User equipment utilizes reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) for round trip time positioning

Abstract

Techniques for wireless positioning are disclosed. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) transmits an uplink reference signal to a first reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station, receives a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS, where at least one transmission parameter of the reflection identifies the reflection as the reflection of the uplink reference signal and enables a distance between the UE and the first RIS to be computed based at least in part on a transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing a difference between a transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and a reception time at the UE of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of Greek application No. 20210100209, filed on March 30, 2021, entitled “RECONFIGURABLE INTELLIGENTSURFACE(RIS)AIDED USER EQUIPMENT(UE)-BASED ROUND-TRIP-TIME(RTT)POSITIONING”, which has been assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The various aspects of this disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems have undergone multiple generations of development, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including temporary 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 used, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular 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 Communications (GSM), etc.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard (known as New Radio (NR)) demands higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of megabits per second of data to each of tens of thousands of users, and 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, it should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered a broad overview relating to all anticipated aspects, nor should it be considered as identifying key or important elements relating to all anticipated aspects, or depicting the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed descriptions presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: transmitting an uplink reference signal to a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station; receiving a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS, wherein at least one transmission parameter of the reflection identifies the reflection as a reflection of the uplink reference signal; and enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: a memory; a communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to: cause the communication interface to transmit an uplink reference signal to a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station; receive a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS via the communication interface, wherein at least one transmission parameter of the reflection identifies the reflection as a reflection of the uplink reference signal; and enable the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

[0009] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: means for transmitting an uplink reference signal to a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station; means for receiving a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS, wherein at least one transmission parameter of the reflection identifies the reflection as a reflection of the uplink reference signal; and means for enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

[0010] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: transmit an uplink reference signal to a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station; receive a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS, wherein at least one transmission parameter of the reflection identifies the reflection as a reflection of the uplink reference signal; and enable the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

[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 the various aspects disclosed, and are provided only for illustrative purposes and not for limiting them.

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

[0014] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example wireless network architecture according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0015] Figures 3A to 3C It is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that can be adopted and configured in user equipment (UE), base station and network entity to support communications as taught herein.

[0016] Figure 4 An example system for wireless communication using a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a diagram of an example RIS architecture based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 This diagram illustrates an example technique for determining the location of a UE using information obtained from multiple base stations.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating example timing of round-trip time (RTT) measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example RTT positioning process between the RIS and UE according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating examples of using different pre-configured delays according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 An example method of wireless positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0023] In the following description and accompanying drawings, various aspects of this disclosure are provided for illustrative purposes with reference to various examples. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, elements well-known in this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0024] As used herein, the terms “exemplary” and / or “example” mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or patterns of the operation discussed.

[0025] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips referenced throughout 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.

[0026] Furthermore, multiple aspects can be described based on sequences of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. Furthermore, the sequences of actions described herein can be considered fully implemented on any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which a corresponding set of computer instructions is stored, which, 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 implemented in several different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured” to perform the described actions.

[0027] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” (BS) are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). 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 positioning 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 may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be 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 a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to 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 a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.).

[0028] Depending on the network in which it is deployed, a base station can communicate with a UE based on one of several RATs and may be alternatively referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, NodeB, Evolved NodeB (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station can primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which a UE signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) may refer to an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0029] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit-receive 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 the antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station uses beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP 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 headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP can be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station through which the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Since a TRP is the point through which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station will be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0030] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections), but it may instead send reference signals to the UE for measurement, and / or receive and measure the 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).

[0031] 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.

[0032] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") 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, the macro cell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0033] 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 connect to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) positioning platform (SLP)) via core network 170. The location servers (multiple) 172 can be part of core network 170 or external to core network 170. Among other functions, base station 102 can perform functions associated with one or more of the following: 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 for 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) on backhaul links 134, which can be wired or wireless.

[0034] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, within each geographic coverage area 110, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resources called 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 on the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that provide access to different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or others). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, depending on the context, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity that supports it and the base station. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, where a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within certain portions of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0035] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some of the 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 and macro cell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs) that can provide service to restricted groups referred to as Closed Subscriber Groups (CSGs).

[0036] 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. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0037] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150, which 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 free channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0038] 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 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve coverage of the access network and / or increase its 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.

[0039] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can communicate with the UE 182 at mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz and has wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band can be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW can extend down to 3 GHz frequencies with wavelengths of 100 mm. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to 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 can 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 will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it will be recognized that the foregoing description is merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0040] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus 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 where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (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 directionality of the RF signal 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 array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that generates beams that can be "guided" to point RF waves in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with precise phase relationships so that radio waves from different antennas are superimposed to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling out radiation in undesired directions.

[0041] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to have the same parameters to the receiver (e.g., 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 of 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 offset, 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 offset 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 offset and average delay of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type 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.

[0042] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level) the RF signal received from that direction. Therefore, when a receiver is considered to be beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain 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.

[0043] The receive beam can be spatially correlated. Spatially correlated means that the parameters of the transmit beam used for the second reference signal can be derived from information about the receive beam used for 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., Position 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 Block (SSB), etc.) from the base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam based on the parameters of the receive beam, which is used to transmit one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., Uplink Position Reference Signal (UL-PRS), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to the base station.

[0044] Note that, depending on the entity forming the beam, a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. 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 it is a receive beam used to receive downlink reference signals. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the beam, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, then it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming an uplink beam, then that beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0045] In 5G, the spectrum in which radio nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) operate 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,” and 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 either performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all public and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, not always). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2). This carrier can be configured once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and it can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals; for example, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present on the secondary carrier, as both the primary uplink and 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 the uplink primary carrier. 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. Since a “serving cell” (which is a PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which some base stations are communicating, the terms “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” etc., are used interchangeably.

[0046] 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"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20MHz carrier, the aggregation of two 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system will theoretically typically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0047] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164 that can communicate with a macro cell base station 102 on a communication link 120 and / or with an mmW base station 180 on an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCell 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.

[0048] exist Figure 1 In the example, one or more Earth-orbiting Satellite Positioning System (SPS) spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites) can be used as any of the UEs shown (for simplicity, in... Figure 1 The location information is a separate source for a single UE 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated SPS receivers specifically designed to receive SPS signal 124 to derive geographic location information from SV 112. The SPS typically includes a transmitter (e.g., SV 112) system positioned such that receivers (e.g., UE 104) can determine their location on or above the Earth based at least in part on signals received from the transmitter (e.g., SPS signal 124). Such transmitters typically transmit signals of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes marked with a predetermined number of chips. While typically located in SV 112, the transmitter may sometimes be located at a ground control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104.

[0049] The use of SPS signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise enabled to be used with 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 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlap Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted Geo-Augmented Navigation, or GPS and Geo-Augmented Navigation System (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 signal 124 can include SPS, SPS-like systems, and / or other signals associated with one or more such SPS.

