in response to the trigger signaling, and the aperiodic measurement result of the LIS reference signal is reported in S24.

[0154] For example, LIS reference signals for different LISs can be distinguished in the frequency domain, and LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS can be distinguished in the time domain. For example, LIS reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of an OFDM symbol, and LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distributed on different resource elements of the same subcarrier of the OFDM symbol.

[0155] The LIS reference signal can be a non-precoded / non-beamformed reference signal, and LIS reference signals for different LISs do not overlap in the time domain. The LIS reference signal can also be a precoded / beamformed reference signal, and LIS reference signals for different LISs overlap in the time domain.

[0156] For the target UE, the reception strengths of the LIS reference signals corresponding to different reflection beam directions of different LISs are measured in step S23, the reflection beam direction corresponding to the maximum reception strength is determined for each LIS, and the LIS and the information of the determined reflection beam direction are reported to the base station in step S24.

[0157] For other UEs, the reception strengths of the LIS reference signals corresponding to different reflection beam directions of different LISs are measured in step S23, the reflection beam direction of the LIS satisfying the communication quality requirement of the UE is determined, and the LIS and the information of the reflection beam direction are reported to the base station in step S24.

[0158] The measurement result includes, for example, the identification of the LIS and the identification of the reflection beam direction, or the time-frequency resource position of the LIS reference signal.

[0159] Note that the above-mentioned various methods can be used in combination or individually, and the details have been described in the first to second embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0160] The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to various products.

[0161] For example, the electronic device 100 can be implemented as various base stations. The base station can be implemented as any type of evolved Node B (eNB) or gNB (5G base station). The eNB includes, for example, a macro eNB and a small eNB. The small eNB can be an eNB for a small cell whose coverage is smaller than that of a macro cell, such as a pico eNB, a micro eNB, and a home (femto) eNB. The similar situation can be applied to the gNB. Alternatively, the base station can be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a NodeB and a base transceiver station (BTS). The base station can include a main body (also referred to as a base station device) configured to control wireless communication, and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) disposed at a different place from the main body. In addition, various types of user devices can operate as a base station by temporarily or semi-persistently performing a base station function.

[0162] The electronic device 200 can be implemented as various user devices. The user device can be implemented as a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable / dongle type mobile router, and a digital camera device) or a vehicle-mounted terminal (such as a car navigation device). The user device can also be implemented as a terminal (also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal) that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. In addition, the user device can be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single wafer) installed on each of the above-described terminals.

[0163] [Application Examples Regarding Base Station]

[0164] (First Application Example)

[0165] Figure 28 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. Note that the following description takes the eNB as an example, but the same applies to the gNB. The eNB 800 includes one or more antennas 810 and a base station device 820. The base station device 820 and each antenna 810 can be connected to each other via an RF cable.

[0166] Each of the antennas 810 includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (such as a plurality of antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna), and functions to transmit and receive a wireless signal for the base station device 820. As Figure 28 indicated, the eNB 800 can include a plurality of antennas 810. For example, the plurality of antennas 810 can be compatible with a plurality of frequency bands used by the eNB 800. Although Figure 28 An example is shown in which the eNB 800 includes a plurality of antennas 810, but the eNB 800 can also include a single antenna 810.

[0167] The base station device 820 includes a controller 821, a memory 822, a network interface 823, and a wireless communication interface 825.

[0168] The controller 821 can be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of a higher layer of the base station device 820. For example, the controller 821 generates data packets from data in a signal processed by the wireless communication interface 825, and transfers the generated packets via the network interface 823. The controller 821 can bundle data from a plurality of baseband processors to generate bundled packets, and transfer the generated bundled packets. The controller 821 can have a logical function of performing control such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. The control can be performed in conjunction with a nearby eNB or a core network node. The memory 822 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 821 and various types of control data such as a terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data.

