Interference management techniques

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communications are disclosed. In some aspects, a base station (BS) can determine a first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS. The BS can obtain a second planned transmission beam configuration of a second BS. The BS can determine that a first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with a second planned transmission beam of the second planned transmission beam configuration. The BS can modify the first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam, or both, based on the interference determination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The various aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services supporting the Internet, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include analog advanced mobile phone systems (AMPS) and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), etc.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), demands higher data transmission speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data to each of tens of thousands of users, or 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) to dozens of workers in a single-story office. To support large-scale sensor deployments, it should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, 5G mobile communication should have significantly improved spectral efficiency compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be enhanced, and latency should be greatly reduced compared to the current standard. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following is a brief overview relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this overview should not be considered a broad review relating to all anticipated aspects, nor should it be considered an identification of key or important elements relating to all anticipated aspects, or a depiction of the scope relating to any particular aspect. Accordingly, the sole purpose of the following overview is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed descriptions presented below.

[0005] Fifth-generation (5G) communication at millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies has a shorter transmission distance compared to longer wavelength transmissions. To counteract this, beamforming is used to generate directional rather than omnidirectional transmission. While each base station (BS) (such as a gNodeB (gNB)) selects the optimal beam for communication with user equipment (UE), conventional base stations do not account for potential interference from directional beams transmitted from other base stations, nor do they account for potential interference caused by environmental features such as buildings, traffic, topology features, etc.

[0006] To address these shortcomings, various NR interference management techniques have been proposed. One technique involves sharing planned transmission beam configurations between base stations to enable the detection and mitigation of potential interference between planned transmission beams. Another technique involves using information about the local environment when determining the planned transmission beam configuration, using this information as part of interference mitigation efforts, or both. Yet another technique provides a mechanism through which the BS can query the UE to determine what environmental information the UE can obtain from its sensors, and through which the BS can request such information from the UE. These techniques can be used individually or in any combination.

[0007] In some implementations, a method of wireless communication performed by a BS includes: determining a first planned transmission beam configuration of a first BS; obtaining a second planned transmission beam configuration of a second BS; determining that the first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with the second planned transmission beam of the second planned transmission beam configuration; and modifying the first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam, or both based on the interference determination.

[0008] In some implementations, a method of wireless communication performed by a first BS includes: transmitting a first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS to a second BS; receiving from the second BS a request to modify a first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration; and modifying the first planned transmission beam according to the request.

[0009] In some implementations, a method for wireless communication performed by a BS includes: acquiring environmental data collected from sensors associated with the BS; determining interference of a planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics based on the environmental data; and modifying the planned transmission beam to reduce or eliminate interference of the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics.

[0010] In some implementations, a wireless communication method performed by a UE includes: receiving from a requesting entity a request for the ability to report the UE's capabilities; reporting to the requesting entity the UE's ability to provide environmental data collected from sensors; receiving from the requesting entity a request for environmental data collected from sensors; and providing the requested environmental data collected from sensors to the requesting entity.

[0011] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided merely to illustrate these aspects and not to limit them.

[0013] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown.

[0014] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network architectures according to various aspects of this disclosure are shown.

[0015] Figures 3A to 3C These are simplified block diagrams of several example aspects of components that can be adopted and configured in user equipment (UE), base stations, and network entities to support the communications taught herein.

[0016] Figure 4 A system for implementing NR interference management techniques according to some aspects of this disclosure is shown.

[0017] Figures 5-9 Methods related to NR interference management techniques according to some aspects of this disclosure are shown.

[0018] Figures 10-11 This is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flow between different means / components in an exemplary apparatus according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figures 12-13 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a device employing a processing system. Detailed Implementation

[0020] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings with reference to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0021] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” as used herein mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0022] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different techniques and skills can be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned in the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, and in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0023] Furthermore, many aspects are described based on sequences of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It should be understood that the various actions described herein can be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit, ASIC), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein can be considered fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or instruct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect can be described herein as, for example, "logic" "configured" to perform the described actions.

[0024] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” is interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT”, “Client Equipment”, “Wireless Equipment”, “Subscriber Equipment”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Equipment”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, or variations thereof. Typically, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks (such as the Internet) and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard), and so on.

[0025] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, it can operate as one of several RATs communicating with the UE, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station can primarily support the UE's radio access, including supporting the data, voice, and / or signaling connections of the supported UE. In some systems, the base station can provide purely edge node signaling functions, while in others it can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication links through which the UE transmits signals to the base station are called uplink (UL) channels (e.g., reverse flow channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication links through which the base station transmits signals to the UE are called downlink (DL) or forward link channels (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward flow channel, etc.). As used in this article, the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to the uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0026] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may be co-located or non-co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be a base station antenna corresponding to a base station cell (or several cell sectors). When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to the serving base station). Alternatively, non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station receiving measurement reports from the UE and neighboring base stations where the UE is measuring its reference RF signal. Because the TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, as used herein, references to transmissions from or receptions at a base station should be understood to refer to the specific TRP of the base station.

[0027] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's wireless access (e.g., it may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections), but may instead send reference signals to the UE for measurement, and / or receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when sending signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0028] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver can be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal.

[0029] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system 100 is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0030] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122 and via a route to one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of core network 170 or external to core network 170). Among other functions, base station 102 can perform one or more related functions including: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) through backhaul link 134, which can be wired or wireless.

[0031] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage for its respective geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110 can support one or more cells. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resources, referred to as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI)) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to the logical communication entity and one or both of the base stations that support it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within certain parts of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0032] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell (SC) base station 102' may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which can provide service to restricted groups referred to as closed subscriber groups (CSGs).

[0033] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. Communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. Communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0034] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0035] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve access network coverage and / or increase access network capacity. NR in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0036] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which may operate in mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies for communication with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum that is RF. The EHF band ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and has wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW can extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. The ultra-high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also known as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Accordingly, it should be understood that the foregoing descriptions are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this document.

[0037] Transmit beamforming is a technique that focuses RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines the location of a given target device (e.g., a UE) (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to (multiple) receiving devices. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates RF beams that can be "guided" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that radio waves from the individual antennas are added together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling out radiation in undesired directions.

[0038] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-location, meaning they appear to have the same parameters to the receiver (e.g., the UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the target reference RF signal on the target beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of type QCL D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0039] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase a gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0040] The receive beam can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that the parameters of the transmit beam for the second reference signal can be derived from information about the receive beam of the first reference signal. For example, the UE can use a specific receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from the base station. Then, the UE can form a transmit beam for transmitting one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0041] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit or receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, then the downlink beam is a receive beam used to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit or receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, then the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if a UE is forming an uplink beam, then the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0042] In 5G, the spectrum operated by wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In multi-carrier systems (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is called the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” while the remaining carrier frequencies are called “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCell.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, in which UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2). Once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier, the secondary carrier can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. In some cases, the secondary carrier may only contain necessary signaling information and signals; for example, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier because the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to uplink primary carriers. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station is communicating, the terms “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” etc., are used interchangeably.