[0050] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are 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 1In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity). In the example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be connected via, for example, LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc. Any well-known D2D RAT support, etc.

[0051] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For example, a 5GC 210 (also known as a Next-Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access data network, IP routing, etc.), with the control plane functions and user plane functions operating collaboratively to form the core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, and specifically to control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to 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 next-generation RAN (NG-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 UE 204 may communicate with any UE depicted in the diagram. Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may 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, the 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 alternatively, may be located outside the core network.

[0052] Figure 2B The diagram illustrates another example wireless network architecture 250.5GC 260 (which can correspond to...). Figure 2A The 5GC 210 can be functionally viewed as a control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262. The control plane function and the user plane function cooperate to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 can also connect to the 5GC 260 via the control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and the user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223, with or without a direct gNB connection to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the NG-RAN 220 may have only one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. Either gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 can be used with UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 (Any UE) as depicted in the diagram communicates. The NG-RAN 220 base station communicates with the AMF 264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via the N3 interface.

[0053] 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 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 Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Function (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204, and receives an intermediate key created as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) User Identity Module (USIM)-based authentication, AMF 264 retrieves security material from AAUSF. The functions of AMF 264 also include Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from SEAF used by the SCM to derive a network-specific key for access. The AMF 264 also includes functions for location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and LMF 270 (which acts as location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interaction with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0054] 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 interconnecting to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic orientation), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (mapping of Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS Flow), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and issuing and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the transmission of location service messages on the user plane between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP272).

[0055] 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 service orientation on UPF 262 for routing services to appropriate destinations, control of policy enforcement and QoS portions, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0056] 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 LMF 270 may 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). The SLP 272 can support similar functionality to the LMF 270, but the LMF 270 can communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), while the SLP 272 can communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (…). Figure 2B (not shown) communicate on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0057] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are illustrated and 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 include any network functions described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support the file transfer operations taught herein. It will be understood that, in different implementations, these components can be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-a-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 as providing similar functionality. Similarly, a given device may contain one or more of these 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.

[0058] UE 302 and base station 304 each include wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating 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 set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). According to the specified RAT, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured differently for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively, and conversely for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 respectively 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 respectively for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358 respectively.

[0059] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide the capability to communicate via a wireless communication medium of interest through at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, etc.). Components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communication between PC5, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). According to the specified RAT, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured differently for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively, and conversely for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively 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 respectively for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, transceiver and / or Transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0060] A transceiver circuit system including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may, in some implementations, include an integrated device (e.g., transmitter and receiver circuitry implemented as a single communication device), in some implementations, include separate transmitter and receiver devices, or in other implementations, may be implemented in other ways. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as the antenna arrays described herein that allow the respective device to perform transmit “beamforming.” Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as the antenna arrays described herein that allow the respective device to perform receive beamforming. In another aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective device can only receive or transmit at a given time, and cannot receive and transmit simultaneously. The wireless communication equipment of UE 302 and / or base station 304 (e.g., one or both of transceivers 310 and 320 and / or 350 and 360) may also include network eavesdropping modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0061] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 may also include Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide components 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 may request information and operations from other systems as needed, and perform calculations necessary for determining the location of UE 302 and base station 304 using measurements obtained through any suitable SPS algorithm.

[0062] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and 390, providing components for communicating with other network entities (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, etc.). 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, sending and receiving messages, parameters, and / or other types of information.

[0063] On one hand, the WWAN transceiver 310 and / or the short-range wireless transceiver 320 can form the (wireless) communication interface of the UE 302. Similarly, the WWAN transceiver 350, the short-range wireless transceiver 360, and / or (multiple) network interfaces 380 can form the (wireless) communication interface of the base station 304. Likewise, (multiple) network interfaces 390 can form the (wireless) communication interface of the network entity 306.

[0064] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302 includes a processor circuitry implementing processing system 332 for providing functions related to, for example, wireless positioning, and providing other processing functions. Base station 304 includes processing system 384 for providing functions related to, for example, wireless positioning disclosed herein, and providing other processing functions. Network entity 306 includes processing system 394 for providing functions related to, for example, wireless positioning disclosed herein, and providing other processing functions. Processing systems 332, 384, and 394 can therefore provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, 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 circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0065] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry (e.g., each including a memory device) implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Memory components 340, 386, and 396 can therefore provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be part of or coupled to hardware circuitry of processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, and when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other respects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be located external to processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., as part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 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.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A The illustration shows possible locations of the positioning component 342, which may be part of the WWAN transceiver 310, memory component 340, processing system 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3BThe illustration shows possible locations of the positioning component 388, which 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 illustration shows possible locations of the positioning component 398, which may be part of (a plurality of) network interfaces 390, memory component 396, processing system 394 or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0066] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to processing system 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by WWAN transceiver 310, short-range wireless transceiver 320, and / or SPS receiver 330. As an example, the sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or other types of motion detection sensors. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple 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 function of calculating position in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0067] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346, providing components for providing instructions to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a detection device (such as a keyboard, touchscreen, microphone, etc.)). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0068] 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 the functions of the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 can provide RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting 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 header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with upper-layer PDU transmission, 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 mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0069] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / 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), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce 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 the channel estimator can be used to determine the decoding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates can be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0070] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this 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 this information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 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 separate OFDM symbol streams for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Symbols on each subcarrier, along with a reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on a channel estimate 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. The data and control signals are then provided to the processing system 332, which implements the functions of layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2).

[0071] In the uplink, processing system 332 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. Processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0072] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with downlink transmission of base station 304, processing system 332 provides RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with transmission of upper-layer PDUs, 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 of MAC SDUs to transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel priority.

[0073] Transmitter 314 can use channel estimation derived from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by base station 304 by channel estimator to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 can utilize the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0074] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 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 this information to processing system 384.

[0075] In the uplink, processing system 384 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels 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.

[0076] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figures 3A to 3C The boxes shown are configured to include various components that can be adapted to the various examples described herein. However, it will be understood that the boxes shown may have different functionalities in different designs.

[0077] The various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can communicate with each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can form communication interfaces for UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, or can be portions of those interfaces. For example, when different logical entities are implemented in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functions are combined in the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between them.

[0078] Figures 3A to 3C Components can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figures 3A to 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 incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the function. For example, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 310 to 346 may 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 blocks 350 to 388 may 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). Likewise, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390 to 398 may 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, behaviors, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE", "by the base station", "by the network entity", etc. However, it will be understood that these operations, behaviors and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of UE302, base station304, network entity306, etc., such as processing systems 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memory components 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.