[0169] The network interface 823 is a communication interface for connecting the base station device 820 to the core network 824. The controller 821 can communicate with a core network node or another eNB via the network interface 823. In this case, the eNB 800 and the core network node or the other eNB can be connected to each other by a logical interface such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface. The network interface 823 can also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for a wireless backhaul line. If the network interface 823 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 823 can use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than a frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 825.

[0170] The wireless communication interface 825 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cell of eNB 800 via antenna 810. The wireless communication interface 825 typically includes, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 826 and RF circuitry 827. The BB processor 826 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and performs various types of signal processing at layers such as L1, Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). Instead of controller 821, the BB processor 826 may have some or all of the above-described logical functions. The BB processor 826 may be a memory storing communication control programs, or a module including a processor and associated circuitry configured to execute programs. Updates can change the functionality of the BB processor 826. The module may be a card or blade inserted into a slot in base station equipment 820. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on a card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 827 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 810.

[0171] like Figure 28 As shown, the wireless communication interface 825 may include multiple BB processors 826. For example, the multiple BB processors 826 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 800. Figure 28 As shown, the wireless communication interface 825 may include multiple RF circuits 827. For example, the multiple RF circuits 827 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although Figure 28 An example is shown in which the wireless communication interface 825 includes multiple BB processors 826 and multiple RF circuits 827, but the wireless communication interface 825 may also include a single BB processor 826 or a single RF circuit 827.

[0172] exist Figure 28 In the eNB 800 shown, the communication unit 102 and transceiver of the electronic device 100 can be implemented by the wireless communication interface 825. At least a portion of the functions can also be implemented by the controller 821. For example, the controller 821 can configure the LIS reference signal for the UE, complete the measurement and reporting of the LIS reference signal, and determine the specific LIS-assisted communication mode based on the measurement results to realize collaborative LIS-assisted communication among multiple UEs by executing the functions of the determination unit 101 and the communication unit 102.

[0173] (Second application example)

[0174] Figure 29is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB or gNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. Note that, similarly, the following description takes the eNB as an example, but is equally applicable to the gNB. The eNB 830 includes one or plural antennas 840, a base station device 850, and RRHs 860. The RRHs 860 and each of the antennas 840 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base station device 850 and the RRHs 860 can be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable.

[0175] Each of the antennas 840 includes a single or plural antenna elements (such as plural antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and functions to transmit and receive a radio signal by the RRH 860. As Figure 29 indicated, the eNB 830 can include plural antennas 840. For example, the plural antennas 840 can be compatible with plural frequency bands used by the eNB 830. Although Figure 29 an example in which the eNB 830 includes plural antennas 840 is shown, the eNB 830 can also include a single antenna 840.

[0176] The base station device 850 includes a controller 851, a memory 852, a network interface 853, a wireless communication interface 855, and a connection interface 857. The controller 851, the memory 852, and the network interface 853 are the same as the controller 821, the memory 822, and the network interface 823 described with reference to Figure 28 the first example.

[0177] The wireless communication interface 855 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless communication to terminals located in a sector corresponding to the RRH 860 via the RRH 860 and the antennas 840. The wireless communication interface 855 can typically include, for example, a BB processor 856. The BB processor 856 is the same as the BB processor 826 described with reference to Figure 28 the first example, except that the BB processor 856 is connected to the RF circuit 864 of the RRH 860 via the connection interface 857. Figure 29 As indicated, the wireless communication interface 855 can include plural BB processors 856. For example, the plural BB processors 856 can be compatible with plural frequency bands used by the eNB 830. Although Figure 29 an example in which the wireless communication interface 855 includes plural BB processors 856 is shown, the wireless communication interface 855 can also include a single BB processor 856.

[0178] The connection interface 857 is an interface for connecting the base station device 850 (the wireless communication interface 855) to the RRH 860. The connection interface 857 can also be a communication module for communication in the high-speed line described above.

[0179] The RRH 860 includes a connection interface 861 and a wireless communication interface 863.

[0180] The connection interface 861 is an interface for connecting the RRH 860 (the wireless communication interface 863) to the base station device 850. The connection interface 861 can also be a communication module for communication in the high-speed line described above.