[0043] For example, still refer to Figure 1 One of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), while other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, compared to a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0045] exist Figure 1 In the example, one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) space vehicles (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites) can be used as any of the UEs shown (for simplicity in... Figure 1 The location information source is an independent source for a single UE 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated SPS receivers specifically designed to receive signals used to derive geographic location information from SV 112. The SPS typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that receivers (e.g., UE 104) can determine their location on or above the earth based at least in part on signals 124 received from the transmitter. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While typically located in SV 112, the transmitter may sometimes be located at a terrestrial control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104.

[0046] The use of SPS signals can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which can be associated with or otherwise enabled for one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS can include augmentation systems(s) that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation, or GPS Aided Geo-Augmented Navigation (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, SPS can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems and / or augmentation systems, and SPS signals can include SPS, SPS-like signals, and / or other signals associated with such one or more SPS.

[0047] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this link), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity through this link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be connected by any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D)). (etc.) to support.

[0048] Figure 2AAn example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For example, the 5GC 210 (also known as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can functionally be considered as cooperating to form control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, data network access, IP routing, etc.) of the core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212. In another configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 leading to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 leading to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 can be used with UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 The UE 204 can communicate with any UE depicted in the diagram. Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may connect to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network or may be located outside the core network.

[0049] Figure 2BAnother example wireless network architecture 250 is shown. For example, 5GC 260 can be functionally considered as cooperating to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260) with control plane functions provided by the access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and user plane functions provided by the user plane function (UPF) 262. User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect ng-eNB 224 to 5GC 260, specifically to UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively. In another configuration, gNB 222 can also connect to 5GC 260 via control plane interface 265 to AMF 264 and user plane interface 263 to UPF 262. Furthermore, ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223, with or without a direct gNB connection to 5GC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. The gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 can be used with UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 The base station of the new RAN 220 communicates with the AMF 264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via the N3 interface.

[0050] The functions of AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between UE 204 and the session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with the authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) subscriber identity module (USIM), AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSIM. The AMF 264 also includes security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF and uses these keys to derive network-specific access keys. Other functions of the AMF 264 include location service management for supervisory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interaction with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, the AMF 264 supports functions for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0051] The functions of UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule implementation (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing (e.g., uplink / downlink rate implementation, reflected QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between the UE 204 and the location server via the user plane (such as the secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP) 272).

[0052] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic routing at UPF 262 to route traffic to appropriate destinations, control of policy implementation and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0053] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network 5GC 260 and / or via the Internet (not shown). SLP 272 can support similar functionality to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, the new RAN 220, and UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients via the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP). Figure 2B (Not shown in the image) communicates.

[0054] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are shown that can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support the file transfer operations taught herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown can also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may contain one or more components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0055] UE 302 and base station 304 each include wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, to provide means modules (e.g., means modules for transmitting, means modules for receiving, means modules for measuring, means modules for tuning, means modules for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc.). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communication with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum). According to the specified RAT, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured differently to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 respectively.

[0056] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide access via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest. The transceivers 320 and 360 are device modules (e.g., a transmission device module, a reception device module, a measurement device module, a tuning device module, a transmission suppression device module, etc.) that communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). According to the specified RAT, WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured differently to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 respectively.

[0057] Transceiver circuitry including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may, in some embodiments, comprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as transmitter and receiver circuitry of a single communication device), in some embodiments, comprise separate transmitter and receiver devices, or in other embodiments, may be embodied in a different manner. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that allow a corresponding device to perform transmit “beamforming” as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that allow a corresponding device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, and cannot receive or transmit simultaneously. The wireless communication equipment of UE 302 and / or base station 304 (e.g., transceivers 310 and 320 and / or one or both of 350 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) for performing various measurements.

[0058] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver 330 and an SPS receiver 370. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may each provide a device module for receiving and / or measuring SPS signals 338 and 378 (such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc.). SPS receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. SPS receivers 330 and 370 request appropriate information and operation from other systems and perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithm to determine the positioning of UE 302 and base station 304.

[0059] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and 390 to provide means modules (e.g., means modules for transmitting, means modules for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities. For example, network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) can be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via wired or wireless backhaul connections. In some aspects, network interfaces 380 and 390 can be implemented as transceivers configured to support wired or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, transmitting and receiving messages, parameters, and / or other types of information.

[0060] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302 includes processor circuitry implementing processing system 332 for providing, for example, functions related to wireless positioning and for providing other processing functions. Base station 304 includes processing system 384 for providing, for example, functions related to wireless positioning disclosed herein and for providing other processing functions. Network entity 306 includes processing system 394 for providing, for example, functions related to wireless positioning disclosed herein and for providing other processing functions. Processing systems 332, 384, and 394 can therefore provide means modules for processing, such as means modules for determining, means modules for calculating, means modules for receiving, means modules for transmitting, means modules for indicating, etc. In one aspect, the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more processors, such as one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0061] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Memory components 340, 386, and 396 can therefore provide means modules for storage, means modules for retrieval, means modules for maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include sensor modules 342, 388, and 398. Sensor modules 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, causing UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein when processing systems 332, 384, and 394 are executed. In other respects, sensor modules 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, sensor modules 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A The possible locations of the sensor module 342 are shown. The sensor module 342 may be part of the WWAN transceiver 310, memory component 340, processing system 332, or any combination thereof, or it may be a standalone component. Figure 3B The possible locations of the sensor module 388 are shown. The sensor module 388 may be part of the WWAN transceiver 350, memory component 386, processing system 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C The possible locations of sensor module 398 are shown. Sensor module 398 may be part of network interface(s) 390, memory component 396, processing system 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0062] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to processing system 332 to provide a means module for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by WWAN transceiver 310, WLAN transceiver 320, and / or SPS receiver 330. For example, the sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include various different types of devices, and their outputs may be combined to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in 2D and / or 3D coordinate systems.

[0063] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides means modules for providing instructions to the user (e.g., auditory and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user activates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0064] Referring more specifically to processing system 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processing system 384. Processing system 384 can implement functions for the RRC layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, and medium access control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 can provide: RRC layer functions associated with the following: broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with the following: header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with the following: delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with the following: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0065] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 can implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, can include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be segmented into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine coding and modulation schemes as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from the reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by UE 302. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0066] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to processing system 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, receiver 312 can combine them into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to the processing system 332, which implements the Level 3 (L3) function and the Level 3 (L2) function.

[0067] In the uplink, processing system 332 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from the core network. Processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0068] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with downlink transmissions of base station 304, processing system 332 provides: RRC layer functions associated with: system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with: upper-layer PDU delivery, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs to transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0069] Transmitter 314 can use a channel estimate derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by base station 304 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to (multiple) different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0070] At base station 304, uplink transmissions are processed in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to processing system 384.