[0079] Figure 4 An example system 400 for wireless communication using a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) 410, according to various aspects of this disclosure, is illustrated. The RIS (e.g., RIS 410) is a two-dimensional surface comprising a large number of low-cost, low-power near-passive reflective elements whose properties are reconfigurable (via software) rather than static. For example, the scattering, absorption, reflection, and diffraction properties of the RIS can be changed over time by carefully adjusting the phase shift of the reflective elements (using software). In this way, the electromagnetic (EM) properties of the RIS can be designed to collect wireless signals from a transmitter (e.g., a base station, a UE, etc.) and passively beamform them to a target receiver (e.g., another base station, another UE, etc.). Figure 4 In the example, the first base station 402-1 controls the reflection properties of the RIS 410 in order to communicate with the first UE 404-1.

[0080] The goal of RIS technology is to create intelligent radio environments where wireless propagation conditions are designed in conjunction with physical layer signaling. This enhanced functionality of System 400 can provide technological advantages in many scenarios.

[0081] As a first example scenario, such as Figure 4 As shown, a first base station 402-1 (e.g., any base station described herein) is attempting to transmit downlink radio signals to a first UE 404-1 and a second UE 404-2 (e.g., any two of the UEs collectively referred to herein as UE 404) on multiple downlink transmit beams labeled “0”, “1”, “2”, and “3”. However, unlike the second UE 404-2, because the first UE 404-1 is behind an obstacle 420 (e.g., a building, a hill, or another type of obstacle), it cannot receive radio signals that might otherwise originate from the line-of-sight (LOS) beam of the first base station 402-1 (i.e., the downlink transmit beam labeled “2”). In this scenario, the first base station 402-1 can alternatively use the downlink transmit beam labeled “1” to transmit radio signals to the RIS 410, and configure the RIS 410 to reflect / beamform the incoming radio signals to the first UE 404-1. The first base station 402-1 can thus transmit wireless signals around the obstacle 420.

[0082] Note that the first base station 402-1 can also be configured with a RIS 410 for use by the first UE 404-1 in the uplink. In that case, the first base station 402-1 can configure the RIS 410 to reflect uplink signals from the first UE 404-1 back to the first base station 402-1, thereby enabling the first UE 404-1 to transmit uplink signals around the obstacle 420.

[0083] As another example scenario where system 400 can provide a technological advantage, the first base station 402-1 can be aware that obstacle 420 can create a "dead zone," that is, a geographical area where the downlink radio signal from the first base station 402-1 is too attenuated to be reliably detected by a UE (e.g., the first UE 404-1) within that area. In this scenario, the first base station 402-1 can configure RIS 410 to reflect the downlink radio signal into the dead zone to provide coverage for UEs that may be located there (including UEs that the first base station 402-1 is unaware of).

[0084] A RIS (e.g., RIS 410) can be designed to operate in a first mode (referred to as "Mode 1"), where the RIS operates as a reconfigurable mirror (i.e., a reflector), or in a second mode (referred to as "Mode 2"), where the RIS operates as both a receiver and transmitter (similar to the amplification and forwarding functions of a relay node). Some RISs can be designed to operate in either Mode 1 or Mode 2, while others can be designed to operate only in either Mode 1 or Mode 2. Assume that a Mode 1 RIS has a negligible group delay, while a Mode 2 RIS has a non-negligible group delay due to its limited baseband processing capabilities. Due to its greater processing power compared to a Mode 1 RIS, in some cases, a Mode 2 RIS can calculate and report its transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement (i.e., the difference between the time it takes for the signal to reflect towards the UE and the time it takes to receive the signal back from the UE). Figure 4 In the example, RIS 410 can be either Mode 1 or Mode 2 RIS.

[0085] Figure 4 The diagram also illustrates a second base station 402-2 that can transmit downlink radio signals to one or both of the UEs 404. As an example, the first base station 402-1 can be a serving base station for the UE 404, and the second base station 402-2 can be a neighboring base station. The second base station 402-2 can transmit downlink location reference signals to one or both of the UEs 404 as part of a location process involving the UEs(multiple) UEs 404. Alternatively or additionally, the second base station 402-2 can be a secondary cell for one or both of the UEs 404. In some cases, the second base station 402-2 may also be able to reconfigure the RIS 410, provided it is not under the control of the first base station 402-1 at that time.

[0086] Note that, although Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a RIS 410 and a base station (i.e., a first base station 402-1) that controls the RIS 410, but the first base station 402-1 can control multiple RIS 410s. Furthermore, the RIS 410 can be controlled by multiple base stations 402 (e.g., the first base station 402-1 and the second base station 402-2, and possibly more base stations).

[0087] Figure 5 This is a diagram of an example architecture of the RIS 500 based on various aspects of this disclosure. The RIS 500 (which may correspond to...) Figure 4 RIS 410 in the text can be a mode 1 RIS. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the RIS 500 mainly consists of a planar surface 510 and a controller 520. The planar surface 510 can be made of one or more layers of material. Figure 5In this example, the planar surface 510 can consist of three layers. In this case, the outer layer has a large number of reflective elements 512 printed on a dielectric substrate to directly act on the incident signal. The middle layer is a copper panel to prevent signal / energy leakage. The last layer is a circuit board used to adjust the reflection coefficient of the reflective elements 512 and is operated by a controller 520. The controller 520 can be a low-power processor such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0088] In typical operating scenarios, the optimal reflectivity of the RIS 500 is at the base station (e.g., Figure 4 The reflection coefficient is calculated at the first base station 402-1 and then transmitted to the controller 520 via a dedicated feedback link. The design of the reflection coefficient depends on the channel state information (CSI), which is updated only when the CSI changes, and its timescale is much longer than the duration of the data symbol. Therefore, low-rate information exchange is sufficient for the dedicated control link, which can be implemented using low-cost copper wire or a simple, cost-effective wireless transceiver.

[0089] Each reflective element 512 is coupled to a positive intrinsic negative (PIN) diode 514. Furthermore, a bias line 516 connects each reflective element 512 in the column to a controller 520. By controlling the voltage via the bias line 516, the PIN diode 514 can be switched between "on" and "off" modes. This allows for a phase shift difference of π (pi) in radians. To increase the number of phase shift levels, more PIN diodes 514 can be coupled to each reflective element 512.

[0090] RIS (such as the RIS 500) offer significant advantages for practical implementation. For example, the reflective element 512 passively reflects the incoming signal without requiring any complex signal processing operations that would necessitate RF transceiver hardware. Therefore, the RIS 500 can operate at several orders of magnitude lower cost in terms of hardware and power consumption compared to conventional active transmitters. Additionally, due to the passive nature of the reflective element 512, the RIS 500 can be manufactured in a lightweight and thin-layer configuration, making it easy to mount on walls, ceilings, signs, streetlights, etc. Furthermore, the RIS 500 naturally operates in full-duplex (FD) mode without self-interference or the introduction of thermal noise. Therefore, it can achieve higher spectral efficiency than active half-duplex (HD) repeaters, even though their signal processing complexity is lower than that of active FD repeaters, which require complex self-interference cancellation.

