Positioning Based on Multiple Measurement Reports

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device, a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium for positioning based on multiple measurement reports. In an example embodiment, a first device performs measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals (PRSs) from a set of PRSs. Based on the measurements of the first subset of PRSs, the first device generates a measurement report and sends the measurement report to a second device together with a report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on the measurements of a subset of PRSs from the set of PRSs. In this way, the measurement report latency can be significantly reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications, and more particularly to a device, method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for positioning based on multiple measurement reports. Background Art

[0002] For New Radio (NR) positioning enhancements, higher-precision positioning requirements are provided for new applications and industrial verticals. In Release 17 (Rel-17), general commercial use cases require an accuracy of less than one meter. For Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, the accuracy requirement is below 20 cm. The target latency requirement is less than 100 ms, and for IIoT applications, an order of magnitude of 10 ms is required.

[0003] Latency enhancement is one of the key topics in NR positioning enhancements. To reduce NR positioning latency, more efficient signaling and procedures can be provided for the device to request and report positioning-related information. Positioning-related information can include requests for location information (e.g., including assistance data), reports of location information such as measurement reports, etc. Positioning-related information can also involve downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) and / or uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, activation, or triggering.

[0004] However, the positioning architecture enhancements have not been analyzed to achieve such more efficient signaling and procedures. In addition, it is not addressed whether the location service (LCS) architecture specified in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards (such as 3GPP TS 23.273, etc.) is enhanced. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Generally, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device, method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for positioning based on multiple measurement reports.

[0006] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to perform measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals. The first device is further caused to generate a measurement report based on the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals, and send the measurement report and a report indication to a second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on the measurements on a subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals.

[0007] In a second aspect, a second device is provided, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to receive a measurement report and a report indication from a first device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals. The second device is further caused to determine the position of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report using the report indication.

[0008] In a third aspect, a method is provided. In this method, a first device performs measurements of a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals. Based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals, the first device generates a measurement report and sends the measurement report, together with a report indication, to a second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals.

[0009] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. In this method, a second device receives a measurement report and a report indication from a first device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals. Using the report indication, the second device determines the position of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, a device is provided, which includes components for performing the method according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium including program instructions stored thereon is provided. The instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0012] It should be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the example embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Through the following description, other features of the present disclosure will become readily understandable. Description of the Drawings

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 An example environment in which the example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown;

[0015] Figure 2 A signaling flow according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 3Illustrates an example process of a location service according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 4 Illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 5 Illustrates a flowchart of an example method according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0019] Figure 6 Illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Description

[0021] Now, the principles of the present disclosure will be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that the description of these example embodiments is only for illustration and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, and does not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways than those described below.

[0022] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0023] As used herein, the term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication with each other or with a base station. The communication may involve transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information over the air. In some example embodiments, the UE may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human-machine interaction. For example, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side, the UE may transmit information to the base station according to a predetermined schedule.

[0024] Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, wireless-enabled tablets, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), wireless client devices (CPEs), sensors, metering devices, personal wearable devices such as watches, and / or vehicles capable of communication. For the purpose of discussion, some example embodiments will be described with reference to the UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure.

[0025] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device that can provide services to terminal devices in a communication network. For example, a network device can include a base station. As used herein, the term "base station" (BS) refers to a network device that can provide services to terminal devices in a communication network. A base station can include any suitable device through which a terminal device or UE can access the communication network. Examples of base stations include relays, access points (APs), transmission points (TRPs), Node Bs (NodeB or NB), evolved Node Bs (eNodeB or eNB), New Radio (NR) Node Bs (gNB), remote radio modules (RRUs), radio headers (RHs), remote radio heads (RRHs), and low-power nodes such as femto, pico, etc.

[0026] As used herein, the term "location server" refers to a device that can provide location services. For example, a location server can be implemented separately from a base station as a device in the core network of a communication network, such as an Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC). As another example, a location server can be integrated into a base station as a functional component of the base station.

[0027] As used herein, the term "Positioning Reference Signal" (PRS) refers to any reference signal that can be used for positioning purposes. Examples of PRS can be DL PRS sent by a network device to a terminal device, UL SRS sent by a terminal device to a network device, or other types of other PRSs. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the PRS can be configured in a periodic, semi-periodic, aperiodic, or dynamic manner.

[0028] As used herein, the term "circuitry" can refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0029] (a) A pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0030] (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0031] (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0032] (ii) Any portion of a (multiple) hardware processor with software, including (multiple) digital signal processors, software, and (multiple) memories, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or a server) to perform various functions, and

[0033] (c) One or more hardware circuits and / or one or more processors, such as one or more microprocessors or a portion of one or more microprocessors, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may not be present when not needed for operation.

[0034] The definition of the circuitry is suitable for all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also encompasses implementations of only hardware circuits or processors (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also encompasses a baseband integrated circuit or a processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular base station, or other computing or base stations.

[0035] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "includes" and its variants should be understood as open terms meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other definitions (explicit and implicit) may be included below.

[0036] As used herein, the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, and these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one of the listed terms and all combinations of one or more of them.

[0037] In NR, a latency of less than 100 ms is considered. In addition, some end-to-end latency requirements are provided for user equipment (UE). For example, in Rel-17, the target positioning requirements for commercial use cases are defined as follows:

[0038] · Horizontal position accuracy of [90%] of UEs (<1 m)

[0039] · Vertical position accuracy of [90%] of UEs (<[2 or 3] m)

[0040] End-to-end latency of UE position estimation (<[100ms])

[0041] In Rel-17, the target positioning requirements for IIoT use cases are defined as follows:

[0042] · 90% UE horizontal position accuracy ( <X m)

[0043] -X=[0.2 or 0.5]m

[0044] · [90%] UE vertical position accuracy ( <Y m)

[0045] -Y=[0.2 or 1]m

[0046] End-to-end delay of UE position estimation (<[10ms, 20ms, or 100ms])

[0047] In both general business use cases and IIoT use cases, the physical layer latency of UE position estimation is less than 10ms, which remains for further study (FFS). It should be noted that not all scenarios must meet the target positioning requirement.

[0048] As mentioned above, latency enhancement is one of the key topics in Rel-17 NR positioning enhancement. End-to-end positioning latency includes positioning latency on both the physical layer and the higher layers. Physical layer latency may involve the time period for triggering location measurement and / or reporting, the time span of a PRS (or SRS) instance, the time period for measuring PRS to derive measurement results and report them to the serving NRNodeB (gNB), etc. High-layer latency may involve the time period for receiving measurement results, performing positioning calculations, and sending positioning information to the location client. Therefore, it may be necessary to reduce positioning latency on both the physical layer and the higher layers.