[0071] In the uplink, processing system 384 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from processing system 384 can be provided to the core network. Processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0072] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figures 3A-3C The boxes shown are intended to include various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the boxes shown may have different functions in different designs.

[0073] Various components of UE 302, base station 304 and network entity 306 can communicate with each other through data bus 334, data bus 382 and data bus 392 respectively. Figures 3A-3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figures 3A-3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide functionality. For example, some or all of the functions represented by boxes 310 to 346 can be implemented by the processor and(s) memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by properly configuring the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functions represented by boxes 350 to 388 can be implemented by the processor and(s) memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by properly configuring the processor components). Furthermore, some or all of the functions represented by boxes 390 to 398 can be implemented by the processor and(s) memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by properly configuring the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed by “UE”, “base station”, “network entity”, etc. However, it should be understood that these operations, actions and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processing systems 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memory components 340, 386 and 396, sensor modules 342, 388 and 398, etc.

[0074] Figure 4 A system 400 for implementing NR interference management techniques according to some aspects of this disclosure is shown. Figure 4 In this system, the first BS (BS1) 402 and the second BS (BS2) 404 (which can be gNBs or other types of base stations) provide services to entities in a public area, for example, in cases where there is potential interference between the transmission beams from BS1 402 and BS2 404. Figure 4 In the example shown, BS1 402 serves a first UE (UE1) 406 carried by a pedestrian, while BS2 404 serves a second UE (UE2) 408 inside a vehicle. Figure 4 In the example shown, each BS has inputs from non-5G sensors (such as cameras or other image sensors, radar transceivers, LiDAR devices, ultrasonic rangefinders, or other types of sensors). Although Figure 4Sensor 410, installed to BS1 402, and sensor 412, installed to BS2 404, are shown; however, this is illustrative and not limiting: sensor data can be provided from various sources, including but not limited to sensors co-located with the BSs, sensors not co-located with the BSs, sensors within or coupled to UEs 406 and 408, etc. BS1 402 and BS2 404 can communicate with each other via a wired or wireless link 414. Figure 4 In this context, BS1 402, BS2 404, or both, are aware of obstacles 416 and 418, such as buildings or other physical structures. In some respects, information about obstacles 416 and 418 is provided by sensors or derived from data provided by sensors.

[0075] exist Figure 4 In the example shown, BS1 402 determines that it can directly transmit a beam (beam A) to UE1 406, or transmit a beam (beam B and its reflected beam B') to UE1 406 by reflecting a beam from obstacle 416, or transmit a beam (beam C and its reflected beam C') to UE1 406 by reflecting a beam from obstacle 418. Then, BS1 402 determines the planned beam configuration. In this example, BS1 402 determines that beam A has the best signal characteristics and plans to use beam A to transmit to UE1 406.

[0076] BS2 404 determines that beam D is the optimal beam for transmission to UE2 408 and informs BS1 402 of its intention to use beam D to transmit to UE2 408. In this way, BS1 402 obtains the planned beam configuration of the second BS, i.e., BS2 404's intention to transmit to UE2 408 via beam D. In some respects, BS1 402 and BS2 404 can communicate via the Xn interface.

[0077] Then, BS1 402 determines that the planned transmit beam will interfere with the planned transmit beam from BS2 404. In this example, BS1 402 determines that beam D from BS2 404 is likely to interfere with its beam A.

[0078] Then, BS1 402 determines a mitigation strategy to reduce or eliminate interference between its own planned transmission beam and the planned transmission beam from BS2 404. Multiple mitigation strategies can be used individually or in combination with other mitigation strategies. One mitigation strategy is for BS1 402 to modify its own transmission beam. Another mitigation strategy is for BS1 402 to request BS2 404 to modify BS2 404's transmission beam. Modifying the transmission beam can include, but is not limited to, changing the transmission power, changing the transmission time, using a different transmission beam, deciding not to transmit at all, or a combination thereof. Therefore, mitigation strategies may involve coordination between base stations, such as when BS2 404 receives a request from BS1 402 to modify the transmission beam planned by BS2 404, or mitigation strategies may not involve coordination between base stations, such as when BS1 402 unilaterally decides to modify its planned transmission beam coordination. Figure 4 In the example shown, BS1 402 can decide to transmit to UE1 406 via transmit beam C and its reflected beam C', even if the physical layer characteristics (e.g., RSRP, etc.) are not as good as those of beam A.

[0079] In the example just described, BS1 402 determines a mitigation strategy and, unilaterally or in cooperation with BS2 404, mitigates potential interference, while BS2 404 is the passive recipient of mitigation instructions (if any). However, it should be understood that the roles can be reversed, i.e., in the case where BS2 404 detects potential interference and creates and then implements a mitigation strategy, and in the case where BS1 402 is the passive party. In yet another example, both BS1 402 and BS2 404 can actively inspect for potential interference and each can create its own mitigation strategy. In this case, the two base stations can participate in negotiation or analysis to determine a mitigation strategy acceptable to both. It should be understood that either of the two base stations can simultaneously participate in the same interference detection and mitigation activities with the other base station. For example, when BS1 402 participates in this activity regarding potential interference from BS2 404, BS1 402 can also perform actions regarding interference from... Figure 4 The same analysis of potential interference from another base station (e.g., BS3) not shown in the diagram.

[0080] In some respects, mitigation strategies can be based at least in part on environmental data collected from sensors. For example, in Figure 4Based on sensor data, BS1 402 can determine that UE2 408 is traveling in a direction that could potentially interfere with the transmit beam C and its reflected beam C'. Therefore, BS1 402 can choose to use the transmit beam B and its reflected beam B' because the projection path of UE2 408 indicates that UE2 408 will not interfere with the transmit beam B and its reflected beam B' later. In some aspects, environmental data collected from sensors may include data describing the physical characteristics of objects, the location or orientation of objects, the movement or acceleration of objects, the identity of objects, the reflectivity of objects, some other characteristics of objects, or combinations thereof.

[0081] Therefore, the interference management techniques disclosed herein can include several aspects. One aspect is the technique of sharing planned transmission beam configurations between base stations, detecting potential interference between the planned transmission beams of one base station and the planned transmission beams of another base station, and taking measures to mitigate or eliminate potential interference. Taking measures to mitigate or eliminate potential interference can include a base station modifying its own planned transmission beam configuration, the base station requesting another base station to modify its planned transmission beam configuration, or both. For example, when changing environments (e.g., mobile traffic) produce dynamically changing reflections and beam paths, the same principle can be applied to beam pairs transmitted by a single base station, which may cause beams that did not previously interfere with each other to begin interfering with each other: the base station can detect and mitigate potential interference between its own transmission beams and between transmission beams from itself and another base station. Another aspect is the use of environmental data, including relatively static and relatively dynamic environmental conditions, as part of the process of determining planned transmission beam configurations, as part of interference mitigation efforts, or both. Yet another aspect is a combination of the above aspects.