[0091] NR supports various cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. During OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from paired base stations (called the Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) measurement) and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., the serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurement, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location.

[0092] For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses beam reports from the UE's received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmitted beams to determine multiple angles between the UE and (multiple) transmitting base stations. The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's location based on the determined (multiple) angles and the (multiple) known locations of the (multiple) transmitting base stations.

[0093] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angles(s) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angles(s) between the UE and the base stations(s). Based on the determined angles(s) and the known locations(s) of the base stations(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0094] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multiple Round Trip (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT"). During RTT, the initiator (base station or UE) sends an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to the responder (UE or base station), and the responder sends back an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS). The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, called the transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference. The propagation time (also known as "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated based on the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs the RTT procedure with multiple base stations so that its location can be determined using multi-point positioning based on the known locations of the base stations. RTT and multiple RTT methods can be combined with other positioning technologies, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve positioning accuracy.

[0095] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated times, and signal strengths of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of (multiple) base stations.

[0096] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) can provide auxiliary data to the UE. For example, auxiliary data may include the identifier of a base station (or its cell / TRP), reference signals measured from that base station (or its cell / TRP), reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, silence sequences, frequency hopping sequences, reference signal identifiers, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may be derived directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes independently without using auxiliary data.

[0097] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may also include the expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty, or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the expected RSTD uncertainty may range from + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements (multiple) are in FR2, the expected RSTD uncertainty may range from + / - 8 μs.

[0098] Location estimation can be referred to by other names, such as place estimate, location, location, location fix, etc. A location estimate can be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or it can be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of the location. A location estimate can be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude). A location estimate can include anticipated errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included at some specified or default confidence level).

[0099] OTDOA-based positioning technologies have various limitations. For example, GPS synchronization is limited to 50 to 100 nanoseconds (ns), restricting GPS positioning used for location of associated base stations to an accuracy of 15 to 30 meters (m). This level of accuracy is consistent with the 50-ns synchronization requirement in the 3GPP protocol. Due to these limitations, any closer GPS synchronization would be more difficult and therefore unlikely.

[0100] The aforementioned limitations of OTDOA-based positioning technologies have led to the increasing use of RTT-based positioning techniques. In NR, precise timing synchronization across the entire network may not be possible. Instead, coarse timing synchronization across base stations may suffice (e.g., within the cyclic prefix (CP) duration of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols). RTT-based methods typically require only coarse timing synchronization and are therefore the preferred positioning method in NR.

[0101] Figure 6 An example wireless communication system 600 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 6For example, UE 604 (e.g., any UE described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its location, or assisting another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third-party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its location. UE 604 may send (and receive) radio signals to (and from) multiple network nodes (labeled “nodes”) 602-1, 602-2, and 602-3 (collectively, network nodes 602). Network node 602 may include one or more base stations (e.g., any base station described herein), one or more reconfigurable smart displays (RIS), one or more location beacons, one or more UEs (e.g., connected via sidelinks), etc.

[0102] During network-centric RTT positioning, the serving base station (e.g., one of network nodes 602) instructs the UE 604 to measure RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) from two or more adjacent network nodes 602 (and typically the serving base station, as two-dimensional location estimation requires at least three network nodes 602). The involved network nodes 602 transmit RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources allocated by the network (e.g., resources used by network nodes 602 to transmit system information, where network node 602 is a base station). The UE 604 records the arrival time (also referred to as reception time, received time, time of receipt, or time of arrival) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE 604's current downlink timing (e.g., derived by the UE 604 based on downlink signals received from its serving base station), and transmits common or individual RTT response signals (e.g., SRS) to the involved network nodes 602 on resources allocated by its serving base station. If UE 604 is not the location entity, then UE 604 reports to the location entity that the UE has received a transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement. The UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement indicates the time difference between the arrival time of each RTT measurement signal at UE 604 and the transmission time of (multiple) RTT response signals. Each involved network node 602 also reports to the location entity a transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement, which indicates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the reception time of the RTT response signal.

[0103] The UE-centric RTT positioning process is similar to a network-based process, except that UE 604 (e.g., on resources allocated by the serving base station) transmits (multiple) uplink RTT measurement signals. These uplink RTT measurement signals are measured by multiple network nodes 602 near UE 604. Each involved network node 602 responds with a downlink RTT response signal and reports an Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the positioning entity. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement indicates the time difference between the arrival time of the RTT measurement signal at network node 602 and the transmission time of the RTT response signal. If UE 604 is not the positioning entity, UE 604 reports a Tx-Rx time difference measurement for each network node 602, indicating the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the reception time of the RTT response signal.

[0104] To determine the location (x, y) of UE 604, the positioning entity needs to know the location of network node 602, which can be represented in the reference coordinate system as (x_k, y_y), where... Figure 6 In the example, k = 1, 2, 3. When UE 604 is a location entity, a location server with network geometry knowledge (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) can provide the location of the network node 602 involved to UE 604.

[0105] The location entity determines each distance 610(d_k, where k = 1, 2, 3) between UE 604 and the corresponding network node 602 based on Rx-Tx time difference measurements, Tx-Rx time difference measurements, and the speed of light, as shown below. Figure 7 Further description. Specifically, in Figure 6 In the example, the distance 610-1 between UE 604 and network node 602-1 is d_1, the distance 610-2 between UE 604 and network node 602-2 is d_2, and the distance 610-3 between UE 604 and network node 602-3 is d_3. Once each distance 610 is determined, the locating entity can solve for the position (x, y) of UE 604 using various known geometric techniques such as trilateration or polygonation. Figure 6 As can be seen from the diagram, the position of UE 604 is ideally located at the common intersection of three semicircles, each semicircle being defined by a radius dk and a center (x_k, y_k), where k = 1, 2, 3.

[0106] Figure 7Figure 700 illustrates example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between network node 702 (labeled "Node") and UE 704 according to various aspects of this disclosure. UE 704 can be any UE described herein. Network node 702 can be a base station (e.g., any base station described herein), RIS, a location beacon, another UE (e.g., connected via a sidelink), etc.

[0107] exist Figure 7 In the example, network node 702 (labeled "BS") sends an RTT measurement signal 710 (e.g., PRS) to UE 704 at time T_1. The RTT measurement signal 710 has a propagation delay T_Prop as it travels from network node 702 to UE 704. At time T_2 (the time when the RTT measurement signal 710 is received at UE 704), UE 704 measures the RTT measurement signal 710. After some UE processing time, UE 704 sends an RTT response signal 720 (e.g., SRS) at time T_3. After the propagation delay T_Prop, network node 702 measures the RTT response signal 720 from UE 704 at time T_4 (the time when the RTT response signal 720 is received at network node 702).

