Peer-to-peer sensing assisted by reconfigurable smart surfaces

Abstract

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. In some aspects, the apparatus can be a user equipment (UE) or a component thereof; however, in some other aspects, the apparatus can be a base station or a component thereof. The apparatus can be configured as a wireless node that configures an intermediate apparatus to reflect signals for the wireless node and another wireless node. The apparatus can also be configured to transmit a set of sensing signals with the other wireless node using the intermediate apparatus. The apparatus can also be configured to sense an object based on a set of measurements associated with the set of sensing signals.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 17 / 303,957, filed on June 10, 2021, entitled “PEER-TO-PEER SENSING ASSISTED BY RECONFIGURABLE INTELLIGENT SURFACES,” the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] In summary, this disclosure relates to communication systems, and more specifically, to wireless nodes configured with surfaces to reflect waveforms in the direction of another wireless node or other object in the environment. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunications services, such as telephone, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol enabling different wireless devices to communicate at the city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunications standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuous evolution of mobile broadband released by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., in conjunction with the Internet of Things (IoT),) and others. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. There is a need for further improvements to 5G NR technology. These improvements can also be applied to other multiple access technologies and telecommunications standards that adopt them. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following provides a brief overview of one or more aspects to offer a basic understanding of such aspects. This overview is not a comprehensive summary of all anticipated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects, nor to depict the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed descriptions that follow.

[0007] Wireless nodes, such as base stations and user equipment (UEs), can be configured with components that allow sensing of objects in the environment. For example, a wireless node may include antenna elements with sufficient sensitivity, gain, etc., for bistatic sensing. Sensing objects distributed in the environment near a wireless node can be useful in various contexts, such as beamforming, Internet of Things (IoT) communications, mapping, security, etc. For example, sensing objects in the environment near a vehicle can be used in many vehicle-to-everything (V2X) contexts as a way to obtain the real-time location of other vehicles on the road, the location of pedestrians, and other objects that should typically be avoided when operating a vehicle. Regardless of node capabilities, object sensing can be significantly hampered by the lack of a line-of-sight (LOS) path to at least one other wireless node.

[0008] However, such object sensing can be improved by using reflective surfaces that can provide non-LOS paths between wireless nodes (e.g., in mmW networks used for object sensing and other applications). However, simple reflective surfaces may not be located at the distance and / or angle at which wireless nodes discover useful reflected waveforms. Therefore, there is a need to provide paths between wireless nodes that are less random than self-organizing paths found using objects that may be a priori unknown.

[0009] This disclosure provides various techniques and solutions for finding alternative paths to another device when a LOS path is at least partially blocked. Specifically, such paths can be obtained through reconfigurable smart surfaces (RIS), which can be deployed in various environments to reflect waveforms between devices, for example, in millimeter-wave (mmW) networks. The RIS can be a device having a surface on which controllable reflective elements are distributed. This disclosure provides various mechanisms for configuring the RIS such that the RIS elements reflect incident radio waveforms in a desired direction, such as toward a desired receiver.

[0010] Therefore, compared to other methods (such as those in which an unknown or random surface in the environment is assumed to be at least one path between two devices), various aspects of this disclosure enable control of the RIS to reflect waveforms with relatively high spatial resolution. With the increased accuracy and resolution achieved through control and understanding of the waveform path in the environment, certain object sensing capabilities of wireless nodes, including bistatic sensing, can be improved.

[0011] In one aspect of this disclosure, a method, computer-readable medium, and apparatus are provided. In some aspects, the apparatus may be a user equipment (UE) or a component thereof; however, in other aspects, the apparatus may be a base station or a component thereof. The apparatus may be configured as a wireless node that configures an intermediate device to reflect signals for use by the wireless node and another wireless node. The apparatus may also be configured to use the intermediate device to transmit a set of sensed signals to another wireless node. The apparatus may also be configured to sense an object based on a set of measurements associated with the set of sensed signals.

[0012] To achieve the foregoing and related objectives, one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. Certain illustrative features of one or more aspects are set forth in detail in the following description and drawings. However, these features indicate only a few of the various ways in which the principles of each aspect can be employed, and this specification is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network.