[0082] The interference management techniques disclosed herein offer several technical advantages. Sharing planned transmit beam configurations among base stations allows each base station to detect potential interference between each other's transmit beams and take steps to mitigate or eliminate such interference. Taking into account environmental data collected from sensors associated with the base station or UEs served by the base station when planning or modifying transmit beam configurations allows the base station to detect potential interference caused by environmental conditions that may not be known to the base station through conventional feedback mechanisms such as location. The interference management techniques just described can be combined to provide the base station with a wealth of additional knowledge that the base station can use to plan or modify transmit beam configurations to reduce interference.

[0083] Figure 5 A method 500 associated with NR interference management techniques according to some aspects of this disclosure is shown. Figure 5 A scenario involving a first gNB (gNB1) 502 and a second gNB (gNB2) 504 is illustrated. Figure 5In the example shown, gNB1 502 can collect environmental data from the sensor at optional box 506, while gNB2 504 can also collect environmental data at optional box 506.

[0084] At optional box 510, gNB1 502 and gNB2 504 can exchange environmental data with each other. In some aspects, the environmental data may include geometric data that describes the size, location, position, or other geometric information about environmental features (e.g., buildings, vehicles, or other obstacles). This data communication can be unidirectional (e.g., from gNB2 to gNB1) or bidirectional.

[0085] At 512, gNB1 502 plans the use of its transmit beams (e.g., determines the planned transmit beam configuration), and at 514, gNB2 504 plans the use of its transmit beams. For example, gNBs can plan their transmit beam configurations based on physical layer characteristics, such as selecting beams with optimal RSRP, signal quality, or other metrics to communicate with the target UE.

[0086] At point 516, gNB2 504 transmits its planned transmission beam configuration to gNB1 502. Optionally, at point 518, gNB1 502 may communicate its planned transmission beam configuration to gNB2 504. In some aspects, this information is transmitted directly from gNB to gNB, for example, via the Xn interface, without involving location servers or other core network nodes.

[0087] At 520, gNB1 502 identifies potential transmit beam interference. For example, gNB1 502 may plan to transmit a beam toward a target UE, and may detect that a planned beam from gNB2 504 will simultaneously transmit toward or into the same area. Similarly, if gNB2 504 has received a planned transmission configuration from gNB1 502, gNB2 504 may also detect the same potential transmit beam interference or other potential transmit beam interference from gNB1 502 or other transmit / receive points (TRPs).

[0088] At 522, gNB1 502 determines a mitigation strategy (creates a mitigation plan) to reduce or eliminate potential transmit beam interference. In some aspects, at 524, gNB1 502 may request gNB2 504 to modify its planned transmit beam configuration. In some aspects, at 526, gNB1 502 may modify its own planned transmit beam configuration. Modifying the planned transmit beam configuration may include changing the transmit power of the beam, changing the timing of the beam, changing the direction of the beam, selecting a different beam from the initially selected beam, or even canceling the transmission of a specific beam.

[0089] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of an example process 600 associated with interference management techniques. In some implementations, Figure 6 One or more process blocks can be executed by a first BS (e.g., BS 102, gNB1 502). In some implementations, Figure 6 One or more process frames may be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the first BS. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 6 One or more process frames can be executed by one or more components of device 304, such as processing system 385, memory 386, WWAN transceiver 350, WLAN transceiver 360, and network interface 380.

[0090] like Figure 6 As shown, process 600 may optionally include collecting environmental data from sensors associated with the first BS (block 602). For example, the first BS may collect environmental data from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to a UE served by the first BS, or other sources associated with the first BS. In some aspects, environmental data may include geometric data describing the size, location, position, or other geometric information about environmental features (e.g., buildings, vehicles, or other obstacles). In some aspects, environmental data collected from sensors may include data collected from image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, location detection or sensing devices, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, environmental data collected from sensors may include data describing the physical characteristics of objects, the location or orientation of objects, the movement or acceleration of objects, the identity of objects, or combinations thereof.

[0091] like Figure 6 As further shown, process 600 may optionally include sharing environmental data with the second BS (block 604). For example, the first BS may transmit its environmental data to the second BS, the second BS may transmit environmental data collected from sensors associated with the second BS to the first BS, or both. The environmental data received from the second BS may be of the same or different type as the environmental data transmitted to the second BS, including but not limited to the types of environmental data described above with respect to block 602.

[0092] like Figure 6As further shown, process 600 may include determining a first planned transmit beam configuration for the first BS (block 606). In some aspects, the first BS may plan its transmit beam configuration based on physical layer characteristics, such as selecting a beam with optimal RSRP, signal quality, or other metrics to communicate with the target UE.

[0093] In some respects, the first BS can take environmental data into account when determining the first planned transmission beam configuration. For example, if the environmental data indicates the presence of a truck or other moving obstacle, and also indicates that the moving obstacle is currently or will soon block the transmission beam of the target UE, the first BS can choose to use a different beam to avoid current or future interference.

[0094] like Figure 6 As further shown, process 600 may include obtaining a second planned transmission beam configuration of the second BS (e.g., BS 102, gNB2 504) (block 608). In some aspects, the second planned transmission beam configuration of the second BS is obtained via the Xn interface.

[0095] like Figure 6 As further shown, process 600 may optionally include transmitting a first planned transmission beam configuration to the second BS (block 610). In some aspects, the first planned transmission beam configuration is transmitted via the Xn interface.

[0096] like Figure 6 As further shown, process 600 may include determining that a first planned transmission beam of a first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with a second planned transmission beam of a second planned transmission beam configuration (block 612). For example, a first BS may determine that the first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with the second planned transmission beam of the second planned transmission beam configuration. For example, the first BS may plan to transmit a beam toward a target UE and may detect that a planned beam from a second BS will be transmitted toward or sent to the same area simultaneously. Similarly, if the second BS has already received the planned transmission configuration from the first BS, the second BS may also detect the same potential transmission beam interference or other potential transmission beam interference from the first BS or other transmit / receive points (TRPs).

[0097] like Figure 6As further illustrated, process 600 may include modifying a first planned transmit beam, a second planned transmit beam, or both based on interference determination (block 614). For example, the first BS may modify the first planned transmit beam, the second planned transmit beam, or both based on the interference determination described above. In some aspects, modifying the planned transmit beam may include canceling the planned transmit beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmit beam. In some aspects, changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmit beam may include changing the transmission power of the planned transmit beam, changing the timing of the planned transmit beam, changing the direction of the planned transmit beam, using a transmit beam different from the planned transmit beam, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, when modifying the transmit beam, environmental data from the first BS (and environmental data from the second BS, if such environmental data is available to the first BS) may be taken into consideration.

[0098] although Figure 6 An example block diagram of process 600 is shown, but in some implementations, process 600 may include more than Figure 6 The boxes shown may have more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or different arrangements. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 600 may be executed in parallel.