[0108] UE 704 reports the difference between time T_3 and time T_2 to the positioning entity (i.e., the Rx-Tx time difference measurement of UE 704, denoted as T_Rx-Tx 712). Similarly, network node 702 reports the difference between time T_4 and time T_1 to the positioning entity (i.e., the Tx-Rx time difference measurement of network node 702, denoted as T_Tx-Rx 722). Using these measurements and the known speed of light, the positioning entity can calculate the distance to UE 704 as d = 1 / 2 * c * (T_Tx-Rx - T_Rx-Tx) = 1 / 2 * c * (T_4 - T_1) -

[0109] 1 / 2*c*(T_3-T_2), where c is the speed of light.

[0110] Based on the known location of network node 702 and the distances between UE 704 and network node 702 (and at least two other network nodes 702), the positioning entity can calculate the location of UE 704. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the UE 704 is located at the common intersection of three semicircles, each semicircle being defined by the radius of the distance between the UE 704 and the corresponding network node 702.

[0111] On one hand, the location entity can use a two-dimensional coordinate system to calculate the position of the UE 604 / 704; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not limited to this, and a three-dimensional coordinate system can also be used to determine the position if an additional dimension is required. Additionally, although Figure 6 The diagram illustrates a UE 604 and three network nodes 602, and Figure 7 The illustration shows a UE 704 and a network node 702, but it will be understood that there can be more UEs 604 / 704 and more network nodes 602 / 702.

[0112] As mentioned above, the positioning entity can be a UE. This is called "UE-based" positioning, as opposed to "UE-assisted" positioning, where the UE reports its measurements to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) in the network. UE-based positioning offers numerous benefits: it enables new use cases, improves mobility scenarios, achieves improved performance for existing use cases, provides improved scalability and operational range, uses low uplink overhead, reduces latency, lowers power consumption, has very low specification impact, and provides peering to UE-based features (e.g., GPS positioning) that are independent of RAT. For example, assuming the same feedback overhead, positioning errors can be improved by approximately 30% compared to UE-assisted positioning. However, currently, 3GPP standards only support UE-based positioning for DL-OTDOA and DL-AoD positioning technologies.

[0113] In some cases, a UE may be unable to detect and measure PRS (e.g., RTT measurement signals transmitted by neighboring base stations 602) sent by non-serving (e.g., neighboring) base stations, especially for base stations far from the UE. This can be a specific problem for low-level UEs (also known as reduced-capability NR UEs, "NR RedCap" UEs, reduced-capability UEs, NR light UEs, light UEs, NR ultra-light UEs, or ultra-light UEs). Low-level UEs are contrasted with high-level UEs, which can be alternatively referred to as full-capability UEs or simply UEs. Lower-tier UEs typically have lower baseband processing capabilities, fewer antennas (e.g., one receiver antenna as the baseline in FR1 or FR2, optionally two receiver antennas), lower operating bandwidth capabilities (e.g., 20 MHz for FR1 with no supplemental uplink or carrier aggregation, or 50 or 100 MHz for FR2), half-duplex frequency division duplex (HD-FDD) functionality only, smaller HARQ buffers, reduced physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, restricted modulation (e.g., 64QAM for downlink and 16QAM for uplink), relaxed processing timeline requirements, and / or lower uplink transmission power compared to higher-tier UEs. Different UE tiers can be distinguished by UE category and / or UE capabilities. For example, certain types of UEs can be assigned a “lower-tier” classification (e.g., by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), applicable wireless communication standards, etc.), while other types of UEs can be assigned a “higher-tier” classification. UEs at certain tiers can also report their type (e.g., “lower-tier” or “higher-tier”) to the network. Additionally, certain resources and / or channels may be dedicated to certain types of UEs.

[0114] Similar to measuring downlink PRS from a distant base station, measurements of uplink location reference signals (e.g., SRS) from a distant non-serving base station can be poor. This can also be particularly problematic for SRS transmitted by lower-layer UEs, as they reduce transmission power.

[0115] This disclosure provides techniques for using RIS for UE-based RTT positioning. For example, the UE can be similar to Figure 7 The RTT location process shown uses RIS to perform the RTT location process, except that the roles of network node 702 (RIS) and UE 704 will be reversed (as shown below). Figure 8Beyond what is shown in the diagram. This allows the UE to perform RTT positioning procedures with more network nodes and / or closer network nodes (because the UE will likely be closer to the RIS in the cell, rather than the base station supporting that cell). By using the RIS for UE-based RTT positioning, the techniques described herein provide lower power consumption (e.g., due to reduced power required to send SRS to the RIS instead of the base station) and lower latency (e.g., due to reduced signaling required for such RTT positioning procedures), thereby enhancing RTT-based positioning performance.

[0116] As described above, different RISs may have different capabilities and / or operating modes (e.g., Mode 1, Mode 2), which needs to be considered in RIS-assisted UE-based RTT positioning systems. As mentioned above, one or more RISs (e.g., RIS 410) may be controlled by one or more base stations (e.g., base station 402). Therefore, during the initial establishment phase of a RIS-assisted positioning session, each base station reports the operating mode of its associated RIS to a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) or other positioning entity (e.g., the UE used for UE-based positioning). The report should indicate the RIS operating mode (i.e., Mode 1 or Mode 2) for each RIS.

[0117] To participate in RTT-based positioning sessions, a RIS needs to be able to delay the retransmission of received signals or otherwise identify reflected signals as reflections. Mode 1 RISs typically do not have the ability to delay signal reflections. However, at least in some cases, a Mode 1 RIS can be configured with specific reflection weights, which can help the UE identify signals reflected by the RIS as reflections. On the UE side, the UE will receive the reflection weights via auxiliary data. Therefore, if a report indicates that the RIS is operating as a Mode 1 RIS, the report should also indicate whether the RIS can be configured with specific reflection weights. If not, it should not be considered for RTT-based positioning. Note that for UE-based RTT positioning using a Mode 1 RIS, if the Mode 1 RIS can be configured with specific reflection weights, the UE needs to be able to communicate in full-duplex mode, meaning it can receive and transmit on the same time and frequency resources. Therefore, the UE may need to report whether it is a full-duplex UE.

[0118] For Mode 2 RIS (operating as a relay node) to participate in UE-based RTT positioning, due to their higher processing capabilities, they should be able to delay the retransmission of received signals, thereby identifying reflected signals as reflections. Furthermore, Mode 2 RIS can be configured with specific reflection weights to identify reflected signals as reflections. Therefore, Mode 2 RIS can be used for RTT-based positioning.