[0049] In the current 3GPP standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) session is used between a location server and a target device to send location requests and responses or to send assistance data to obtain location-related measurements and a location estimate for the target device. A single LPP session is used to support a single location request, such as a Mobile Originated Location Request (MT-LR), a Mobile Terminated Location Request (MO-LR), or a Network Induced Location Request (NI-LR). Multiple LPP sessions may be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests, for example, as required in 3GPP TS 23.271.

[0050] Each LPP session includes one or more LPP transactions, and each LPP transaction performs a single operation regarding capability exchange, auxiliary data transfer, location information transfer, etc. In the evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), the LPP transaction is implemented as an LPP procedure. The initiator of the LPP session usually initiates the first LPP transaction, and subsequent transactions can be initiated by either end. The LPP transactions in a session can occur serially or in parallel. LPP transactions can be indicated at the LPP protocol level with a transaction identifier (ID) to associate messages with each other (such as requests and responses). Messages in a transaction are linked by a common transaction ID.

[0051] For the target UE, it is crucial not only to provide higher positioning accuracy but also to provide lower latency for some use cases (such as IIoT use cases). To reduce the NR positioning latency to meet the lower latency requirements, it is desirable to have more efficient signaling and procedures for the device to report location information such as measurement reports.

[0052] Most positioning techniques (including, for example, timing-based techniques and angle-based techniques) utilize measurements of reference signals. For example, the Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) technique requires the UE to receive the PRS from multiple base stations and then report the measured Time of Arrival (ToA) of the reference signals to the location server in the form of the Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD). Based on the reported information from the UE, the location server can use a multi-literation algorithm to derive the UE's location information and report the result to the location client.

[0053] In the current 3GPP standard, the location server can provide the PRS configuration of the cell list to the UE and expects the UE to report the measurements of all cells that the UE can measure (within the UE's capabilities). Usually, the location server does not know in advance the positioning measurement quality of individual neighbor cells. Therefore, the location server will attempt to configure a sufficient number of neighbor cells for the target UE to meet the positioning performance requirements. For example, in NR, up to 24 neighbor cells belonging to the same or different frequency layers can be configured for the UE for positioning measurements to provide fairly accurate positioning performance. However, due to the large number of measured gNBs, the time length of the PRS measurement will be very long.

[0054] In addition, a large number of PRS resources can be allocated to each gNB, which may further increase the time length of PRS measurement. For example, it may be necessary to measure multiple beams for each gNB, especially for Frequency Range 2 (FR2). A DL PRS resource set can be introduced to facilitate beam scanning of PRS for operations in FR2. For example, if a UE needs to measure 8 cells and the PRS is transmitted from each cell in 8 beams, the UE may need to measure up to 64 PRS resources. In addition, if the UE needs to perform receive (RX) beam scanning on some cells, more PRS measurements will be required.

[0055] Currently, PRS transmissions from multiple gNBs can belong to different PRS occasions. In the current 3GPP standard, the UE will prepare a measurement report after all measurements are completed. For example, slot #1 can be configured for gNBs #1, #2, #3, and #4, and slot #4 can be configured for gNBs #5, #6, #7, and #8. In this case, after slot #4, for example, in slot #6, when all measurements have been completed, the UE will prepare and send a measurement report. Multiple PRS occasions may further delay PRS measurement.

[0056] Therefore, on the one hand, the UE should wait to measure the PRS from all configured cells and then start preparing the data and further report the overall measurement results to the location server in the measurement report. This will result in a physical layer delay on the physical layer. On the other hand, a location server such as the Location Management Function (LMF) will wait to decode and process the measurement results until all components of the measurement report are received, for example, all components with the same LPP transaction ID, which will result in a high layer delay.

[0057] The inventors have noted that although measuring more cells can achieve higher positioning accuracy, measuring a subset of the configured neighbor cells can be sufficient for some use cases with lower accuracy requirements or when higher accuracy requirements have been met by measuring a smaller number of cells. For example, when the UE measures 4 PRSs with higher quality, the accuracy requirements may have been met. Therefore, there is no need to measure additional neighbor cells. However, in the network-originated positioning process, the location service request from the location client is transparent to the target UE, and thus the UE cannot report the measurement results until it has completed the PRS measurement of all configured neighbor cells. This will result in unnecessary delays.

[0058] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an enhanced measurement reporting mechanism to reduce the latency of reporting positioning measurement results. The mechanism allows a device to send multiple measurement reports in response to a received location information request. Specifically, after the device can segment PRS measurements. After performing measurements on a portion of the positioning reference signal (PRS), the device generates and sends a measurement report based on the corresponding measurement results. In the context of the present disclosure, the measurement of a portion or subset of the PRS may also be referred to as a partial measurement, and the corresponding measurement results may also be referred to as partial measurement results.

[0059] This mechanism can be used by a terminal device (such as a UE) or a base station (such as a gNB) to report measurement reports to a location server or other positioning devices. Therefore, the location server can determine the location of the target device based on the partial measurement results without waiting for additional measurement results. In this way, the measurement report latency can be significantly reduced.

[0060] Figure 1 An example environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown.

[0061] Environment 100 (which may be a part of a communication network) includes a first device 110 for performing positioning-related measurements. The first device 110 can be implemented by any suitable device in the communication network. For example, the first device 110 can be implemented by a terminal device such as a UE to measure the DL positioning reference signal. As another example, the first device 110 can be implemented by a base station such as a gNB to measure the UL positioning reference signal such as SRS.

[0062] Environment 100 further includes a second device 120 for performing positioning functions. The second device 120 can be implemented by a location server or an LMF or any other positioning device. In the context of the present disclosure, the location server or the LMF can be implemented as an element separate or physically integrated with a base station such as a gNB. For example, in some example embodiments, the location server or the LMF can be physically integrated with the gNB. In this example, the second device 120 can be implemented by a gNB with location management functions. As another example, the location server or the LMF can be implemented at a core network device such as an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC).

[0063] For discussion purposes only, in some example embodiments, the UE will be used as an example of the first device 110, and the location server will be used as an example of the second device 120.

[0064] It should be understood that the two devices shown in environment 100 are for illustrative purposes only and do not impose any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In some example embodiments, environment 100 may include additional devices, such as a location client, which is used to exchange location service requests and responses with the second device 120. Alternatively or additionally, in an example embodiment where the second device 120 is implemented by a core network device, environment 100 may include an intermediate device (such as a base station), which is used to transmit communications between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0065] In environment 100, the first device 110 and the second device 120 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly via an intermediate device. For example, in an example embodiment where the first device 110 is implemented by a UE and the second device 120 is implemented by a gNB with location management capabilities, the first device 110 and the second device 120 may communicate directly with each other. In an example embodiment where the first device 110 is implemented by a UE and the second device 120 is a location server physically separated from the gNB, the first device 110 may communicate with the second device 120 via the gNB.

[0066] Communications in environment 100 may follow any suitable communication standard or protocol that already exists or will be developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communication technology, including for example Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), Carrier Aggregation (CA), Dual Connectivity (DC), and New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) technologies.