[0099] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of an example process 700 associated with interference management techniques. In some implementations, Figure 7 One or more process blocks can be executed by a first BS (e.g., BS 102, gNB1 502). In some implementations, Figure 7 One or more process frames may be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the first BS. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 7 One or more process frames can be executed by one or more components of device 304, such as processing system 385, memory 386, WWAN transceiver 350, WLAN transceiver 360, and network interface 380.

[0100] like Figure 7As shown, process 700 may optionally include collecting environmental data from sensors associated with the first BS (block 702). For example, the first BS may collect environmental data from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to a UE served by the first BS, or other sources associated with the first BS. In some aspects, environmental data may include geometric data describing the size, location, position, or other geometric information about environmental features (e.g., buildings, vehicles, or other obstacles). In some aspects, environmental data collected from sensors may include data collected from image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, location detection or sensing devices, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, environmental data collected from sensors may include data describing the physical characteristics of objects, the location or orientation of objects, the movement or acceleration of objects, the identity of objects, or combinations thereof.

[0101] like Figure 7 As further shown, process 700 may optionally include sharing environmental data with the second BS (block 704). For example, the first BS may transmit its environmental data to the second BS, the second BS may transmit environmental data collected from sensors associated with the second BS to the first BS, or both. The environmental data received from the second BS may be of the same or different type as the environmental data transmitted to the second BS, including but not limited to the types of environmental data described above with respect to block 704.

[0102] like Figure 7 As shown, process 700 may further include transmitting the first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS to the second BS (e.g., BS 102, gNB2 504) (block 706). For example, the first BS may transmit the first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS to the second BS, as described above. In some aspects, the first planned transmission beam configuration may be transmitted to the second BS via the Xn interface.

[0103] like Figure 7 As further shown, process 700 may include receiving a request from the second BS for modifying the first planned transmission beam configuration (block 708). For example, the BS may receive the request for modifying the first planned transmission beam configuration from the second BS, as described above. In some aspects, the request for modifying the first planned transmission beam configuration may be received via the Xn interface.

[0104] like Figure 7As further shown, process 700 may include modifying the first planned transmission beam upon request (block 710). For example, the first BS may modify the first planned transmission beam upon request, as described above. In some aspects, modifying the first planned transmission beam may include canceling the first planned transmission beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam. In some aspects, changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam may include changing the transmission power of the first planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the first planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the first planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the first planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

[0105] although Figure 7 An example block diagram of process 700 is shown, but in some implementations, process 700 may include more than Figure 7 The boxes shown may have more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or different arrangements. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 700 may be executed in parallel.

[0106] Figure 8 This is a flowchart of an example process 800 associated with interference management techniques. In some implementations, Figure 8 One or more process frames can be executed by a BS (e.g., BS 102, gNB1 502, gNB2 504). In some implementations, Figure 8 One or more process frames can be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the BS. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 8 One or more process frames can be executed by one or more components of device 304, such as processing system 385, memory 386, WWAN transceiver 350, WLAN transceiver 360, and network interface 380.

[0107] like Figure 8 As shown, process 800 may include acquiring environmental data collected from sensors associated with the BS (block 802). For example, the BS may acquire environmental data collected from sensors associated with the BS, as described above. In some aspects, the environmental data is collected from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to a user equipment (UE) served by the first BS, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the environmental data collected from sensors may include data collected from image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, location detection or sensing devices, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the environmental data collected from sensors may include data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the object's location or orientation, the object's movement or acceleration, the object's identity, or combinations thereof.

[0108] like Figure 8 As further shown, process 800 may optionally include acquiring environmental data collected from sensors associated with the second BS (block 804). For example, the BS may receive environmental data from the second BS via an Xn interface.

[0109] like Figure 8 As further illustrated, process 800 may include determining interference to the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics based on environmental data (block 806). For example, the BS may determine interference to the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics based on environmental data, as described above.

[0110] like Figure 8 As further shown, process 800 may include modifying the planned transmission beam to reduce or eliminate interference from the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics (box 806). For example, the BS may modify the planned transmission beam to reduce or eliminate interference from the planned transmission beam caused by static environmental characteristics (such as buildings and other reflective sources), transient environmental characteristics (such as vehicle, rail, aircraft, or shipping traffic), or slowly changing environmental characteristics (such as weather (rain, snow, fog, strong winds) and temperature). In some aspects, modifying the planned transmission beam may include canceling the planned transmission beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmission beam. In some aspects, changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmission beam may include changing the transmission power of the planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof. In the aspect of receiving environmental data from the second BS, the first BS may also determine interference based on the environmental data.

[0111] although Figure 8 An example block diagram of process 800 is shown, but in some implementations, process 800 may include more than Figure 8 The boxes shown may have more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or different arrangements. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 800 may be executed in parallel.

[0112] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of an example process 900 associated with interference management techniques. In some implementations, Figure 9 One or more process blocks can be executed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, UE 302). In some implementations, Figure 9 One or more process frames can be executed by another device or a group of devices that are separate from or include the UE. Additionally or alternatively, Figure 9One or more process blocks can be executed by one or more components of UE 302, such as processing system 332, memory 340, WWAN transceiver 310, WLAN transceiver 320 and user interface 346.

[0113] like Figure 9 As shown, process 900 may include receiving a request from a requesting entity for reporting UE capabilities (box 902). In some aspects, the requesting entity may include a base station, a radio network node, or a core network node. For example, the UE may receive a request from a requesting entity (such as a serving BS) to provide UE capabilities to the requesting entity. The request may be a request for overall capability reporting or a request for specific reporting sensor capabilities.

[0114] like Figure 9 As further illustrated, process 900 may include reporting to the requesting entity the UE's ability to provide environmental data collected from sensors (box 904). For example, the UE may report to the BS or other requesting entity a list of sensors owned, coupled to, or accessible to the UE; a list of sensor data accessible to the UE (regardless of whether the UE physically possesses the sensor); or a combination thereof. Examples of sensors that the UE may own or be able to access include, but are not limited to, image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, location detection or sensing devices, or other types of sensors. In some aspects, environmental data collected from sensors may include data describing the physical characteristics of objects, the location or orientation of objects, the movement or acceleration of objects, the identity of objects, or a combination thereof. For example, the UE may be able to provide raw LiDAR distance data, a description of 3D objects detected using LiDAR, or both. The same concept applies to RADAR or other sensor technologies from which the size, shape, and position of 3D objects can be derived.

[0115] like Figure 9 As further shown, process 900 may include receiving a request from a requesting entity for environmental data collected from sensors (block 906). For example, the UE may receive a request to provide specific sensor data (such as images, current location or positioning, current movement or motion of the UE or other objects within the UE's environment) to the BS or other requesting entity. If the UE has indicated that it can also provide environmental data (such as a description of three-dimensional objects within the environment), the UE may receive a request to report such object data to the BS or other requesting entity.