[0119] Similarly, for Mode 2 RISs, due to their higher processing power, they may be able to calculate the Tx-Rx time difference measurement and report it to their control base stations(s). Therefore, for Mode 2 RISs, the report may also indicate whether it can calculate and report the Tx-Rx time difference measurement for each Mode 2 RIS. Alternatively, a Mode 2 RIS may not be able to calculate and / or report its Tx-Rx time difference measurement, but another entity (e.g., a control base station) may be able to calculate the group delay of the Mode 2 RIS. In this case, the report may indicate whether the group delay of the Mode 2 RIS can be reported, or it may indicate the actual group delay measurement. Group delay includes hardware group delay, group delay attributable to software / firmware, or both. More specifically, while software and / or firmware may contribute to group delay, group delay is primarily due to internal hardware delay between the baseband and the antenna(s) of the RIS(s).

[0120] For Mode 2 RIS and Mode 1 RIS with reflection weighting capability, the UE can perform RTT positioning procedures using such RIS instead of using nearby base stations, or in addition to performing RTT positioning procedures using nearby base stations. To perform UE-based RTT positioning procedures using RIS, the UE needs to be configured with additional auxiliary data specific to the RIS involved. The network (e.g., serving base station, location server) can send RIS auxiliary data to the UE in system information (e.g., one or more positioning SIBs from the serving base station) or dedicated positioning signaling (e.g., LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages from the location server).

[0121] RIS auxiliary data may include identifiers (IDs), locations, and operating modes (e.g., reported by the control base station to the location server) of all RISs deployed in the cell, or at least RISs capable of participating in the RTT positioning session with the UE. If the auxiliary data includes identifiers of all RISs in the cell, it may also include indexes of RISs that assist in the RTT positioning session. For any Mode 1 RIS with reflection weighting capability, the auxiliary data should include reflection weights used to weight reflections from these RISs.

[0122] RIS auxiliary data may also include the UE's SRS configuration (e.g., the time and frequency resources for transmitting SRS on the RTT positioning session) and the mapping pattern of SRS resources to auxiliary RIS IDs. For example, one SRS resource can be mapped to "N" RIS IDs, where "N" is greater than or equal to "1". That is, the same SRS can be transmitted to one or more RISs.

[0123] A major challenge of RIS-assisted UE-based RTT positioning is that the UE cannot distinguish reflections from the RIS from reflections from other objects in the environment. This disclosure provides techniques to overcome this challenge, thereby enabling UE-based positioning using RIS within an RTT framework. In one aspect, a Mode 2 RIS or a Mode 1 RIS with reflection weighting capabilities can be configured to weight reflected signals to identify them as reflections to the receiving UE. In another aspect, a Mode 2 RIS can delay the reflection of received SRS by a pre-configured time period (denoted as “Δt”). The time period “Δt” should be at least greater than the cyclic prefix (CP) length (or some pre-configured number of symbols). The control base station (e.g., a first base station 402-1) can configure the RIS with the value of “Δt”. Therefore, the RIS-assisted data can further include a pre-configured delay “Δt” for expected SRS reflections from the assisted RIS. Note that the reflection weights and pre-configured delays can be referred to as transmission parameters of the reflected / reflected signals.

[0124] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example RTT positioning process 800 between a RIS 802 (e.g., RIS 410) and a UE 804 (e.g., any UE described herein) according to various aspects of this disclosure. RIS 802 may be a Mode 2 RIS capable of delaying the retransmission of received signals.

[0125] During the RTT positioning process 800, UE 804 transmits SRS 810 to RIS 802 at time T_1. If UE 804 (e.g., from RIS auxiliary data) knows at least the approximate direction to RIS 802, then UE 804 may transmit SRS 810 to RIS 802. Otherwise, UE 804 transmits SRS on a wide uplink transmit beam or omnidirectionally. SRS 810 has a propagation delay T_Prop as it travels from UE 804 to RIS 802. At time T_2, RIS 802 receives SRS 810. After a pre-configured delay “Δt” 822, RIS 802 transmits the SRS as a reflected SRS 820 (e.g., SRS) at time T_3. Therefore, time T_3 is equal to time T_2 plus “Δt” 822. After a propagation delay T_Prop, UE 804 receives the reflected SRS 820 at time T_4 (e.g., measures its reception time). Based on its knowledge of “Δt” 822 and an approximate expectation of the propagation delay between UE 804 and RIS 802 (i.e., T_Prop), UE 804 has an approximate window for searching for the reflected SRS 820 in order to receive / measure it at time T_4. The approximate expectation of the propagation delay can be based on the UE's knowledge of the control base station location (provided that RIS 802 should be closer to UE 804 than the control base station), the UE's timing advance (the amount by which the UE's transmission time precedes the base station's reception time), information in the RIS auxiliary data, and / or other factors.

[0126] If UE 804 is capable of beamforming, UE 804 can use the same downlink receive beam as the uplink transmit beam it uses to transmit SRS 810 to receive the reflected SRS 820. In other words, UE 804 can apply the same weight to the downlink receive beam used to receive the reflected SRS 820 as the uplink transmit beam used to transmit SRS 810, thereby pointing the uplink transmit beam and the downlink receive beam in the same direction.

[0127] After receiving the reflected SRS 820 at time T_4, UE 804 can calculate its Tx-Rx time difference measurement 812 (i.e., the difference between time T_4 and time T_1). UE 804 can then calculate its own RTT with RIS 802 as follows:

[0128] T RTT =T4-T1-Δt=2×T_Prop

[0129] UE 804 can calculate the distance between itself and RIS 802 as follows:

[0130]

[0131] Where c is the speed of light. The control base station, the serving base station (if not the control base station) of UE 804, or the location server can provide the UE with verification parameters and / or procedures to ensure that it is measuring reflections from a specific RIS 804. Alternatively, the verification parameters and / or procedures may depend on the UE implementation.

[0132] The UE 804 can be used with multiple RIS 802 (and / or utilize) Figure 7 The RTT location process 800 is performed together with other network nodes in the RTT location process shown above. Based on the known location of the involved RIS 802 and the distance between UE 804 and the involved RIS 802, UE 804 can use known techniques (e.g., as referred above) Figure 6 The described method is used to calculate its position.

[0133] On the one hand, the pre-configured delay "Δt" can vary based on certain factors. For example, the pre-configured delay "Δt" can vary based on the speed of the UE, using a shorter delay for a faster-moving UE.

[0134] In some cases, as described above, the UE can send the same SRS to multiple RIS (i.e., the same SRS resource is mapped to multiple RIS). In this case, different pre-configured delays "Δt" can be configured for multiple RIS, such as... Figure 9 As shown in the image.

[0135] Figure 9 Figure 900 illustrates examples of using different pre-configured delays “Δt” according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 9 In the example, UE 904 (e.g., any UE described herein) sends the same SRS 910 to multiple RIS, illustrated as a first RIS 902-1 (labeled "RIS1") and a second RIS 902-2 (labeled "RIS2"). That is, the SRS resources used for SRS 910 are mapped to both the first RIS 902-1 and the second RIS 902-2 (and possibly...). Figure 9 (Others not shown in the text). RIS 902-1 and 902-2 (collectively referred to as RIS 902) may correspond to any RIS described herein.