[0067] In various example embodiments, the first device 110 segments PRS measurements to provide more measurement reports to the second device 120. Specifically, the first device 110 may measure a portion of the PRS and provide a measurement report to the second device 120. For example, in an example embodiment where the first device 110 is implemented by a UE, the first device 110 may perform PRS measurements on a portion of the gNBs (not all gNBs) and then generate a measurement report accordingly. Alternatively or additionally, in the case where the first device 110 performs beam scanning, the first device 110 may first measure some wide beams and then generate a corresponding measurement report.

[0068] For example, by segmenting the PRS measurements, the first device 110 can send multiple measurement reports to the second device 120 in one transaction. Thus, the first device 110 can prepare data for the measurement report based on partial PRS measurements without waiting for subsequent PRS measurements, which can significantly reduce the overall latency of PRS measurements and reporting.

[0069] At the second device 120, positioning calculations can be performed based on partial measurement results without waiting for the complete measurement results. Additionally, the second device 120 can provide the positioning information or location information of the first device 110 without waiting for the complete PRS period, which can further reduce the latency of the location service.

[0070] Figure 2 A signaling flow 200 between the first device 110 and the second device 120 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1 to describe the signaling flow 200.

[0071] As Figure 2 shown, the first device 110 performs (205) measurements of a subset of PRSs from a set of PRSs. The set of PRSs can include the PRSs required or desired for positioning calculations. The total number of PRSs to be measured can be configured on the network side. Then, the first device 110 generates (210) a measurement report based on the measurements of the subset of PRSs.

[0072] The subset of positioning reference signals can be selected by the first device 110 from the set of PRSs according to any suitable rule. For example, in an example embodiment where the first device 110 is implemented by a UE, the first device 110 can select one or more gNBs to be measured and measure the PRSs from the selected gNBs. Currently, the PRS transmissions from multiple gNBs can belong to different PRS occasions. Thus, the first device 110 can select the gNBs in chronological order. For example, in a case where slot #1 is configured for gNBs #1, #2, #3, and #4 and slot #4 is configured for gNBs #5, #6, #7, and #8, the first device 110 can prepare a measurement report based on the measurements of gNBs #1, #2, #3, and #4 after slot #1 (e.g., in slot #3). Then, the first device 110 can prepare an additional measurement report based on the measurements of gNBs #5, #6, #7, and #8 after slot #4 (e.g., in slot #6).

[0073] To further reduce the measurement report latency, the selection of the gNB can be based on previous mobility measurements. For example, if the first device 110 knows that the neighbor cells #1, #2, and #3 from one or more gNBs are the strongest cells, e.g., having the highest reference signal received power (RSRP), then the first device 110 can prioritize the PRS measurements for these cells. Thus, for the initial measurement report, the best possible DL PRS can be measured, thereby achieving good measurement quality. Therefore, at the second device 120, sufficient positioning accuracy can be achieved based on partial measurement results. The second device 120 may not need to consider additional measurement reports in the positioning calculation, and thus the latency of the measurement report can be further reduced. Example embodiments of the second device 120 will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

[0074] The PRS measurement and reporting can be autonomously performed by the first device 110. For example, when the first device 110 needs location services, the first device 110 can start the measurement and reporting. Alternatively or additionally, the measurement and reporting can be periodically performed by the first device 110 according to the network configuration.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 can obtain a configuration regarding partial PRS measurement and reporting. For example, the configuration can include the timing for the measurement report, including, for example, the timing of the earliest measurement report or the initial measurement report and the time interval for subsequent measurement reports. This timing can be related to the latency requirement. For example, in use cases with lower latency requirements, the first measurement report can be sent earlier. Otherwise, the first measurement report can be sent later.

[0076] The configuration can also include the number of PRSs to be measured for the measurement report, and these PRSs can be related to the accuracy requirement. For example, if the accuracy requirement is high, the number of PRSs to be measured for each measurement report can be large. Otherwise, the number of PRSs to be measured for each measurement report can be small. In some example embodiments, the number of PRSs to be measured for the earliest measurement report can be configured to be large to achieve good measurement quality at the first time. Thus, the second device 120 can derive sufficiently accurate positioning information based on the earliest measurement report, thereby further reducing the positioning latency.

[0077] The number of PRSs can be indicated in an explicit or implicit manner. For example, the number of PRSs can be explicitly indicated by the number of PRS resources. Thus, the first device 110 can perform measurements on the configured number of PRS resources. Alternatively or additionally, in example embodiments where the PRS is sent by the gNB, the number of PRSs can be implicitly indicated by the number of gNBs to be measured. Based on this configuration, for the measurement report, the first device 110 can measure only the PRSs from the configured number of gNBs.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the configuration may include line-of-sight (LoS) or non-line-of-sight (NLoS) requirements for the PRS. For example, the configuration may indicate a confidence level at which a first device 110 is certain that the measured PRS is in LoS. The confidence level may be indicated by a threshold. For example, the configuration may indicate that the first device 110 should be Z% certain that the measured PRS is in LoS, where Z represents any suitable positive number.

[0079] The configuration may be obtained by the first device 110 in any suitable manner. For example, the configuration may be statically, semi-statically, or dynamically allocated, or even predefined from the network side. In some example embodiments, the configuration may be broadcast periodically from the network side. To further reduce overhead, in some other example embodiments, the configuration may be sent from the second device 120 when needed.

[0080] For example, in some example embodiments, the measurement of the PRS may be performed by the first device 110 in response to a location information request from the second device 120. In this example, for instance, the configuration may be included in the location information request as auxiliary information. Based on the received auxiliary information, the first device 110 may perform partial PRS measurements and generate a corresponding measurement report.

[0081] The location information request sent by the second device 120 may be triggered by a location service request from another device (referred to as a third device), such as a location client. For example, the second device 120 may receive a location service request for the first device 110 from the third device and then send a location information request to the first device 110. Additionally, the first device 110 starts performing PRS measurements.

[0082] As Figure 2 shown, after the measurement report is generated (210), the first device 110 sends (215) the measurement report to the second device 120 together with a report indication that indicates that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a subset of the PRS. The first device 110 may use an LPP message to carry the measurement report to provide a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement to the second device 120. Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may measure the signal strength of a subset of the PRS, such as the reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal received quality (RSRQ) of the PRS, and send the measured signal strength of the PRS to the second device 120 in the measurement report. Thus, the second device 120 may perform positioning using an angle-of-departure (AoD)-based technique, such as the DL-AoD technique.

[0083] In addition to the above measurements of PRS, the first device 110 may also measure the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference, such as the UE Rx-Tx time difference. Accordingly, the second device 120 may use the multi-round-trip time (Multi-RTT) technique for positioning. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may send a cell identifier, such as an enhanced cell ID (E-CID), to the second device 120 to indicate from which cell to measure the PRS.