[0116] like Figure 9As further shown, process 900 may include providing the requesting entity with the requested environmental data collected from sensors (block 908). For example, the UE may provide a three-dimensional description of static structures (such as buildings), dynamic structures (such as vehicles), and the current location or orientation, or motion or movement of these objects and the UE itself. Similarly, the UE may provide raw sensor data, such as images, sound, temperature, location, etc. The requesting entity can then use this sensor and environmental data to help determine transmit beam configuration, mitigation strategies, or both.

[0117] although Figure 9 An example block diagram of process 900 is shown, but in some implementations, process 900 may include more than Figure 9 The boxes shown may have more boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or different arrangements. Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 900 may be executed in parallel.

[0118] Figure 10 This is a conceptual data flow diagram 1000 illustrating the data flow between different device modules / components in exemplary devices 1002 and 1004 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Devices 1002 and 1004 can both be base stations (e.g., BS102, gNB1 502, gBN2 504).

[0119] Device 1002 includes a transmitting component 1006, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The transmitter circuitry in the illustrated device 304 includes, for example, multiple WWAN transmitters 354 or multiple WLAN transmitters 364. The device 1002 also includes a processing component 1008, which may correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The processor circuitry in the illustrated device 304 includes a processing system 384, etc. Device 1002 also includes a receiving component 1010, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The receiver circuitry in the device 304 shown includes, for example, multiple WWAN receivers 352 or multiple WLAN receivers 362.

[0120] Device 1004 includes receiving component 1012, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The receiver circuitry in the illustrated device 304 includes, for example, multiple WWAN receivers 352 or multiple WLAN receivers 362. Device 1004 also includes a processing component 1014, which may correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The processor circuitry in the illustrated device 304 includes a processing system 384, etc. The device 1004 also includes a transmitting component 1016, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3BThe transmitter circuitry in the device 304 shown includes, for example, multiple WWAN transmitters 354 or multiple WLAN transmitters 364.

[0121] refer to Figure 10 Processing component 1008 optionally collects environmental data from sensors associated with device 1002 and optionally directs transmitting component 1006 to receiving component 1012 to transmit the environmental data. Processing component 1014 optionally collects environmental data from sensors associated with device 1004 and optionally directs transmitting component 1016 to receiving component 1010 to transmit the environmental data. Processing component 1008 plans the use of a transmission beam, for example, creating a first planned transmission beam configuration. Processing component 1014 also plans the use of a transmission beam, for example, creating a second planned transmission beam configuration. Processing component 1008 optionally directs transmitting component 1006 to transmitting the first planned transmission beam configuration to receiving component 1012. Processing component 1014 directs transmitting component 1016 to transmitting the second planned transmission beam configuration to receiving component 1010. Processing component 1008 identifies potential interference between a first transmit beam configured with a first planned transmit beam configuration and a second transmit beam configured with a second planned transmit beam configuration, and optionally modifies the first transmit beam, optionally directs transmitting component 1006 to receiving component 1012 to transmit a request to modify the second transmit beam, or both.

[0122] One or more components of devices 1002 and 1004 can perform the aforementioned functions. Figures 6-8 Each block of the algorithm in the flowchart. Thus, the aforementioned Figures 6-8 Each block in the flowchart can be executed by a component, and devices 1002 and 1004 can include one or more of these components. These components can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to execute the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for processor implementation, or some combination thereof.

[0123] Figure 11 This is a conceptual data flow diagram 1100 illustrating the data flow between different device modules / components in exemplary devices 1102 and 1104 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 1102 may be a base station (e.g., BS 102, gNB1 502, gBN2 504). Device 1104 may be a UE (e.g., UE 104, UE 302).

[0124] Device 1102 includes a transmitting component 1106, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3BThe transmitter circuitry in the illustrated device 304 includes, for example, multiple WWAN transmitters 354 or multiple WLAN transmitters 364. The device 1102 also includes a processing component 1108, which may correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The processor circuitry in the illustrated device 304 includes a processing system 384, etc. Device 1102 also includes a receiving component 1110, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3B The receiver circuitry in the device 304 shown includes, for example, multiple WWAN receivers 352 or multiple WLAN receivers 362.

[0125] Device 1104 includes a receiving component 1112, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3A The receiver circuitry in the UE 302 shown includes, for example, multiple WWAN receivers 312 or multiple WLAN receivers 322. The device 1104 also includes a processing component 1114, which may correspond to, for example... Figure 3A The processor circuitry in the UE 302 shown includes a processing system 332, etc. The device 1104 also includes a transmitting component 1116, which can correspond to, for example... Figure 3A The transmitter circuitry in the UE 302 shown includes, for example, multiple WWAN transmitters 314 or multiple WLAN transmitters 324.

[0126] refer to Figure 11 Processing component 1108 directs sending component 1106 to receiving component 1112 to transmit a request for the capabilities of reporting device 1104. This request can be for overall reporting capabilities or for the capabilities of specific reporting sensors. Processing component 1114 directs sending component 1116 to receiving component 1110 to transmit a report on the capability of device 1104 to provide environmental data collected from sensors associated with device 1104. Processing component 1108 directs sending component 1106 to receiving component 1112 to transmit a request for environmental data collected from sensors associated with device 1104. This request can specify a particular type of environmental data to be transmitted by device 1104. Processing component 1114 directs sending component 1116 to receiving component 1110 to transmit the requested environmental data collected from the sensors.

[0127] One or more components of device 1102 can perform the aforementioned functions. Figures 6-8 Each block of the algorithm in the flowchart, and one or more components of device 1104 can perform the aforementioned... Figure 9 Each block of the algorithm in the flowchart. Thus, the aforementioned Figures 6-9Each block in the flowchart can be executed by a component, and devices 1102 and 1104 can include one or more of these components. These components can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to execute the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to execute the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for processor implementation, or some combination thereof.

[0128] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a device 1200 employing a processing system 1202. The processing system 1202 can be implemented using a bus architecture typically represented by a bus 1204. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1202, the bus 1204 may include any number of interconnect buses and bridges. The bus 1204 links various circuits together, including one or more processors and / or hardware components represented by a processor 1206, a transmitting component 1208, a receiving component 1210, a sensor 1212, and a computer-readable medium / memory 1214. The bus 1204 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and will therefore not be described further.

[0129] Processing system 1202 may be coupled to transceiver 1216. Transceiver 1216 is coupled to one or more antennas 1218. Transceiver 1216 provides a device module for communicating with various other devices via a transmission medium. Transceiver 1216 receives signals from one or more antennas 1218, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to processing system 1202 (specifically, receiving component 1210). Furthermore, transceiver 1216 receives information from processing system 1202 (specifically, transmitting component 1208) and generates signals to be applied to one or more antennas 1218 based on the received information. Processing system 1202 includes processor 1206 coupled to computer-readable medium / memory 1214. Processor 1206 is responsible for overall processing, including executing software stored on computer-readable medium / memory 1214. When this software is executed by processor 1206, it causes processing system 1202 to perform the various functions described above for any particular device. The computer-readable medium / memory 1214 can also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 1206 when executing software. The processing system 1202 also includes at least one of components 1208, 1210, and 1212. These components may be software components running in the processor 1206, residing in / stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1214, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1206, or some combination thereof. Figure 1 BS 102 Figure 3B BS 304 Figure 5 gNB1 502 or gNB2 504, Figure 10 Device 1002 or 1004, or Figure 11 The components of device 1102.