[0136] like Figure 9As shown, after receiving SRS 910, the first RIS 902-1 waits for its pre-configured delay "Δt_1" and then transmits SRS 910 as a reflected SRS 920. Similarly, after receiving SRS 910, the second RIS 902-2 waits for its pre-configured delay "Δt_2" and then transmits SRS 910 as a reflected SRS 930. Figure 9 As shown by their relative lengths, “Δt_1” and “Δt_2” are different. This difference can depend on the physical placement of the first RIS 902-1 and the second RIS 902-2, and can be bounded by the RTT between the two RIS 902s.

[0137] The above techniques can be extended to RTT positioning procedures between a UE and a base station involving RIS. For PRS from the base station to the UE, the UE can be configured (e.g., via auxiliary data from the base station or a location server) to search for and receive (e.g., measure) the reflected PRS at time “Δt+t_rs”, where the parameter “t_rs” is the transmission time of the PRS and “Δt” is the pre-configured reflection delay at the RIS as described above. For example, the UE can be configured with values ​​for both “Δt” and “t_rs”, or it can be configured with the sum of “Δt+t_rs”. Similarly, for SRS from the UE to the base station, the base station will search for and receive (e.g., measure) the reflected SRS at time “Δt+t_rs”, where the parameter “t_rs” is the transmission time of the SRS. The base station can know the value of “t_rs” based on the fact that the UE has been configured to transmit the SRS at time “t_rs”, or based on a report from the UE indicating the value of “t_rs”.

[0138] Figure 10 An example method 1000 for positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1000 can be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0139] At 1010, the UE transmits an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS 810) to a first RIS (e.g., RIS 410) associated with at least one base station (e.g., first base station 402-1). In one aspect, operation 1010 can be performed by a WWAN transceiver 310, a processing system 332, a memory component 340, and / or a positioning component 342, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0140] At 1020, the UE receives a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS (e.g., reflected SRS 820), wherein at least one transmission parameter of the reflection (e.g., a first pre-configured time delay for the first RIS (e.g., "Δt")) identifies the reflection as a reflection of the uplink reference signal. In one aspect, operation 1020 can be performed by the WWAN transceiver 310, processing system 332, memory component 340, and / or positioning component 342, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0141] At 1030, the UE enables the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated, at least in part, based on a Tx-Rx time difference measurement for the UE (e.g., Tx-Rx time difference measurement 812), which represents the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE. In one aspect, operation 1030 can be performed by the WWAN transceiver 310, the processing system 332, the memory component 340, and / or the positioning component 342, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing the operation.

[0142] As will be understood, the technical advantages of method 1000 include lower power consumption (e.g., due to reduced power required to transmit uplink reference signals to the RIS instead of the base station) and lower latency (e.g., due to transmitting and measuring only the uplink reference signals), thereby enhancing RTT-based positioning performance. Another technical advantage is improved accuracy in positioning UEs with limited coverage.

[0143] As can be seen from the detailed description above, different features are combined together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention for the example items to have more features than are expressly mentioned in each item. Rather, aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than the single example item disclosed. Therefore, the following items should be considered as included in the specification, where each item can be considered a separate example on its own. Although each dependent item may refer in the item to a particular combination with one of the other items, the aspects(s) of that dependent item are not limited to that particular combination. It should be understood that other example items may also include combinations of aspects(s) of dependent items with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent item, or any feature combined with other dependents and independent items. The aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless it is expressly stated or can be 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 also intended that aspects of an item may be included in any other independent item even if the item does not directly depend on an independent item.

[0144] Examples of implementation methods are described in the following numbered items:

[0145] Item 1. A method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting an uplink reference signal to a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station; receiving a reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS, wherein at least one transmission parameter of the reflection identifies the reflection as a reflection of the uplink reference signal; and enabling a distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

[0146] Item 2. The method according to Item 1 further includes: receiving auxiliary data related to the first RIS.

[0147] Item 3. The method according to Item 2, wherein the auxiliary data includes: an identifier of the first RIS, the location of the first RIS, the operating mode of the first RIS, a mapping between the first RIS and an uplink resource on which an uplink reference signal is transmitted, at least one transmission parameter, or any combination thereof.

[0148] Item 4. The method according to Item 3, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: identifiers of all RIS in the cell supported by at least one base station.

[0149] Item 5. The method according to Item 4, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: an index value indicating that the first RIS is capable of performing round-trip time (RTT) positioning.

[0150] Item 6. The method according to any one of items 3 to 5, wherein the uplink resources on which uplink reference signals are transmitted are mapped to a plurality of RIS including a first RIS.

[0151] Item 7. According to the method of Item 6, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: an identifier of each of the plurality of RIS, the location of each of the plurality of RIS, the operating mode of each of the plurality of RIS, a pre-configured time delay for each of the plurality of RIS, or any combination thereof.

[0152] Item 8. The method according to Item 7, wherein the pre-configured time delay of each of the plurality of RIS is different from the other pre-configured time delay of the other RIS in the plurality of RIS.

[0153] Item 9. The method according to any one of items 2 to 8, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a location server.

[0154] Item 10. The method according to Item 9, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages.

[0155] Item 11. The method according to any one of items 2 to 8, wherein the auxiliary data is received from at least one base station.

[0156] Item 12. The method according to Item 11, wherein the auxiliary data is received from at least one base station in system information broadcast by at least one base station in one or more system information blocks (SIBs).

[0157] Item 13. The method according to any one of items 1 to 12, wherein at least one transmission parameter comprises: a pre-configured time delay of the first RIS, one or more reflection weights applied to the reflection, or any combination thereof.

[0158] Item 14. The method according to any one of items 1 to 13, wherein: the uplink reference signal is transmitted on the uplink transmit beam, the UE receives the reflection of the uplink reference signal on the downlink receive beam, and the uplink transmit beam and the downlink receive beam are in the same direction.

[0159] Item 15. The method according to any one of items 1 to 13, wherein the uplink reference signal is transmitted omnidirectionally.

[0160] Item 16. The method according to any one of items 1 to 15, wherein the distance between the UE and the RIS is calculated as:

[0161]

[0162] Where c is the speed of light, and T Tx-Rx It is a Tx-Rx time difference measurement, where Δt is the first pre-configured time delay.

[0163] Item 17. The method according to any one of items 1 to 16, wherein enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated includes calculating the distance between the UE and the first RIS.

[0164] Item 18. The method according to any one of items 1 to 16, wherein enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated includes sending a Tx-Rx time difference measurement to a location server.