[0014] Figure 2A This is a diagram illustrating an example of the first frame of various aspects according to this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2B This is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink channel within a subframe according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2C This is a diagram illustrating an example of the second frame according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2D This is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink channel within a subframe according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating examples of base stations and user equipment (UEs) in an access network.

[0019] Figure 4This is a diagram illustrating an example of beamforming communication between a base station and a UE using a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS).

[0020] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a UE using RIS to sense signal transmissions, which has a communication link established with another UE.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example scenario of using RIS to sense signal transmission when the line-of-sight (LOS) path between the sensing node and the auxiliary node is at least partially obstructed.

[0022] Figure 7A and 7B This is a diagram illustrating an example of bistatic sensing using RIS by a wireless node when the LOS path between the sensing node and the auxiliary node is at least partially obstructed by an obstacle.

[0023] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating another example of bistatic sensing using RIS by a wireless node when the LOS path between the sensing node and the auxiliary node is at least partially obstructed by an obstacle.

[0024] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating another example of bistatic sensing by a wireless node using RIS when the LOS path between the sensing node and the auxiliary node is at least partially obstructed by an obstacle.

[0025] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating yet another example of bistatic sensing performed by a wireless node using RIS when the LOS path between the sensing node and the auxiliary node is at least partially obstructed by an obstacle.

[0026] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of a method for bistatic sensing at a wireless node.

[0027] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of another method for bistatic sensing at a wireless node.

[0028] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware implementation used for the example device. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The detailed descriptions following, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, are intended as a description of various configurations and not as representing only the configurations in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. The detailed descriptions include specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that these concepts and related aspects can be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and components are shown in the form of block diagrams in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0030] Several aspects of a telecommunications system will now be described with reference to various apparatuses and methods. These apparatuses and methods will be described in detail below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by way of various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the system as a whole.

[0031] For example, an element, any part of an element, or any combination of elements can be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, system-on-a-chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system can execute software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other names, software should be interpreted broadly as meaning instructions, instruction sets, computer executable code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.

[0032] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored or encoded as one or more instructions or computer-executable code on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium. The storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of computer-readable media of the types described above, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-executable code accessible by a computer in the form of instructions or data structures.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a user equipment (UE) 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)). Base station 102 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). Macro cells include base stations. Small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.

[0034] Base station 102 configured for 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) (collectively referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) can interface with EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1 interface). Base station 102 configured for 5G New Radio (NR) (collectively referred to as Next Generation Radio Access Network (RAN) (NG-RAN)) can interface with core network 190 via a second backhaul link 184. Among other functions, base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: transmission of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), user and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages.

[0035] In some aspects, base stations 102 can communicate directly or indirectly with each other (e.g., via EPC 160 or core network 190) via a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 can be wired or wireless. At least some of base stations 102 can be configured for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB). Therefore, such base stations can wirelessly communicate with other such base stations. For example, at least some of the base stations 102 configured for IAB can have a split architecture including at least one of a Central Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), Radio Unit (RU), Remote Radio Header (RRH), and / or Remote Unit, some or all of which can be co-located or distributed and / or can communicate with each other. In some configurations of such a split architecture, the CU can implement some or all of the functions of the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, while the DU can implement some or all of the functions of the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer.

[0036] Illustratively, some of the base stations 102 configured for IAB can communicate via a corresponding CU with the DU of an IAB donor node or other parent IAB node (e.g., a base station), and can also communicate via a corresponding DU with one or more child IAB nodes (e.g., other base stations) and / or UEs 104. One or more of the base stations 102 configured for IAB can be an IAB donor connected via a CU to at least one of EPC 160 and / or core network 190. In doing so, a base station 102 operating as an IAB donor can provide a link to one or more UEs and / or other IAB nodes to one of EPC 160 or core network 190, which can be directly or indirectly connected to the IAB donor (e.g., separated from the IAB donor by more than one hop). In the context of communicating with EPC 160 or core network 190, both the UE and the IAB node can communicate with the DU of the IAB donor. In some additional aspects, one or more of the base stations 102 may be configured with connectivity in an Open RAN (ORAN) and / or a Virtualized RAN (VRAN), which can be enabled by at least one corresponding CU, DU, RU, RRH and / or remote unit.