[0181] The wireless communication interface 863 transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna 840. The wireless communication interface 863 can typically include, for example, an RF circuit 864. The RF circuit 864 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna 840. As Figure 29 The wireless communication interface 863 can include a plurality of RF circuits 864, as shown. For example, the plurality of RF circuits 864 can support a plurality of antenna elements. Although Figure 29 An example is shown in which the wireless communication interface 863 includes a plurality of RF circuits 864, but the wireless communication interface 863 can also include a single RF circuit 864.

[0182] In the eNB 830 shown in Figure 29 The communication unit 102 transceiver of the electronic device 100 can be implemented by the wireless communication interface 855 and / or the wireless communication interface 863 in the eNB 830 shown. At least a part of the functions can also be implemented by the controller 851. For example, the controller 851 can configure the LIS reference signal for the UE, complete the measurement and reporting of the LIS reference signal, and determine the specific LIS assisted communication mode based on the measurement result, and implement the cooperative LIS assisted communication of multiple UEs by performing the functions of the determination unit 101 and the communication unit 102.

[0183] [Application Example Regarding User Equipment]

[0184] (First Application Example)

[0185] Figure 30is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 900 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The smartphone 900 includes a processor 901, a memory 902, a storage 903, an external connection interface 904, a camera 906, a sensor 907, a microphone 908, an input device 909, a display device 910, a speaker 911, a wireless communication interface 912, one or more antenna switches 915, one or more antennas 916, a bus 917, a battery 918, and an auxiliary controller 919.

[0186] The processor 901 can be, for example, a CPU or a system on chip (SoC), and controls functions of the application layer and the other layers of the smartphone 900. The memory 902 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 901. The storage 903 can include a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk. The external connection interface 904 is an interface for connecting an external device such as a memory card and a universal serial bus (USB) device to the smartphone 900.

[0187] The camera 906 includes an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image. The sensor 907 can include a set of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 908 converts a sound input to the smartphone 900 into an audio signal. The input device 909 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect a touch on a screen of the display device 910, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 910 includes a screen such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, and displays an output image of the smartphone 900. The speaker 911 converts an audio signal output from the smartphone 900 into a sound.

[0188] The wireless communication interface 912 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 912 can typically include, for example, a BB processor 913 and an RF circuit 914. The BB processor 913 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 914 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive a wireless signal via the antenna 916. Note that, although a case where one RF chain is connected to one antenna is shown in the drawing, this is merely illustrative, and a case where one RF chain is connected to a plurality of antennas through a plurality of phase shifters is also included. The wireless communication interface 912 can be one chip module in which the BB processor 913 and the RF circuit 914 are integrated. As Figure 30As shown, the wireless communication interface 912 can include a plurality of BB processors 913 and a plurality of RF circuits 914. Although Figure 30 An example is shown in which the wireless communication interface 912 includes a plurality of BB processors 913 and a plurality of RF circuits 914, but the wireless communication interface 912 can also include a single BB processor 913 or a single RF circuit 914.

[0189] Furthermore, the wireless communication interface 912 can support another type of wireless communication scheme in addition to the cellular communication scheme, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near-field communication scheme, and a wireless local area network (LAN) scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 912 can include a BB processor 913 and an RF circuit 914 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0190] Each of the antenna switches 915 switches a connection destination of the antenna 916 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 912 (for example, circuits for different wireless communication schemes).

[0191] Each of the antennas 916 includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements (such as a plurality of antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna), and is used for the wireless communication interface 912 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As Figure 30 As shown, the smartphone 900 can include a plurality of antennas 916. Although Figure 30 An example is shown in which the smartphone 900 includes a plurality of antennas 916, but the smartphone 900 can also include a single antenna 916.

[0192] Furthermore, the smartphone 900 can include an antenna 916 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 915 can be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 900.