[0084] The report indication may be sent by the first device 110 in any suitable manner. For example, the report indication may be included in the measurement report. The report indication may also be sent in a separate LPP message.

[0085] Then, by using the report indication, the second device 120 determines (220) the location of the first device 110 based on the measurement report. For example, when the measurement report is received at the second device 120, the second device 120 may decode the measurement report and use it to estimate the location of the first device 110. Based on the measurement data provided by the first device 110, the second device 120 may use the corresponding positioning technique for location estimation. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0086] If the measurement quality is good enough, the first device 110 may terminate the partial PRS measurement and reporting process. In some example embodiments, to further improve the positioning accuracy or meet different positioning accuracy requirements, the first device 110 may complete the measurement of all configured PRSs and send multiple measurement reports to the second device 120. For example, the first device 110 may perform additional measurements of an additional subset of PRSs and generate additional measurement reports based on the additional measurements. Different subsets of PRSs for positioning measurements may overlap or may not overlap. In addition, the first device 110 may send an association indication to the second device 120 to indicate that the current measurement report is associated with one or more previous measurement reports. Accordingly, the second device 120 may use multiple measurement reports for positioning calculations to further improve the positioning accuracy.

[0087] In the case where the first device 110 will send multiple measurement reports, the first device 110 may indicate to the second device 120 that the first device 110 will send multiple measurement reports. Accordingly, the second device 120 may know that more measurement reports from the first device 110 may arrive. In addition, the first device 110 may also indicate how many measurement reports the first device 110 plans to report. For example, based on the most recent reception of the PRS, if the first device 110 knows that it can detect the PRS from 12 cells, the first device 110 may determine the number of measurement reports to send and indicate it to the second device 120.

[0088] In some example embodiments, when the final measurement report among the number of measurement reports is sent, the first device 110 may send an end flag to indicate that no further measurement reports will be sent. Based on this indication, the second device 120 may know that all measurement reports have been sent and may process the newly received measurement reports together with the previously stored measurement reports.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may send a transaction ID of the measurement reports to associate multiple measurement reports with each other. This indication may tell the second device 120 that these measurement reports belong to a single transaction.

[0090] Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may indicate to the second device 120 the quality of the measurement of the PRS, including for example the minimum measurement quality of the reported gNB or PRS resources (such as NR-TimingQuality). This indication allows the second device 120 to determine whether to report the position estimate of the first device 110 to a location client. For example, if the quality of the measurement is high, the second device 120 may report the position estimate. This indication may also be used at the position calculation function to weight individual measurements. For example, a measurement report with better quality may be assigned a higher weight compared to a measurement report with lower quality.

[0091] The indication information regarding the measurement reports as described above may also be included in the report indication. It should be understood that the report indication may include any other suitable indication information associated with the partial measurement reports. Thus, when determining (220) the position of the first device 110, the second device 120 may utilize this indication information. The second device 120 may report the position estimate to other devices such as a location client without waiting for the remaining measurement reports. Additionally, the second device 120 may indicate to the location client that this is a provisional result that may be updated or verified when additional measurement reports are received from the first device 110.

[0092] Figure 3 An example process 300 of a location service according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. In this example, the UE 305 is an example implementation of the first device 110, and the location server 310 is an example implementation of the second device 120. The location client 315 acts as a device for initiating the location service.

[0093] As Figure 3As shown, the Location Client 315 sends (320) a location service request for the UE 305 to the Location Server 310. Then, the Location Server 310 sends (325) a location information request to the UE 305. Along with or independent of the location information request, the Location Server 310 may send some configuration as auxiliary information to guide the UE 305 to segment the PRS measurements. The configuration may include any suitable configuration, such as the timing for the earliest report (which is related to the latency requirement) and the minimum number of gNBs or PRS resources for each measurement report (which is related to the accuracy requirement).

[0094] In some example embodiments, the configuration may include the minimum measurement quality of the reported gNB or PRS resources (such as NR-TimingQuality). For example, if the measurement quality of each RSTD is higher than a predetermined threshold, the UE 305 may be required to report 3 RSTDs in the downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in the measurement report. Alternatively or additionally, the configuration may include LoS or NLoS requirements or thresholds. For example, it may be indicated that the UE 305 may be required to have Z% confidence that all gNBs are in LoS in the measurement report.

[0095] As Figure 3 shown, in response to receiving the location information request from the Location Server 310, the UE 305 performs (330) partial PRS measurements and reporting. For example, the UE 305 may perform partial PRS measurements and reporting based on the auxiliary information received from the Location Server 310, and may further sequentially provide several measurement reports to deliver the entire measurement results of all configured gNBs.

[0096] For example, in the case where slot #1 is configured for gNBs #1, #2, #3, and #4 and slot #4 is configured for gNBs #5, #6, #7, and #8, the UE 305 may prepare and send a first measurement report after slot #1 (e.g., in slot #3), and then prepare and send a second measurement report after slot #4 (e.g., in slot #6).

[0097] In addition to reducing the positioning latency, the partial PRS measurements and reporting may be performed in a manner that improves the positioning accuracy. For example, the UE 305 may measure the best possible DL PRS for the initial measurement report. For example, based on previous mobility measurements, if the UE 305 knows that neighbor cells #1, #2, and #3 are the strongest cells with the highest RSRP, the UE 305 may preferentially include the measurements of the PRS from these cells in the initial measurement report.

[0098] Then, the UE 305 provides (335) a measurement report (including RSTD measurements) to the location server 310. The measurement report may be carried in an LPP message. The UE 305 also sends a report indication (e.g., included in the measurement report) to the location server 310 to indicate that the measurement report is generated based on partial PRS measurements and that multiple measurement reports will be sent. Then, the location server 310 will know how to process the currently received measurement report.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the report indication may include a transaction ID of the measurement report to tell the location server 310 that multiple reports belong to a single transaction. Alternatively or additionally, the report indication may include the quality of the PRS measurements to help the location server 310 determine whether to send a location estimate to the location client 315. For example, if the relevant quality is high, the location server 310 may send an initial estimate to the location client 315 based on the measurement report.

[0100] Alternatively or additionally, the report indication may include the total number of measurement reports to indicate the number of reports in an LPP transaction. This information may be included in the initial measurement report to indicate how many more measurement reports the UE 305 also plans to send. For example, based on the most recent PRS reception, if the UE 305 knows that it can monitor 12 cells, the UE 305 may evaluate the number of measurement reports and inform the location server 310 of this in the first measurement report. Thus, the location server 310 can know that more measurements from a certain transaction will arrive.

[0101] The report indication may also include an end flag at the final measurement report to indicate that no measurement reports will be sent. Based on this indication, the location server 310 can know that the entire report has been completed and can process newly received measurement reports and any stored measurement reports with the same session and transaction IDs.