[0037] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. Overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 may exist. For example, small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macro cells can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include evolved home node B (eNB) (HeNB), which can provide services to a restricted group called Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0038] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (also referred to as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. Radio links and other radio links may be on one or more carriers or component carriers (CCs). Base station 102 / UE 104 may use spectrum allocated in carrier aggregation for a total of up to Y x MHz (e.g., x CCs) for transmission in each direction, with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz per carrier (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc.). CCs may be adjacent to each other or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of CCs may be asymmetrical with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer CCs may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0039] A CC can include a primary CC and one or more secondary CCs. The primary CC can be referred to as the primary cell (PCell), and each secondary CC can be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell). When both the base station at the access network level and at least one core network entity (e.g., AMF and / or MME) at the core network level know the UE, and the UE is configured to receive downlink control information in the access network (e.g., the UE may be in an RRC connected state), the PCell can also be referred to as the "serving cell." In some cases where carrier aggregation is configured for the UE, each of the PCell and one or more SCells can be the serving cell.

[0040] Some UEs 104 can communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication links 158. D2D communication links 158 can use downlink / uplink WWAN spectrum. D2D communication links 158 can use one or more side-link channels, such as the Physical Side-Link Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), Physical Side-Link Discovery Channel (PSDCH), Physical Side-Link Shared Channel (PSSCH), and Physical Side-Link Control Channel (PSCCH). D2D communication can be achieved through a wide variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0041] The wireless communication system may also include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in, for example, an unlicensed spectrum of 5 GHz. When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0042] Small cell 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell 102' can employ NR and use the same unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) as used by Wi-Fi AP 150. Small cell 102' employing NR in unlicensed spectrum can improve coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0043] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency range names FR1 (410MHz-7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz-52.6GHz). The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as the mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "below 6GHz" band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise regarding FR2; although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30GHz-300GHz) designated as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), FR2 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" (or "mmW") band in documents and articles.

[0044] In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, the terms "below 6 GHz," "below 7 GHz," etc., used within the scope of this document may broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, less than 7 GHz, within FR1, or may include intermediate frequency bands. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that the term "millimeter wave" and other similar references used within the scope of this document may broadly refer to frequencies that may include intermediate frequency bands, within FR2, or within the EHF band.

[0045] Base station 102 (whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station)) may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, gNodeB (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in conventional sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave frequencies, and / or near-millimeter wave frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in millimeter wave or near-millimeter wave frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. Millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to compensate for extremely high path loss and short range. Base station 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming.

[0046] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182'. UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the optimal receive and transmit directions for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit and receive directions for base station 180 may be the same or different. The transmit and receive directions for UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0047] EPC 160 may include Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, Serving Gateway 166, MBMS Gateway 168, Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. MME 162 can communicate with Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. MME 162 is the control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and EPC 160. Typically, MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted through Serving Gateway 166, which is connected to PDN Gateway 172. PDN Gateway 172 provides IP address allocation and other functions to the UE. PDN Gateway 172 and BM-SC 170 are connected to IP Service 176. IP Service 176 may include the Internet, intranet, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Packet Switched (PS) streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 can provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 can serve as an entry point for MBMS transmission to content providers, can be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and can be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 can be used to distribute MBMS services to base stations 102 belonging to areas of a Multicast-Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) that broadcasts specific services, and can be responsible for session management (start / stop) and collecting billing information related to eMBMS.

[0048] Core network 190 may include Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, Session Management Functions (SMF) 194, and User Plane Functions (UPF) 195. AMF 192 can communicate with Unified Data Management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 is the control node that processes signaling between UE 104 and core network 190. Typically, AMF 192 provides Quality of Service (QoS) streaming and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are transmitted via UPF 195. UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. UPF 195 connects to IP service 197. IP service 197 may include the Internet, intranet, IMS, PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0049] Base stations may include and / or be referred to as gNB, Node B, eNB, access point, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, Basic Services Set (BSS), Extended Services Set (ESS), Transmitter Receiver Point (TRP), or some other suitable term. Base station 102 provides access to EPC 160 or core network 190 for UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smartphones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radio units, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet devices, smart devices, wearable devices, vehicles, electricity meters, air pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, healthcare devices, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other similarly functional devices. Some UE 104 devices may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, air pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, mobile station, user station, mobile unit, user unit, radio unit, remote unit, mobile device, radio device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile user station, access terminal, mobile terminal, radio terminal, remote terminal, handheld device, user agent, mobile client, client, or any other suitable term.