[0193] The bus 917 connects the processor 901, the memory 902, the storage 903, the external connection interface 904, the camera 906, the sensor 907, the microphone 908, the input device 909, the display device 910, the speaker 911, the wireless communication interface 912, and the auxiliary controller 919 to each other. The battery 918 supplies power to each block of the smartphone 900 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a broken line in the figure. The auxiliary controller 919 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 900, for example, in a sleep mode. Figure 30 The feeder line supplies power to each block of the smartphone 900 as shown, and is partially shown as a broken line in the figure. The auxiliary controller 919 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 900, for example, in a sleep mode.

[0194] In Figure 30In the illustrated smartphone 900, the communication unit 201, the transceiver of the electronic device 200 can be implemented by the wireless communication interface 912. At least a part of the functions can also be implemented by the processor 901 or the sub-controller 919. For example, the processor 901 or the sub-controller 919 can receive the LIS reference signal, complete the measurement and reporting of the LIS reference signal, and implement the coordinated LIS assisted communication of multiple UEs by performing the functions of the communication unit 201 and the measurement unit 202.

[0195] (Second application example)

[0196] Figure 31 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 920 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 920 includes a processor 921, a memory 922, a global positioning system (GPS) module 924, a sensor 925, a data interface 926, a content player 927, a storage medium interface 928, an input 929, a display 930, a speaker 931, a wireless communication interface 933, one or more antenna switches 936, one or more antennas 937, and a battery 938.

[0197] The processor 921 can be, for example, a CPU or a SoC, and controls a navigation function and another function of the car navigation device 920. The memory 922 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 921.

[0198] The GPS module 924 measures a position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 920 using a GPS signal received from a GPS satellite. The sensor 925 can include a set of sensors such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 926 is connected to, for example, an in-vehicle network 941 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data (such as vehicle speed data) generated by the vehicle.

[0199] The content player 927 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD and a DVD) that is inserted into the storage medium interface 928. The input 929 includes, for example, a touch sensor configured to detect a touch on a screen of the display 930, a button, or a switch, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display 930 includes a screen such as an LCD or an OLED display, and displays an image of a navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 931 outputs a sound of a navigation function or reproduced content.

[0200] The wireless communication interface 933 supports any cellular communication scheme such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 933 can include, for example, a BB processor 934 and an RF circuit 935 in general. The BB processor 934 can perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 935 can include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 937. The wireless communication interface 933 can also be one chip module in which the BB processor 934 and the RF circuit 935 are integrated. As Figure 31 indicated, the wireless communication interface 933 can include a plurality of BB processors 934 and a plurality of RF circuits 935. Although Figure 31 an example in which the wireless communication interface 933 includes a plurality of BB processors 934 and a plurality of RF circuits 935 is shown, the wireless communication interface 933 can also include a single BB processor 934 or a single RF circuit 935.

[0201] Furthermore, the wireless communication interface 933 can support another type of wireless communication scheme in addition to the cellular communication scheme, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless LAN scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 933 can include a BB processor 934 and an RF circuit 935 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0202] Each of the antenna switches 936 switches a connection destination of the antenna 937 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 933, such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0203] Each of the antennas 937 includes a single or a plurality of antenna elements, such as a plurality of antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna, and is used for the wireless communication interface 933 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As Figure 31 indicated, the car navigation device 920 can include a plurality of antennas 937. Although Figure 31 an example in which the car navigation device 920 includes a plurality of antennas 937 is shown, the car navigation device 920 can also include a single antenna 937.

[0204] Furthermore, the car navigation device 920 can include an antenna 937 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 936 can be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 920.

[0205] The battery 938 supplies power to Figure 31 various blocks of the car navigation device 920 shown via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a broken line in the figure. The battery 938 accumulates power supplied from the vehicle.

[0206] In Figure 31 In the illustrated car navigation device 920, the communication unit 201, the transceiver of the electronic device 200 can be implemented by the wireless communication interface 933. At least a part of the functions can also be implemented by the processor 921. For example, the processor 921 can receive the LIS reference signal, complete the measurement and reporting of the LIS reference signal, and implement the coordinated LIS assisted communication of multiple UEs by performing the functions of the communication unit 201 and the measurement unit 202.