[0130] In one configuration, the apparatus 1200 (e.g., BS) includes an apparatus module for determining a first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS, an apparatus module for obtaining a second planned transmission beam configuration of the second BS, an apparatus module for determining that the first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with the second planned transmission beam of the second planned transmission beam configuration, and an apparatus module for modifying the first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam, or both based on the interference determination.

[0131] In another configuration, the apparatus 1200 (e.g., BS) includes a means module for transmitting a first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS to a second BS, a means module for receiving a request from the second BS for modifying the first planned transmission beam configuration of the first planned transmission beam, and a means module for modifying the first planned transmission beam according to the request.

[0132] In another configuration, the device 1200 (e.g., BS) includes a device module for acquiring environmental data collected from sensors associated with the BS, a device module for determining interference of the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics based on the environmental data, and a device module for modifying the planned transmission beam to reduce or eliminate interference of the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics.

[0133] The aforementioned device module may be one or more of the aforementioned components of device 1200 and / or a processing system 1202 of device 1200 configured to perform the functions described in the aforementioned device module. As described above, the processing system 1202 may include a processor 1206, a transmitting component 1208, a receiving component 1210, (a plurality of) sensors 1212, and a computer-readable medium / memory 1214.

[0134] Figure 13This is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a device 1300 employing a processing system 1302. The processing system 1302 can be implemented using a bus architecture typically represented by a bus 1304. Depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1302, the bus 1304 may include any number of interconnect buses and bridges. The bus 1304 links various circuits together, including one or more processors and / or hardware components represented by a processor 1306, a transmitting component 1308, a receiving component 1310, a sensor 1312, and a computer-readable medium / memory 1314. The bus 1304 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further.

[0135] Processing system 1302 may be coupled to transceiver 1316. Transceiver 1316 is coupled to one or more antennas 1318. Transceiver 1316 provides a device module for communicating with various other devices via a transmission medium. Transceiver 1316 receives signals from one or more antennas 1318, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to processing system 1302 (specifically, receiving component 1310). Furthermore, transceiver 1316 receives information from processing system 1302 (specifically, transmitting component 1308) and generates signals to be applied to one or more antennas 1318 based on the received information. Processing system 1302 includes processor 1306 coupled to computer-readable medium / memory 1314. Processor 1306 is responsible for overall processing, including executing software stored on computer-readable medium / memory 1314. When this software is executed by processor 1306, processing system 1302 performs the various functions described above for any particular device. The computer-readable medium / memory 1314 can also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 1306 when executing software. The processing system 1302 also includes at least one of components 1308, 1310, and 1312. These components may be software components running in the processor 1306, residing in / stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1314, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 1306, or some combination thereof. Figure 1 UE 104 Figure 3A UE 302 or Figure 11 The components of device 1104.

[0136] In one configuration, apparatus 1300 (e.g., UE) includes an apparatus module for receiving a request from a requesting entity for a request to report the UE's ability to provide environmental data collected from sensors, an apparatus module for receiving a request from the requesting entity for environmental data collected from sensors, and an apparatus module for providing the requested environmental data collected from sensors to the requesting entity.

[0137] The aforementioned device module may be one or more of the aforementioned components of device 1300 and / or a processing system 1302 of device 1300 configured to perform the functions described in the aforementioned device module. As described above, the processing system 1302 may include a processor 1306, a transmitting component 1308, a receiving component 1310, (a plurality of) sensors 1312, and a computer-readable medium / memory 1314.

[0138] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be interpreted broadly as hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented in a combination of hardware, firmware, and / or hardware and software.

[0139] As used in this article, satisfying a threshold can mean that a value is greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, etc., depending on the context.

[0140] It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented in various forms of hardware, firmware, and / or combinations of hardware and software. The actual dedicated control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not limited to these aspects. Therefore, this document describes the operation and behavior of these systems and / or methods without reference to specific software code—it should be understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement these systems and / or methods, at least in part, based on the description herein.

[0141] Even if a particular combination of features is stated in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of aspects. In fact, many of these features can be combined in ways that are not specifically stated in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of aspects includes combinations of each dependent claim with every other claim in the claim set. The phrase referring to “at least one” in a list of items means any combination of these items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover any combination of a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination of multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbb, bbb, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0142] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, no element, action, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or necessary. Furthermore, as used herein, the articles “a” and “one” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Additionally, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” In cases referring to only one item, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “have,” “possess,” “own,” etc., are open-ended terms. Additionally, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “at least partially based on” unless otherwise explicitly stated.

[0143] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are combined in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as having more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than all the features of a single example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered as included in the specification, whereby each clause may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspects(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations(s) of aspects of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or any feature combined with other dependent and independent clauses. The aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless expressly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). Furthermore, it is intended that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on that independent clause.

[0144] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0145] Clause 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a first BS, the method comprising: determining a first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS; obtaining a second planned transmission beam configuration of a second BS; determining that the first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with the second planned transmission beam of the second planned transmission beam configuration; and modifying the first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam, or both based on the interference determination.

[0146] Clause 2: The method described in Clause 1, wherein modifying the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam includes canceling the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, or changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam.

[0147] Clause 3: The method described in Clause 2, wherein changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam includes changing the transmission power of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

[0148] Clause 4: The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein the planned transmission beam configuration of the second BS is obtained via the Xn interface.

[0149] Clause 5: The method described under any one of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the following is based at least in part on environmental data collected from sensors associated with the first BS: determining a first planned transmission beam configuration; and modifying the first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam; or both.

[0150] Clause 6: The method described in Clause 5 further includes: sending environmental data collected from the sensors to a second BS.

[0151] Clause 7: The method according to any one of Clauses 5 to 6, wherein the environmental data is collected from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to the UE served by the first BS, or a combination thereof.

[0152] Clause 8: The method according to any one of Clauses 5 to 7, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensor includes data collected from an image sensor, microphone, RADAR device, LIDAR device, ultrasonic device, positioning detection or sensing device, or a combination thereof.

[0153] Clause 9: The method according to any one of Clauses 5 to 8, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensors includes data describing the physical characteristics of the object, the position or location of the object, the movement or acceleration of the object, the identity of the object, or a combination thereof.

[0154] Clause 10: A method of wireless communication performed by a first BS, the method comprising: transmitting a first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS to a second BS; receiving from the second BS a request for modification of a first planned transmission beam of the first planned transmission beam configuration; and modifying the first planned transmission beam according to the request.

[0155] Clause 11: The method described in Clause 10, wherein modifying the first planned transmission beam includes canceling the first planned transmission beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam.