[0050] Based on the aspects described herein, the reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) 199 can be deployed in a wireless communication system and access network 100. The RIS 199 can be configured to reflect waveforms in a desired direction and potentially with a desired spatial resolution. In doing so, for example, when sensing objects in the environment, the range and / or accuracy of some waveform operations can be improved.

[0051] Refer again Figure 1 In some aspects, a wireless node (such as UE 104 or one of base stations 102 / 180) may be configured with an intermediate device (such as RIS 199) to reflect signals between the wireless node and another wireless node (such as UE 104 and another of base stations 102 / 180) (e.g., for bistatic sensing).

[0052] A wireless node can use an intermediary device (e.g., RIS199) to transmit a set of sensed signals to another wireless node. The wireless node can then sense an object based on a set of measurements associated with the set of sensed signals.

[0053] Although this disclosure may focus on 5G NR, the concepts and aspects described herein can be applied to other similar fields, such as LTE, improved LTE (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or other wireless / radio access technologies.

[0054] Figure 2A Figure 200 shows an example of the first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B Figure 230 shows an example of a downlink channel within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C Figure 250 shows an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D Figure 280 illustrates an example of an uplink channel within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure can be Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) (where, for a specific set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that set are dedicated to either downlink or uplink), or Time Division Duplex (TDD) (where, for a specific set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within that set are dedicated to both downlink and uplink). In the process of... Figure 2A , 2C In the provided example, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly downlink), where D is downlink, U is uplink, and F is flexible and can be used between downlink and uplink, and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly uplink). Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe can be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are all downlink and all uplink, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mixture of downlink, uplink, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format via the received Slot Format Indicator (SFI) (dynamically configured via Downlink Control Information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured via RRC signaling). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G NR frame structure as TDD.

[0055] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures or different channels. A frame (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)) can be divided into 10 equal-sized subframes (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. Subframes may also include micro-time slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, while for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the downlink may be Cyclic Prefix (CP) Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the uplink may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high-throughput scenarios) or Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) Spread Spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-constrained scenarios; limited to single-stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe may be based on the time slot configuration and the numbering scheme. For slot configuration 0, different digital schemes μ0 to 4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different digital schemes 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Correspondingly, for slot configuration 0 and digital scheme μ, there are 14 symbols / slot and 2... μ The number of time slots / subframes. Subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are functions of the digital scheme. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2^μ * 15 kHz, where μ is the digital scheme from 0 to 4. Therefore, digital scheme μ = 0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and digital scheme μ = 4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz. Symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A-2D Examples are provided for slot configuration 0 (14 symbols per slot) and digital scheme μ=2 (4 slots per subframe). The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 microseconds (μs). Within a frame set, one or more distinct bandwidth portions (BWPs) of frequency division multiplexing can exist (see [link to relevant documentation]). Figure 2B Each BWP can have a specific digital scheme.

[0056] A resource grid can be used to represent the frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also known as a physical RB (PRB)), which consists of 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0057] like Figure 2AAs shown, some REs carry at least one pilot and / or reference signal (RS) for the UE. In some configurations, the RS may include at least one demodulated RS (DM-RS) for channel estimation at the UE (indicated as R for a particular configuration). x (where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and / or at least one Channel State Information (CSI) RS (CSI-RS). In some other configurations, the RS may additionally or alternatively include at least one Beam Measurement (or Management) RS (BRS), at least one Beam Refinement RS (BRRS), and / or at least one Phase Tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0058] Figure 2B Examples of various downlink channels within a subframe of a frame are shown. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries the DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE comprising nine RE Groups (REGs), each REG comprising four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The PDCCH within a BWP can be referred to as a Control Resource Set (CORESET). Additional BWPs can span the channel bandwidth at larger and / or lower frequencies. The Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) can be located within symbol 2 of a specific subframe of the frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification. The Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) can be located within symbol 4 of a specific subframe of the frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the Physical Layer Cell Identifier Group Number and radio frame timing. Based on the Physical Layer Identifier and Physical Layer Cell Identifier Group Number, the UE can determine the Physical Cell Identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), carrying the Master Information Block (MIB), can logically be grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a Synchronization Signal (SS) / PBCH block (also known as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs and the System Frame Number (SFN) in the system bandwidth. The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted via the PBCH (such as System Information Blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0059] like Figure 2CAs shown, some REs in the REs carry DM-RS for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for a specific configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE can transmit DM-RS for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS can be transmitted in the first one or two symbols preceding the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS can be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short or long PUCCH is transmitted and the specific PUCCH format used. The UE can transmit a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). The SRS can be transmitted in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS can have a comb structure, and the UE can transmit the SRS on one of the combs. The SRS can be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the uplink.