[0102] As Figure 3 shown, when receiving the measurement report from the UE 305, the location server 310 decodes (340) the measurement report. Then, the location server 310 estimates (345) the location of the UE 305 based on the measurement report. Decoding and estimation may be implemented cyclically. For example, when the measurement report is received at the location server 310, the location server 310 decodes and uses the report.

[0103] For some use cases with lower precision requirements, the location server 310 may not need to use all measurement reports, since PRS measurements on several gNBs may be sufficient to meet the positioning accuracy requirements. Thus, for some UEs, the location server 310 may estimate their locations based on partial RSTD measurements. In some example embodiments, the location server 310 may use the first measurement report to calculate positioning information that is accurate enough.

[0104] In addition, the location server 310 provides (350) the positioning information to the location client 315 without waiting for the remaining measurement reports. The location server 310 may also indicate to the location client 315 that this is a partial result, which may be updated or verified when additional information from the UE 305 is received. For example, the location server 310 may indicate to the location client 315 that updated subsequent measurement results can be expected. In some example embodiments, if the location server 310 has determined that the QoS of the location service has been met, the location server 310 may report the location estimate only once. In some other example embodiments, the location server 310 may wait for all associated measurement reports before the positioning calculation to meet the positioning accuracy requirements.

[0105] Figure 4 A flowchart of an example method 400 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The method 400 may be implemented by a first device 110 as Figure 1 shown. For purposes of discussion, the method 400 will be described with reference to Figure 1 this.

[0106] At block 405, the first device 110 performs measurements on a subset of PRSs (referred to as the first subset) from a set of PRSs. At block 410, the first device 110 generates a measurement report based on the measurements of the first PRS subset. At block 415, the first device 110 sends the measurement report to the second device 120 along with a report indication that indicates that the measurement report is generated based on the measurements of the PRS subset.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a location information request from the second device 120. Then, the first device 110 may perform measurements of the PRS subset.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may perform measurements of a PRS subset based on a configuration associated with a measurement report. The configuration may be received from the second device 120. The configuration may include any suitable information, e.g., including at least one of the following: the timing for the measurement report, the number of devices each transmitting one or more PRSs to be measured, the number of resources of the PRSs to be measured for the measurement report, the quality requirement for the measurement of the PRSs for the measurement report, or the LoS requirement for the PRSs for the measurement report.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the PRSs may be transmitted from multiple neighbor cells. The first device 110 may select one or more cells from a set of neighboring cells based on the quality of previous measurements of the PRSs from the multiple neighboring cells. The first device 110 may then determine the PRS subset to be measured for the measurement report as the PRSs transmitted from the selected one or more cells, and perform measurements of the determined PRSs.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may perform additional measurements of an additional PRS subset (referred to as the second subset), and generate an additional measurement report based on the additional measurements. In addition, the first device 110 may send the additional measurement report to the second device 120 together with an association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first PRS subset.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the reporting indication may include any suitable other information, e.g., including at least one of the following: the transaction identifier of the measurement report, the quality of the measurement of the first PRS subset, the number of measurement reports to be sent, or the end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last of the number of measurement reports.

[0112] Figure 5 A flowchart of an example method 500 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The method 500 may be implemented by the second device 120 as Figure 1 shown. For purposes of discussion, method 500 will be described with reference to Figure 1 this.

[0113] In block 505, the second device 120 receives a measurement report from the first device 110 together with a reporting indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a first PRS subset from a set of PRSs. In block 510, by using the reporting indication, the second device 120 determines the location of the first device 110 at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send a location information request to the first device 110. Then, the second device 120 may receive a measurement report in response to the location information request.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive a location service request for the first device 110 from a third device. When receiving the location service request, the second device 120 may send a location information request to the first device 110.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine the positioning information of the first device based on the determined location of the first device 110. Then, the second device 120 may send the positioning information of the first device 110 to a third device.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may send a configuration associated with the measurement report to the first device 110 so that the first device 110 can perform measurements of a PRS subset. The configuration may include any suitable information, for example, including at least one of the following: the timing for the measurement report, the number of devices each sending one or more PRSs to be measured, the number of resources for the PRSs to be measured for the measurement report, the quality requirement for the measurement of the PRS for the measurement report, or the LoS requirement for the DRS for the measurement report.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the report indication may include any other suitable information, for example, including at least one of the following: the transaction identification of the measurement report, the quality of the measurement of the first PRS subset, the number of measurement reports to be sent, or an end flag for the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last of the number of measurement reports.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive an additional measurement report from the first device 110 together with an association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with a measurement report generated based on measurements of a first PRS subset. The first device 110 generates the additional measurement report based on additional measurements of a second PRS subset from a PRS set. The second device 120 may determine the location of the first device 110 based on the currently and previously received measurement reports.

[0120] In some example embodiments, after receiving the measurement report, the second device 120 may determine the location of the first device 110 based on the currently received measurement report. When receiving an additional measurement report, the second device 120 may update the determined location of the first device 110 based on the additional measurement result report.

[0121] The above referenceFigures 1-3 All of the operations and features described apply equally to methods 400 and 500 and have similar effects. For simplicity, the details will be omitted.

[0122] Figure 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be implemented at or as part of the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in Figure 1 shown.

[0123] As shown, the device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620 coupled to the processor 610, a communication module 630 coupled to the processor 610, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 630. The memory 620 stores at least a program 640. The communication module 630 is used for two-way communication, for example, via a plurality of antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication.

[0124] It is assumed that the program 640 includes program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 610, enable the device 600 to operate in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure, as referred to herein Figures 1-5 discussed. The example embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 610 of the device 600, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 610 may be configured to implement various example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0125] The memory 620 may be of any type suitable for a local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, as non-limiting examples, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. Although only one memory 620 is shown in the device 600, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 600. The processor 610 may be of any type suitable for a local technical network and, as non-limiting examples, may include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as an application-specific integrated circuit chip that is subordinate in time to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0126] When the device 600 acts as the first device 110 or part of the first device 110, the processor 610 and the communication module 630 may cooperate to implement as referred to above Figures 1-4The described method 400. When the device 600 acts as the second device 120 or a part of the second device 120, the processor 610 and the communication module 630 can cooperate to implement the method 500 as described above with reference to Figures 1-3 and Figure 5 The described method 500. All the operations and features described above with reference to Figures 1-5 also apply to the device 600 and have similar effects. For simplicity, the details will be omitted.

[0127] In general, the various example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented using hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented using hardware, while other aspects can be implemented using firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing devices. Although the various aspects of the example embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as a non-limiting example, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, special-purpose circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or a controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0128] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as the instructions included in program modules, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to execute the method 400 or 500 as described above with reference to Figures 1-5 The described method 400 or 500. In general, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split as needed among the program modules. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0129] The program code for executing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or a controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing devices, such that when the program codes are executed by the processor or the controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or a server.

[0130] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data can be carried by any suitable carrier so that a device, apparatus, or processor can perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals and computer-readable media.