[0165] Item 19. The method according to any one of items 1 to 18, wherein the uplink reference signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0166] Item 20. The method according to any one of items 1 to 19, wherein at least one base station is a neighboring base station of the UE.

[0167] Item 21. An apparatus comprising a memory, a communication interface, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the memory, the communication interface, and the at least one processor being configured to perform a method according to any one of items 1 to 20.

[0168] Item 22. An apparatus comprising components for performing the method according to any one of items 1 to 20.

[0169] Item 23. 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 items 1 to 20.

[0170] Those skilled in the art will recognize 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 referenced throughout the above specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0171] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize 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, 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. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0172] The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, field-programmable logic device (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor 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.

[0173] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module 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, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integrated with 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.

[0174] In one or more examples, the described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted through a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include storage media and communication media, which include any medium that can facilitate the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that is accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. 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) are all included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc 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 discs reproduce data optically using lasers. The combinations described above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0175] 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 the disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, unless explicitly limited to the singular, elements of this disclosure are contemplated in a plural form, despite being described or claimed in the singular.

Claims

1. A method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: Receive auxiliary data associated with a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least one transmission parameter applied by the first RIS to reflections from the first RIS; Send an uplink reference signal toward the first RIS; The reflection of the uplink reference signal is received from the first RIS; The reflection from the first RIS is determined as a reflection of the uplink reference signal based on the at least one transmission parameter; as well as The distance between the UE and the first RIS can be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: The identifier of the first RIS, The position of the first RIS The first RIS's operating mode, The mapping between the first RIS and the uplink resources on which the uplink reference signal is transmitted, or Any combination thereof.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: Identifiers of all RIS in a cell supported by the at least one base station.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: The index value indicates that the first RIS is capable of performing round-trip time (RTT) positioning.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the uplink resource on which the uplink reference signal is transmitted is mapped to a plurality of RIS including the first RIS.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: The identifier of each of the plurality of RIS. The position of each of the plurality of RIS. Operating modes of each of the plurality of RIS. The pre-configured time delay for each of the plurality of RIS, or Any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the pre-configured time delay of each of the plurality of RIS is different from the other pre-configured time delay of the other RIS in the plurality of RIS.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a location server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the at least one base station.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the at least one base station in system information broadcast by the at least one base station in one or more System Information Blocks (SIBs).

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transmission parameter includes: The pre-configured time delay of the first RIS, One or more reflection weights applied to the reflection, or Any combination thereof.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The uplink reference signal is transmitted on the uplink transmit beam. The reflection of the uplink reference signal is received on the downlink receive beam, and The uplink transmit beam and the downlink receive beam are in the same direction.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink reference signal is transmitted omnidirectionally.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the distance between the UE and the RIS is calculated as: Where c is the speed of light. The Tx-Rx time difference is measured, and ∆t is the pre-configured time delay of the first RIS.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated includes calculating the distance between the UE and the first RIS.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated comprises sending the Tx-Rx time difference measurement to a location server.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink reference signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one base station is a neighboring base station of the UE.

20. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; Communication interface; as well as At least one processor, communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, is configured to: The auxiliary data associated with a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station is received via the communication interface, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least one transmission parameter applied by the first RIS to reflections from the first RIS; The communication interface is directed to send an uplink reference signal toward the first RIS; The reflection of the uplink reference signal is received from the first RIS via the communication interface; The reflection from the first RIS is determined as a reflection of the uplink reference signal based on the at least one transmission parameter; as well as The distance between the UE and the first RIS can be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: The identifier of the first RIS, The position of the first RIS The first RIS's operating mode, The mapping between the first RIS and the uplink resources on which the uplink reference signal is transmitted, or Any combination thereof.

22. The UE of claim 21, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: Identifiers of all RIS in a cell supported by the at least one base station.

23. The UE according to claim 22, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: The index value indicates that the first RIS is capable of performing round-trip time (RTT) positioning.

24. The UE of claim 21, wherein the uplink resources on which the uplink reference signal is transmitted are mapped to a plurality of RIS including the first RIS.

25. The UE of claim 24, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: The identifier of each of the plurality of RIS. The position of each of the plurality of RIS. Operating modes of each of the plurality of RIS. The pre-configured time delay for each of the plurality of RIS, or Any combination thereof.

26. The UE of claim 25, wherein the pre-configured time delay of each of the plurality of RIS is different from the other pre-configured time delay of the other RIS of the plurality of RIS.

27. The UE of claim 20, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a location server.

28. The UE of claim 27, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages.

29. The UE of claim 20, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the at least one base station.

30. The UE of claim 29, wherein the auxiliary data is received from the at least one base station in system information broadcast by the at least one base station in one or more system information blocks (SIBs).

31. The UE according to claim 20, wherein the at least one transmission parameter includes: The pre-configured time delay of the first RIS, One or more reflection weights applied to the reflection, or Any combination thereof.

32. The UE according to claim 20, wherein: The uplink reference signal is transmitted on the uplink transmit beam. The reflection of the uplink reference signal is received on the downlink receive beam, and The uplink transmit beam and the downlink receive beam are in the same direction.

33. The UE of claim 20, wherein the uplink reference signal is transmitted omnidirectionally.

34. The UE of claim 20, wherein the distance between the UE and the RIS is calculated as: Where c is the speed of light. The Tx-Rx time difference is measured, and ∆t is the pre-configured time delay of the first RIS.

35. The UE of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to enable the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated, comprising: The at least one processor is configured to calculate the distance between the UE and the first RIS.

36. The UE of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to enable the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated, comprising: The at least one processor is configured to send the Tx-Rx time difference measurement to a location server.

37. The UE of claim 20, wherein the uplink reference signal includes a sounding reference signal (SRS).

38. The UE according to claim 20, wherein the at least one base station is a neighboring base station of the UE.

39. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Components for receiving auxiliary data associated with a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) at least one base station, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least one transmission parameter applied by the first RIS to reflections from the first RIS; Components used to send uplink reference signals toward the first RIS; A component for receiving the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS; The reflection from the first RIS is used to determine the reflection as the uplink reference signal based on the at least one transmission parameter; as well as A component for enabling the distance between the UE and the first RIS to be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: Receive auxiliary data associated with a first reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) associated with at least one base station, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least one transmission parameter applied by the first RIS to reflections from the first RIS; Send an uplink reference signal toward the first RIS; The reflection of the uplink reference signal is received from the first RIS; The reflection from the first RIS is determined as a reflection of the uplink reference signal based on the at least one transmission parameter; as well as The distance between the UE and the first RIS can be calculated at least in part based on a transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference measurement for the UE, the Tx-Rx time difference measurement representing the difference between the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the UE to the first RIS and the reception time of the reflection of the uplink reference signal from the first RIS at the UE.

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