[0060] Figure 2D Examples of various uplink channels within a subframe of a frame are shown. The PUCCH can be positioned as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), which may include a scheduling request (SR), channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK) / non-acknowledgment (NACK) feedback. The PUCCH carries data and may also be used to carry buffer status report (BSR), power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0061] Figure 3This is a block diagram illustrating communication between base station 310 and UE 350 in the access network. In the downlink, IP packets from EPC 160 can be provided to controller / processor 375. Controller / processor 375 implements Layer 2 (L2) and Layer 3 (L3) functions. L3 includes the RRC layer, and L2 includes the Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, RLC layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides: RRC layer functions associated with: broadcasting system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-Radio Access Technology (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: transmission of upper-layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via 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, multiplexing of MAC SDUs to transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0062] Transmit (TX) processor 316 and receive (RX) processor 370 implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. The L1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection of the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. TX processor 316 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 phase shift keying (M-PSK), and M-order quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to OFDM subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time or frequency domain, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimation from channel estimator 374 can be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimation can be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 350 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate a radio frequency (RF) carrier for transmission.

[0063] At UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives signals via at least one corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and RX processor 356 implement L1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 350, they can be combined by the RX processor 356 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 356 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 consists of a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The 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 310. These soft decisions can be based on a channel estimate calculated by channel estimator 358. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 310 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to controller / processor 359, which implements L3 and L2 functions.

[0064] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program code and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the uplink, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operation.

[0065] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 310, controller / processor 359 provides: RRC layer functions associated with: system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with: 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 TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority processing, and logical channel prioritization.

[0066] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator 358 from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 can be used by the TX processor 368 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes, as well as to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the TX processor 368 can be provided to different antennas 352 via a separate transmitter 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0067] Uplink transmission at base station 310 is handled in a manner similar to that described for the receiver functions incorporated at UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives signals via at least one corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the RX processor 370.

[0068] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program code and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the uplink, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from the UE 350. IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operation.

[0069] In some respects, at least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 can be configured to combine Figure 1 The configuration component 198 is used to perform various aspects.

[0070] In some other aspects, at least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 can be configured to combine Figure 1 The configuration component 198 is used to perform various aspects.

[0071] Figure 4 Figure 400 illustrates an example of beamforming communication using RIS 410 between base station 402 and UEs 404 and 406. In some aspects, one or more of base station 402 and UEs 404 and 406 may each be referred to as a corresponding radio node.

[0072] Based on the various aspects described herein, RIS 410 can be a device having at least one surface with a plurality of electrically controllable reflective elements uniformly distributed thereon. Each electrically controllable reflective element may include reconfigurable electromagnetic properties, such as a reflection coefficient. By configuring different combinations of reflective elements at RIS 410, RIS 410 can reflect and / or modify the incident waveform in a controlled (or less random) manner, such as by changing the reflection direction, changing the beamwidth, etc.

[0073] The RIS 410 can be deployed in wireless communication systems and access networks 100, and is therefore compatible with a variety of cellular systems, including LTE and 5G NR. In such a deployment, the RIS 410 can deterministically (or controllably) modify the channel implementation to improve channel diversity, which can increase the robustness of cellular communications. In particular, the increased channel diversity achieved by deploying the RIS 410 can mitigate some channel congestion or fading, especially in the mmW range.

[0074] While wireless repeater or repeater devices can provide some similar functionality, the RIS 410 can be cheaper and / or more efficient than using such devices. For example, the RIS 410 can reflect and / or modify the waveform incident upon it without internally processing the signal carried on it. In this respect, operation avoids converting the signal from analog to digital and / or otherwise transforming the signal, which can reduce some latency while preserving some or all of the characteristics of the incident waveform originally transmitted by one of the base station 402 or UEs 404, 406.