[0131] A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0132] Moreover, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular example embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate example embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple example embodiments.

[0133] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the foregoing specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0134] Various example embodiments of the technology have been described. As a supplement or alternative to the foregoing, the following embodiments are described. The features described in any of the following examples can be used in conjunction with any other example described herein.

[0135] In some aspects, a first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: perform measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; generate a measurement report based on the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals; and send the measurement report and a report indication to a second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements on a subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the first device is caused to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals by: receiving a location information request from the second device; and in response to receiving the location information request, performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first device is caused to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals by: performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals based on a configuration associated with the measurement report.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the first device is further caused to: receive the configuration from the second device, the configuration including at least one of the following: timing for the measurement report, number of devices, each device sending one or more positioning reference signals to be measured, number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report, quality requirement for the measurements of the positioning reference signals for the measurement report, or line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement report.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the positioning reference signals are sent from a plurality of neighbor cells, and the first device is caused to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals by: selecting one or more cells from the set of neighboring cells based on the quality of previous measurements of positioning reference signals from the plurality of neighboring cells; determining the positioning reference signals sent from the selected one or more cells as the first subset of positioning reference signals; and performing measurements on the determined positioning reference signals.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the report indication further includes at least one of the following: a transaction identifier of the measurement report, quality of the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals, number of measurement reports to be sent, or an end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last of the number of measurement reports.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the first device is further caused to: perform additional measurements on a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; generate an additional measurement report based on the additional measurements on the second subset of positioning reference signals; and send the additional measurement report and an association indication to the second device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals.

[0142] In some aspects, a second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: receive a measurement report and a report indication from a first device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; and use the report indication to determine the position of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the second device is caused to receive the measurement report by: sending a location information request to the first device; and receiving the measurement report in response to the location information request.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the second device is caused to send the location information request by: sending the location information request to the first device in response to receiving a location service request for the first device from a third device.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second device is further caused to: determine positioning information of the first device based on the determined position of the first device; and send the positioning information of the first device to the third device.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the second device is further caused to: send a configuration associated with the measurement report to the first device to enable the first device to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals, the configuration including at least one of: the timing for the measurement report, the number of devices, each device sending one or more positioning reference signals to be measured, the number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report, the quality requirement for the measurements of the positioning reference signals for the measurement report, or the line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement report.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the reporting indication further includes at least one of the following: a transaction identifier of the measurement report, a quality of the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, a number of measurement reports to be sent, or an end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last one of the number of measurement reports.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the second device is caused to determine the position of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report by: receiving, from the first device, an additional measurement report and an association indication, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, the additional measurement report being generated based on an additional measurement of a second positioning reference signal subset from the set of positioning reference signals; and determining the position of the first device based on the received measurement reports.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the second device is caused to determine the position of the first device based on the received measurement reports by: determining the position of the first device according to the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset; and updating the determined position of the first device based on the additional measurement report in response to receiving the additional measurement report generated based on the measurement of the second positioning reference signal subset.

[0150] In some aspects, a method implemented at a first device includes: performing a measurement of a first positioning reference signal subset from a set of positioning reference signals; generating a measurement report based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset; and sending the measurement report and a reporting indication to a second device, the reporting indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on a measurement of a positioning reference signal subset from the set of positioning reference signals.

[0151] In some example embodiments, performing the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset includes: receiving a position information request from the second device; and in response to receiving the position information request, performing the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset.

[0152] In some example embodiments, performing the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset includes: performing the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset based on a configuration associated with the measurement report.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the method further includes: receiving the configuration from the second device, the configuration including at least one of the following: timing for the measurement report, number of devices, each device sending one or more positioning reference signals to be measured, number of resources of the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report, quality requirement for the measurement of the positioning reference signals for the measurement report, or line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement report.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the positioning reference signals are sent from a plurality of neighbor cells, and performing the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals includes: selecting one or more cells from the set of neighboring cells based on quality of previous measurements of the positioning reference signals from the plurality of neighboring cells; determining the positioning reference signals sent from the selected one or more cells as the first subset of positioning reference signals; and performing the measurement of the determined positioning reference signals.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the report indication further includes at least one of the following: transaction identifier of the measurement report, quality of the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals, number of measurement reports to be sent, or end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last one of the number of measurement reports.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the method further includes: performing an additional measurement of a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; generating an additional measurement report based on the additional measurement of the second subset of positioning reference signals; and sending the additional measurement report and an association indication to the second device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals.

[0157] In some aspects, a method implemented at a second device includes: receiving a measurement report and a report indication from a first device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on a measurement of a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; and using the report indication to determine the location of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0158] In some example embodiments, receiving the measurement report includes: sending a location information request to the first device; and receiving the measurement report in response to the location information request.

[0159] In some example embodiments, sending the location information request includes: in response to receiving a location service request for the first device from a third device, sending the location information request to the first device.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the method further includes: determining positioning information of the first device based on the determined location of the first device; and sending the positioning information of the first device to the third device.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the method further includes: sending a configuration associated with the measurement report to the first device so that the first device can perform the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, the configuration including at least one of the following: timing for the measurement report, number of devices, each device sending one or more positioning reference signals to be measured, number of resources of the positioning reference signal to be measured for the measurement report, quality requirement for the measurement of the positioning reference signal for the measurement report, or line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signal for the measurement report.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the report indication further includes at least one of the following: transaction identifier of the measurement report, quality of the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, number of measurement reports to be sent, or end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last one of the number of measurement reports.

[0163] In some example embodiments, determining the location of the first device based at least in part on the measurement report includes: receiving, from the first device, an additional measurement report and an association indication, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, the additional measurement report being generated based on an additional measurement of a second positioning reference signal subset from the set of positioning reference signals; and determining the location of the first device based on the received measurement reports.

[0164] In some example embodiments, determining the location of the first device based on the received measurement reports includes: determining the location of the first device according to the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset; and in response to receiving the additional measurement report generated based on the measurement of the second positioning reference signal subset, updating the determined location of the first device based on the additional measurement report.

[0165] In some aspects, a device includes: components for performing measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; components for generating a measurement report based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals; and components for sending the measurement report and a report indication to a second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the components for performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals include: components for receiving a location information request from the second device; and components for performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals in response to receiving the location information request.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the components for performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals include: components for performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals based on a configuration associated with the measurement report.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the device further includes: components for receiving the configuration from the second device, the configuration including at least one of the following: timing for the measurement report, number of devices, each device sending one or more positioning reference signals to be measured, number of resources of positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report, quality requirement for measurements of positioning reference signals for the measurement report, or line-of-sight requirement for positioning reference signals for the measurement report.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the positioning reference signals are sent from a plurality of neighbor cells, and the components for performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals include: components for selecting one or more cells from the set of neighbor cells based on the quality of previous measurements of positioning reference signals from the plurality of adjacent cells; components for determining the positioning reference signals sent from the selected one or more cells as the first subset of positioning reference signals; and components for performing measurements on the determined positioning reference signals.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the report indication further includes at least one of the following: transaction identifier of the measurement report, quality of measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals, number of measurement reports to be sent, or end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last of the number of measurement reports.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for performing additional measurements on a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; means for generating an additional measurement report based on the additional measurements on the second subset of positioning reference signals; and means for sending the additional measurement report and an association indication to the second device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals.