[0207] The technology of the present disclosure can also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 940 including the car navigation device 920, the in-vehicle network 941, and one or more blocks in the vehicle module 942. The vehicle module 942 generates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information, and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 941.

[0208] The basic principles of the present disclosure are described above in connection with specific embodiments, but it should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, it can be understood that all or any steps or components of the method and apparatus of the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, using the basic circuit design knowledge or basic programming skills of those skilled in the art after reading the description of the present disclosure.

[0209] Moreover, the present disclosure also proposes a program product storing machine-readable instruction codes. The instruction codes are read and executed by a machine to perform the above-mentioned method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0210] Correspondingly, the storage medium for carrying the above-mentioned program product storing machine-readable instruction codes is also included in the disclosure of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes but is not limited to floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, etc.

[0211] In the case of implementing the present disclosure by software or firmware, the programs constituting the software are installed from the storage medium or the network to the computer with a special hardware structure (for example Figure 32 The illustrated general-purpose computer 3200) which can perform various functions when various programs are installed.

[0212] In Figure 32In the central processing unit (CPU) 3201, various processes are executed according to a program stored in a read only memory (ROM) 3202 or a program loaded from the storage section 3208 to a random access memory (RAM) 3203. In the RAM 3203, data required when the CPU 3201 executes various processes and the like is also stored as necessary. The CPU 3201, the ROM 3202, and the RAM 3203 are connected to each other via a bus 3204. An input / output interface 3205 is also connected to the bus 3204.

[0213] The following components are connected to the input / output interface 3205: an input section 3206 (including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like), an output section 3207 (including a display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker, and the like), a storage section 3208 (including a hard disk and the like), a communication section 3209 (including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, and the like). The communication section 3209 performs a communication process via a network such as the Internet. A drive 3210 can also be connected to the input / output interface 3205 as necessary. A removable medium 3211 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like is mounted on the drive 3210 as necessary, so that a computer program read therefrom is installed in the storage section 3208 as necessary.

[0214] In a case where the above series of processes are implemented by software, a program constituting the software is installed from a network such as the Internet or a storage medium such as the removable medium 3211.

[0215] It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that such storage media are not limited to the Figure 32 The removable medium 3211 shown is one in which a program is stored, and is distributed separately from an apparatus to provide the program to a user. Examples of the removable medium 3211 include a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk (registered trademark)), a magneto-optical disk (including a mini disk (MD) (registered trademark)), and a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, the storage medium can be the ROM 3202, a hard disk included in the storage section 3208, and the like, in which a program is stored, and which is distributed to the user together with an apparatus including them.

[0216] It is also to be noted that, in the apparatus, method, and system of the present disclosure, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered as equivalents of the present disclosure. Also, the steps of executing the above series of processes can naturally be executed in a time series in the order of explanation, but do not necessarily have to be executed in a time series. Some steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other.

[0217] Finally, it is to be understood that the term "including", "comprising", and variations thereof, as used in this detailed description and in the claims, are intended to be broad and encompass the terms "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of", and variations thereof. Stated otherwise, the term "including" and variations thereof are used in the detailed description and the claims in the sense of "including, but not limited to", and are intended to cover the terms "consisting of" and "consisting essentially of", and variations thereof. Furthermore, the term "consisting essentially of" and variations thereof are used in the sense of "including substantially" and are intended to cover the term "including", "including but not limited to", and variations thereof. In addition, the phrase "consisting of" and variations thereof when used herein are intended to be interpreted as "consisting of" and not "consisting essentially of" or "including" or "including but not limited to" unless otherwise indicated.