[0156] Clause 12: The method according to Clause 11, wherein changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam includes changing the transmission power of the first planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the first planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the first planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the first planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

[0157] Clause 13: The method according to any one of Clauses 10 to 12, wherein the first planned transmit beam configuration is transmitted to the second BS via the Xn interface.

[0158] Clause 14: The method described in Clause 13 further includes: collecting environmental data from a sensor associated with the first BS; and transmitting the environmental data collected from the sensor to the second BS.

[0159] Clause 15: The method described in Clause 14, wherein the environmental data is collected from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to the UE served by the first BS, or a combination thereof.

[0160] Clause 16: The method according to any one of Clauses 14 to 15, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensor includes data collected from an image sensor, microphone, RADAR device, LIDAR device, ultrasonic device, positioning detection or sensing device, or a combination thereof.

[0161] Clause 17: The method according to any one of Clauses 14 to 16, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensors includes data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the position or location of the object, the movement or acceleration of the object, the identity of the object, or a combination thereof.

[0162] Clause 18: A method for wireless communication performed by a BS, the method comprising: acquiring environmental data collected from sensors associated with the BS; determining interference of a planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics based on the environmental data; and modifying the planned transmission beam to reduce or eliminate interference of the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics.

[0163] Clause 19: The method described in Clause 18, wherein modifying the planned transmission beam includes canceling the planned transmission beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmission beam.

[0164] Clause 20: The method described in Clause 19, wherein changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmission beam includes changing the transmission power of the planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

[0165] Clause 21: The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 20, wherein the environmental data is collected from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to the UE served by the first BS, or a combination thereof.

[0166] Clause 22: The method according to Clause 21, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensor includes data collected from an image sensor, microphone, RADAR device, LIDAR device, ultrasonic device, positioning detection or sensing device, or a combination thereof.

[0167] Clause 23: The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 22, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensors includes data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the position or location of the object, the movement or acceleration of the object, the identity of the object, or a combination thereof.

[0168] Clause 24: The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 23 further includes: obtaining environmental data collected from sensors associated with the second BS, wherein interference with the planned transmission beam caused by environmental factors is determined based on environmental data associated with the first BS, environmental data associated with the second BS, or both.

[0169] Clause 25: A method of wireless communication performed by a UE, the method comprising: receiving from a requesting entity a request for a capability to report the UE's ability; reporting to the requesting entity the UE's capability to provide environmental data collected from sensors; receiving from the requesting entity a request for environmental data collected from sensors; and providing the requested environmental data collected from sensors to the requesting entity.

[0170] Clause 26: The method described in Clause 25, wherein the requesting entity includes a base station, a radio network node, or a core network node.

[0171] Clause 27: The method according to any one of Clauses 25 to 26, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensor includes data collected from an image sensor, microphone, RADAR device, LIDAR device, ultrasonic device, positioning detection or sensing device, or a combination thereof.

[0172] Clause 28: The method according to any one of Clauses 25 to 27, wherein the environmental data collected from the sensors includes data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the position or location of the object, the movement or acceleration of the object, the identity of the object, or a combination thereof.

[0173] Clause 29: An apparatus comprising a memory and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the at least one processor being configured to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 28.

[0174] Clause 30: An apparatus comprising an apparatus module for performing the method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 28.

[0175] Clause 31: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions including at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform a method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 28.

[0176] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0177] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether this functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0178] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0179] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be directly embodied in hardware, software modules executed by a processor, or a combination of both. Software modules can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0180] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, such functionality may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media (including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another). Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, any connection is properly referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave), then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) is included in the definition of medium. The disks and optical discs used in this article include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0181] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates illustrative aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of this disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of this disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms are also contemplated unless expressly stated as limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication performed by a first base station (BS), the method comprising: The first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS is determined based at least in part on sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to user equipment (UE) served by the first BS, or environmental data collected from other sources associated with the first BS. Obtain the second planned transmission beam configuration for the second BS; It is determined that the first planned transmission beam configuration will interfere with the second planned transmission beam configuration. as well as The first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam, or both are modified based on the interference determination.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Modifying the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam includes canceling the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, or changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, Changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam includes changing the transmission power of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the first planned transmission beam or the second planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The planned transmission beam configuration of the second BS is obtained via the Xn interface.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Modifying the first planned transmission beam, the second planned transmission beam, or both is at least partially based on the environmental data.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The environmental data is sent to the second BS.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The environmental data includes data collected from image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, positioning detection or sensing devices, or combinations thereof.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The environmental data includes data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the object's location or orientation, the object's movement or acceleration, the object's identity, or a combination thereof.

9. A method for wireless communication performed by a first base station (BS), the method comprising: The first planned transmission beam configuration of the first BS is transmitted to the second BS based at least in part on environmental data collected from sensors coupled to the first BS, sensors coupled to user equipment (UE) served by the first BS, or other sources associated with the first BS. Receive a request from the second BS to modify the configuration of the first planned transmission beam for the first planned transmission beam; as well as Modify the first planned transmission beam according to the request.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, Modifying the first planned transmission beam includes canceling the first planned transmission beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, Changing the transmission characteristics of the first planned transmission beam includes changing the transmission power of the first planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the first planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the first planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the first planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The first planned beam configuration is transmitted to the second BS via the Xn interface.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: The environmental data is sent to the second BS.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The environmental data includes data collected from image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, positioning detection or sensing devices, or combinations thereof.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The environmental data includes data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the object's location or orientation, the object's movement or acceleration, the object's identity, or a combination thereof.

16. A method for wireless communication performed by a first base station (BS), the method comprising: Environmental data collected from sensors associated with the first BS is obtained, wherein the sensors associated with the first BS include sensors coupled to the first BS or sensors coupled to user equipment (UE) served by the first BS, or a combination thereof; Obtain environmental data collected from sensors associated with the second BS; Interference with the planned transmission beam caused by environmental characteristics is determined based on the environmental data, wherein the interference with the planned transmission beam caused by environmental factors is determined based on environmental data associated with the first BS and environmental data associated with the second BS; and Modify the planned transmission beam to reduce or eliminate interference with the planned transmission beam caused by the environmental characteristics.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein, Modifying the planned transmission beam includes canceling the planned transmission beam or changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmission beam.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, Changing the transmission characteristics of the planned transmission beam includes changing the transmission power of the planned transmission beam, changing the timing of the planned transmission beam, changing the direction of the planned transmission beam, using a transmission beam different from the planned transmission beam, or a combination thereof.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The environmental data includes data collected from image sensors, microphones, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) devices, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices, ultrasonic devices, positioning detection or sensing devices, or combinations thereof.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The environmental data includes data describing the physical characteristics of an object, the object's location or orientation, the object's movement or acceleration, the object's identity, or a combination thereof.

21. The first base station (BS) includes: Memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-20.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a first base station (BS), cause the first BS to perform the method of any one of claims 1-20.

23. A first base station (BS) comprising an apparatus module for performing the steps of the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-20.

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