[0172] In some aspects, an apparatus comprises: means for receiving a measurement report and a report indication from a first device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; and means for using the report indication to determine the location of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the measurement report comprises: means for sending a location information request to the first device; and means for receiving the measurement report in response to the location information request.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the means for sending the location information request comprises: means for sending the location information request to the first device in response to receiving a location service request for the first device from a third device.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining positioning information of the first device based on the determined location of the first device; and means for sending the positioning information of the first device to the third device.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending a configuration associated with the measurement report to the first device to enable the first device to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals, the configuration including at least one of the following: timing for the measurement report, number of devices, one or more positioning reference signals to be sent by each device to be measured, number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report, quality requirement for the measurements of the positioning reference signals for the measurement report, or line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement report.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the reporting indication further includes at least one of the following: a transaction identifier of the measurement report, a quality of the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, a number of measurement reports to be sent, or an end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last one of the number of measurement reports.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the component for determining the position of the first device based at least in part on the measurement report includes: a component for receiving, from the first device, an additional measurement report and an association indication, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset, the additional measurement report being generated based on an additional measurement of a second positioning reference signal subset from the set of positioning reference signals; and a component for determining the position of the first device based on the received measurement reports.

[0179] In some example embodiments, the component for determining the position of the first device based on the received measurement reports includes: a component for determining the position of the first device according to the measurement report generated based on the measurement of the first positioning reference signal subset; and a component for updating the determined position of the first device based on the additional measurement report in response to receiving the additional measurement report generated based on the measurement of the second positioning reference signal subset.

[0180] In some aspects, a computer-readable storage medium includes program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform a method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A first device for communication, implemented by a user equipment, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: receive a location information request from a second device; in response to receiving the location information request, perform measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; wherein the set of positioning reference signals includes positioning reference signals required or desired to be measured for positioning calculations; generate a measurement report based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals; and send the measurement report and a report indication to the second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals, wherein the measurement report and the report indication are sent via a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message to provide a reference signal time difference to the second device; wherein the positioning reference signals are emitted from a plurality of neighbor cells, and the first device is caused to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals by: selecting one or more cells from the set of neighboring cells based on the quality of previous measurements of positioning reference signals from the plurality of neighboring cells; determining the positioning reference signals emitted from the selected one or more cells as the first subset of positioning reference signals; and performing measurements on the determined positioning reference signals; wherein the first device is further caused to: receive, from the second device, a configuration associated with the measurement report and perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals, the configuration including: timing for the measurement report, including the timing of the earliest measurement report and the time interval between the earliest measurement report and subsequent measurement reports; the number of positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; the number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; and a line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement report, the line-of-sight requirement indicating the confidence level at which the first device is confident that the positioning reference signal to be measured is in line-of-sight; wherein the first device is further caused to: perform additional measurements on a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; generate an additional measurement report based on the additional measurements of the second subset of positioning reference signals; and send the additional measurement report and an association indication to the second device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals; wherein when the measurement report includes a plurality of measurement reports, the report indication further includes: a transaction identifier of the measurement report, the transaction identifier being used to indicate to the second device that the plurality of measurement reports belong to a single transaction; The number of measurement reports to be sent; and In the case where the measurement report is the last one among the number of measurement reports, an end flag for the number of measurement reports; Based on the end flag, the second device determines that the entire report has been received and processes the previously stored measurement reports and the newly received measurement reports with the same transaction identifier together.

2. A second device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; And At least one memory, including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to: Send a location information request to a first device; Receive from the first device a measurement report and a report indication in response to the location information request, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; wherein the set of positioning reference signals includes positioning reference signals required or desired to be measured for positioning calculations, and the measurement report and the report indication are sent via a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message to provide a reference signal time difference to the second device; and Use the report indication to determine the position of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report; Wherein the second device is further caused to: Send a configuration associated with the measurement report to the first device to enable the first device to perform the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals, the configuration including the following items: Timing for the measurement report, including the timing of the earliest measurement report and the time interval between the earliest measurement report and subsequent measurement reports; The number of positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; The number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; and A line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals of the measurement report, the line-of-sight requirement indicating the confidence level that the first device is certain that the positioning reference signals to be measured are in line of sight; Wherein the second device is caused to determine the position of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report by: Receiving from the first device an additional measurement report and an association indication, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals, and the additional measurement report is generated based on additional measurements of a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; Determine the position of the first device according to the measurement report generated based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals; and In response to receiving the additional measurement report generated based on the measurements of the second subset of positioning reference signals, update the determined position of the first device based on the additional measurement report; Wherein when the measurement report includes a plurality of measurement reports, the report indication further includes the following items: The transaction identifier of the measurement report, which is used to indicate to the second device that the multiple measurement reports belong to a single transaction; The number of measurement reports to be sent; and In the case where the measurement report is the last measurement report among the number of measurement reports, an end flag for the number of measurement reports; Based on the end flag, the second device determines that the entire report has been received and processes the previously stored measurement reports and the newly received measurement reports with the same transaction identifier together.

3. The second device according to claim 2, wherein the second device is caused to send the location information request by: In response to receiving a location service request for the first device from a third device, sending the location information request to the first device.

4. The second device according to claim 3, wherein the second device is further caused to: Determine the positioning information of the first device based on the determined location of the first device; and Send the positioning information of the first device to the third device.

5. A method for communication implemented at a first device, where the first device is implemented by a user equipment, including: Receiving a location information request from a second device; In response to receiving the location information request, performing measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; wherein the set of positioning reference signals includes positioning reference signals required or desired to be measured for positioning calculations; Generating a measurement report based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals; and Sending the measurement report and a report indication to the second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements of a subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals, wherein the measurement report and the report indication are sent through a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message to provide a reference signal time difference to the second device; wherein the positioning reference signals are sent from multiple neighbor cells, and performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals includes: Selecting one or more cells from the set of adjacent cells based on the quality of previous measurements of positioning reference signals from the multiple adjacent cells; Determining the positioning reference signals sent from the selected one or more cells as the first subset of positioning reference signals; and Performing measurements on the determined positioning reference signals; wherein the method further includes: Receiving from the second device to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals based on a configuration associated with the measurement report, the configuration including: The timing for the measurement report, including the timing of the earliest measurement report and the time interval between the earliest measurement report and subsequent measurement reports; The number of positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; The number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; and For the line-of-sight requirement of the positioning reference signal for the measurement report, the line-of-sight requirement indicates the confidence level that the first device is confident that the positioning reference signal to be measured is in line of sight; wherein the method further includes: performing additional measurements on a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; generating an additional measurement report based on the additional measurements on the second subset of positioning reference signals; and sending the additional measurement report and an association indication to the second device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals; where when the measurement report includes a plurality of measurement reports, the report indication further includes the following items: a transaction identifier of the measurement report, the transaction identifier being used to indicate to the second device that the plurality of measurement reports belong to a single transaction; the number of measurement reports to be sent; and an end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last measurement report among the number of measurement reports; The second device determines, based on the end flag, that the entire report has been received, and processes the previously stored measurement report and the newly received measurement report with the same transaction identifier together.