[0218] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, it should be understood that the above-described implementations are merely for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Various modifications and changes can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is defined only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: determine whether a target user equipment is to apply a large intelligent surface, LIS, assisted communication mode; and in a case where it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, send configuration information of LIS reference signals for channel state measurement in the LIS assisted communication mode to the target user equipment; wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, in a case where it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, determine a set of LISs to be used for LIS assisted communication of the target user equipment and a set of user equipments available to each of the LISs in the set of LISs, the set of LISs comprising each of the LISs within a coverage range of the target user equipment, and send configuration information of LIS reference signals related to the LISs in the set of LISs to each of the user equipments in the set of user equipments available to the LIS. The processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode in a case where a communication quality of the target user equipment is lower than a predetermined threshold. 2.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to determine that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode in response to a LIS assistance request from the target user equipment. 3.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to send the LIS reference signals to the user equipments via the corresponding LISs according to the configuration information of the LIS reference signals, and obtain measurement results reported by the user equipments on the LIS reference signals.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to periodically send the LIS reference signals and periodically obtain the measurement results of the LIS reference signals.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to send triggering signaling to the user equipments to report the measurement results of the LIS reference signals, and obtain aperiodic measurement results of the LIS reference signals.

6. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein, The configuration information of the LIS reference signals comprises one or more of the following: time-frequency resource positions of the LIS reference signals, a correspondence between the LIS reference signals at different time-frequency resource positions and the LISs, periodic reporting or aperiodic reporting of the measurement results.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The LIS reference signals for different LISs are distinguished in a frequency domain, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of a same LIS are distinguished in a time domain.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The LIS reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM, symbol, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of a same LIS are distributed on different resource elements of a same subcarrier of the OFDM symbol.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein, The LIS reference signals are unprecoded / unbeamformed reference signals, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs do not overlap in the time domain. 10.The electronic device of claim 8, wherein, The LIS reference signals are precoded / beamformed reference signals, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs overlap in the time domain. 11.The electronic device of claim 8, wherein, ​ 12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to obtain, from the target user equipment, one or more of: a communication quality of the target user equipment, an identity of an LIS within a coverage range of the target user equipment, a priority of the target user equipment.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to determine the set of LISs and the set of available serving user equipment based on pre-stored location information of the LISs and location information of respective user equipment. 14.The electronic device of claim 4, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to obtain, from the target user equipment, for each of the set of LISs, information of a reflected beam direction from which the target user equipment receives a maximum signal strength from the LIS.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to obtain, from each of at least part of other user equipment in the set of available serving user equipment except the target user equipment, for each of the set of LISs, information of a reflected beam direction from which the user equipment receives a signal strength satisfying a communication quality requirement.

16. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein, The measurement result includes an identity of an LIS and an identity of a reflected beam direction, or includes a time-frequency resource location of an LIS reference signal.

17. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to determine, based on the measurement result, one or more LISs to be used in LIS-assisted communication of the target user equipment and a reflected beam direction of each of the one or more LISs, The processing circuitry is further configured to determine, based on the measurement result, an associated user set of the target user equipment, wherein the one or more LISs also serve user equipment in the associated user set.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to provide control information to the one or more LISs to cause each of the one or more LISs to reflect an incident beam in the determined reflected beam direction.

19. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to take each of the reflected beam directions of an LIS reported by the target user equipment as a reflected beam direction of the LIS to be used in LIS-assisted communication, and take user equipment receiving a signal strength satisfying a communication quality requirement in the reflected beam direction of the LIS as user equipment in an associated user set of the target user equipment, wherein the LIS also serves user equipment in the associated user set.

20. An electronic device for wireless communication, comprising: processing circuitry configured to: obtain, from a base station, configuration information of LIS reference signals for channel state measurement in a LIS-assisted communication mode, the LIS reference signals being reference signals related to LISs in a set of LISs for LIS-assisted communication of a target user equipment; and perform measurement of the LIS reference signals based on the configuration information, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to send, to the base station, an identity of an LIS within a coverage range of the target user equipment to cause the base station to determine the set of LISs and a set of available serving user equipment of each of the set of LISs, wherein the set of LISs includes respective LISs within a coverage range of the target user equipment, and the set of available serving user equipment of an LIS includes user equipment within a coverage range of the LIS.

21. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to send, to the base station, a LIS assistance request to indicate to the base station that the target user equipment requests to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, in case that the communication quality of the target user equipment is lower than a predetermined threshold.

22. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to send, to the base station, one or more of the following: the communication quality of the target user equipment, the priority of the target user equipment.

23. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to periodically measure the LIS reference signal and periodically report the measurement result of the LIS reference signal to the base station.

24. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to obtain, from the base station, triggering signaling for reporting the measurement result of the LIS reference signal, and to non-periodically measure the LIS reference signal and report the non-periodic measurement result of the LIS reference signal in response to the triggering signaling.

25. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The configuration information of the LIS reference signal comprises one or more of the following: time-frequency resource location of the LIS reference signal, correspondence between the LIS reference signal at different time-frequency resource locations and LIS, periodic reporting or non-periodic reporting of the measurement result.

26. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The LIS reference signals for different LISs are distinguished in frequency domain, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distinguished in time domain.

27. The electronic device of claim 26, wherein, The LIS reference signals for different LISs are distributed on different subcarriers of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and the LIS reference signals for different reflection beam directions of the same LIS are distributed on different resource elements of the same subcarrier of the OFDM symbol.

28. The electronic device of claim 26, wherein, The LIS reference signal is a non-precoded / non-beamformed reference signal, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs do not overlap in time domain.

29. The electronic device of claim 26, wherein, The LIS reference signal is a precoded / beamformed reference signal, and the LIS reference signals for different LISs overlap in time domain.

30. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to measure the reception strength of the LIS reference signals corresponding to different reflection beam directions of different LISs, determine the reflection beam direction corresponding to the maximum reception strength for each LIS, and report the LIS and the information of the determined reflection beam direction to the base station in association.

31. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is configured to measure the reception strength of the LIS reference signals corresponding to different reflection beam directions of different LISs, determine the reflection beam direction of the LIS that meets the communication quality requirement of the user equipment, and report the LIS and the information of the reflection beam direction to the base station in association.

32. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein, The processing circuitry is further configured to report the measurement result to the base station, wherein the measurement result comprises the identification of the LIS and the identification of the reflection beam direction, or comprises the time-frequency resource location of the LIS reference signal.

33. A method for wireless communication, comprising: determining whether a target user equipment is to apply a large intelligent surface (LIS) assisted communication mode; and in case that it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS assisted communication mode, sending, to the target user equipment, configuration information of a LIS reference signal for channel state measurement in the LIS assisted communication mode. In a case where it is determined that the target user equipment is to apply the LIS-assisted communication mode, a set of LISs to be used for LIS-assisted communication of the target user equipment and a set of available serving user equipments of each LIS in the set of LISs are determined, and configuration information of LIS reference signals related to the LISs in the set of LISs is sent to each user equipment in the set of available serving user equipments, wherein the set of LISs includes each LIS within a coverage range of the target user equipment, and the set of available serving user equipments of a LIS includes user equipments within a coverage range of the LIS.

34. A method for wireless communication, comprising: obtaining, from a base station, configuration information of LIS reference signals for channel state measurement in a LIS-assisted communication mode, the LIS reference signals being reference signals related to LISs in a set of LISs for LIS-assisted communication of a target user equipment; and performing measurement of the LIS reference signals based on the configuration information, wherein the method further comprises sending, to the base station, an identification of a LIS within a coverage range of the target user equipment, so that the base station determines the set of LISs and a set of available serving user equipments of each LIS in the set of LISs, wherein the set of LISs includes each LIS within a coverage range of the target user equipment, and the set of available serving user equipments of a LIS includes user equipments within a coverage range of the LIS.

35. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, perform a method for wireless communication according to claim 33 or 34.

36. A computer program product comprising computer programs / instructions, wherein, The computer program / instructions, when executed by a processor, implement a method for wireless communication according to claim 33 or 34.

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