6. A method for communication implemented at a second device, including: sending a location information request to a first device; receiving, from the first device, a measurement report and a report indication in response to the location information request, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; wherein, the set of positioning reference signals includes positioning reference signals required or expected to be measured for positioning calculations, and the measurement report and the report indication are sent through a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) message to provide a reference signal time difference to the second device; and using the report indication to determine the location of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report; the method further includes: sending a configuration associated with the measurement report to the first device to enable the first device to perform the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals, the configuration including the following items: the timing for the measurement report, including the timing of the earliest measurement report and the time interval between the earliest measurement report and subsequent measurement reports; the number of positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; the number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; and the line-of-sight requirement of the positioning reference signal for the measurement report, the line-of-sight requirement indicating the confidence level that the first device is confident that the positioning reference signal to be measured is in line of sight; where determining the location of the first device at least in part based on the measurement report includes: Receive additional measurement reports and an association indication from the first device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement reports are associated with the measurement reports generated based on the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals, and the additional measurement reports are generated based on additional measurements of a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; Determine the position of the first device according to the measurement reports generated based on the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals; and In response to receiving the additional measurement reports generated based on the measurement of the second subset of positioning reference signals, update the determined position of the first device based on the additional measurement reports; When the measurement reports include multiple measurement reports, the report indication further includes the following items: The transaction identifier of the measurement reports, which is used to indicate to the second device that the multiple measurement reports belong to a single transaction; The number of measurement reports to be sent; and An end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last one of the number of measurement reports; Based on the end flag, the second device determines that the entire report has been received and processes the previously stored measurement reports and the newly received measurement reports with the same transaction identifier together.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein sending the location information request includes: In response to receiving a location service request for the first device from a third device, send the location information request to the first device.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Determine the positioning information of the first device based on the determined position of the first device; And Send the positioning information of the first device to the third device.

9. A communication device implemented by a user equipment, comprising: Components for receiving a location information request from a second device; Components for performing measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals in response to receiving the location information request; wherein the set of positioning reference signals includes positioning reference signals required or desired to be measured for positioning calculations; Components for generating measurement reports based on the measurements of the first subset of positioning reference signals; and Components for sending the measurement reports and a report indication to the second device, the report indication indicating that the measurement reports are generated based on the measurements of a subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals, wherein the measurement reports and the report indication are sent through a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) message to provide a reference signal time difference to the second device; Wherein the positioning reference signals are sent from multiple neighboring cells, and the components for performing the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals include: Components for selecting one or more cells from the set of neighboring cells based on the quality of previous measurements of the positioning reference signals from the multiple neighboring cells; A component for determining a positioning reference signal transmitted from one or more selected cells as the first subset of positioning reference signals; and A component for performing measurements on the determined positioning reference signals; The apparatus further includes: A component for receiving configuration from the second device, the configuration including the following items: the timing for the measurement report, including the timing of the earliest measurement report and the time interval between the earliest measurement report and subsequent measurement reports; the number of the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; the number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement report; and the line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement report, the line-of-sight requirement indicating the confidence level that the apparatus is certain that the positioning reference signals to be measured are in line of sight; A component for performing additional measurements on a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; A component for generating an additional measurement report based on the additional measurements on the second subset of positioning reference signals; and A component for sending the additional measurement report and an association indication to the second device, the association indication indicating that the additional measurement report is associated with the measurement report generated based on the measurements on the first subset of positioning reference signals; Wherein when the measurement report includes a plurality of measurement reports, the report indication further includes the following items: The transaction identifier of the measurement report, the transaction identifier being used to indicate to the second device that the plurality of measurement reports belong to a single transaction; The number of measurement reports to be sent; and In the case where the measurement report is the last measurement report among the number of measurement reports, an end flag for the number of measurement reports; The second device determines, based on the end flag, that the entire report has been received, and processes the previously stored measurement reports and the newly received measurement reports with the same transaction identifier together.

10. A communication apparatus, comprising: A component for sending a location information request to a first device; A component for receiving, from the first device, a measurement report and a report indication in response to the location information request, the report indication indicating that the measurement report is generated based on measurements on a first subset of positioning reference signals from a set of positioning reference signals; wherein the set of positioning reference signals includes positioning reference signals required or desired to be measured for positioning calculation, and wherein the measurement report and the report indication are sent via a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) message to provide a reference signal time difference to the apparatus; and A component for using the report indication to determine the location of the first device at least partially based on the measurement report; Wherein the component for determining the location of the first device at least partially based on the measurement report includes: means for receiving additional measurement reports and association indications from the first device, the association indications indicating that the additional measurement reports are associated with the measurement reports generated based on the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals, the additional measurement reports being generated based on additional measurements of a second subset of positioning reference signals from the set of positioning reference signals; and means for determining the position of the first device based on the received measurement reports; wherein the means for determining the position of the first device based on the received measurement reports includes: means for determining the position of the first device according to the measurement reports generated based on the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals; means for updating the determined position of the first device based on the additional measurement reports in response to receiving the additional measurement reports generated based on the measurement of the second subset of positioning reference signals; and means for sending a configuration associated with the measurement reports to the first device to enable the first device to perform the measurement of the first subset of positioning reference signals, the configuration including the following items: the timing of the measurement reports, including the timing of the earliest measurement report and the time interval between the earliest measurement report and subsequent measurement reports; the number of positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement reports; the number of resources for the positioning reference signals to be measured for the measurement reports; and the line-of-sight requirement for the positioning reference signals for the measurement reports, the line-of-sight requirement indicating the confidence level at which the first device is confident that the positioning reference signals to be measured are in line of sight; wherein when the measurement reports include a plurality of measurement reports, the report indication further includes the following items: a transaction identifier of the measurement reports, the transaction identifier being used to indicate to the device that the plurality of measurement reports belong to a single transaction; the number of measurement reports to be sent; and an end flag of the number of measurement reports in the case where the measurement report is the last measurement report among the number of measurement reports; The device determines that the entire report has been received based on the end flag, and processes the previously stored measurement reports and the newly received measurement reports having the same transaction identifier together.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, including program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to claim 5.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, including program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

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