[0075] Therefore, the RIS 410 can provide one or more multipath components that are detectable and / or combinable at the receiver. This (and other) characteristic of the RIS 410 indicates that the waveform reflected by the RIS 410 is suitable for use in some sensing applications. For example, if the reflection characteristics of the RIS 410 are known in advance, bistatic sensing can be implemented using the antenna elements of the base station / or UE 404. However, the nodes configured for bistatic sensing can first be coordinated to some extent so that the various calculations used to obtain information such as ranging, positioning, and imaging are accurate.

[0076] While wireless repeater or repeater devices can provide some similar functionality, the RIS 410 can be cheaper and / or more efficient than using such devices. For example, the RIS 410 can reflect and / or modify the waveform incident upon it without internally processing the signal carried on it. In this respect, operation avoids converting the signal from analog to digital and / or otherwise transforming the signal, which can reduce some latency while preserving some or all of the characteristics of the incident waveform originally transmitted by one of the UEs.

[0077] Therefore, the RIS 410 can provide one or more multipath components that are detectable and / or combinable at the receiver. This (and other) characteristic of the RIS 410 indicates that the waveform reflected by the RIS 410 is suitable for use in some sensing applications. For example, if the reflection characteristics of the RIS 410 are known in advance, bistatic sensing can be implemented using the antenna elements of base station 402 and / or UE 404. However, the nodes configured for bistatic sensing can first be coordinated to some extent so that the various calculations used to obtain information such as ranging, positioning, and imaging are accurate.

[0078] Figure 5Figure 500 illustrates an example of sensing signal transmission by UE 504, which has a communication link 516 established with another UE 506, using RIS 510. In some aspects, each of UEs 504 and 506 may be referred to as a radio node. UEs 504 and 506 may establish the communication link 516 on a sidelink discovery channel (such as PSDCH) and may communicate on sidelink control and / or data channels (such as PSCCH and / or PSSCH), respectively.

[0079] As the complexity and density of antenna element configurations increase, wireless devices may be able to perform some RF sensing. For example, some or all of the antennas of a wireless node can operate as radar, capable of transmitting and receiving waveforms with sufficient accuracy and resolution. Antennas can be viewed as radars with RF sensing capabilities, and when used with appropriate detection algorithms, they can be combined to function as consumer-grade radars capable of transmitting and receiving waveforms for bistatic sensing.

[0080] In some aspects, bistatic sensing may include the use of RF components of wireless nodes (e.g., UE504, UE506, base stations, etc.) used as a radar network. For example, using bistatic sensing, UE504 and UE506 may form a radar network using signals transmitted via at least one antenna of transmitter UE504 and received via at least one antenna of receiver UE506. To sense target object 530, UE504 and UE506 may locate themselves relative to each other and may calculate the channel impulse response (CIR) on each channel in the channel set. Object 530 located in an environment remote from both UEs 504 and 506 may be sensed based on the calculated CIR and its variation over time. Potentially, object 530 may be sensed with the accuracy of capturing the outline or facet of the sensed object, for example, such that object 530 can be classified and associated sets of operations can be performed. In some aspects, sensing UE504 may deduce the location of object 530 based on the sensing of object 530. In some other aspects, the sensing UE 504 can generate an image of the object 530 (e.g., a spectral image) based on the sensed object 530.

[0081] This concept of bistatic sensing can be extended to multistatic sensing, which can include multiple spatially distinct transmitters and receivers. For example, some multistatic sensing systems may use multiple spatially distinct bistatic sensing nodes (although multiple spatially distinct monostatic sensing nodes may also be used in different multistatic sensing systems). Multistatic sensing may include data fusion from spatially distinct nodes. Therefore, since some multistatic sensing systems depend on bistatic sensing systems, it should be understood that the various concepts and aspects described herein can be extended to multistatic sensing.

[0082] Such RF sensing is useful in many fields, such as IoT and vehicle-to-everything (V2X). For example, RF sensing can provide information related to health monitoring, gesture recognition, contextual information acquisition (e.g., ranging, location tracking, etc.), and automotive radar (e.g., intelligent cruise control, collision avoidance).

[0083] While full-duplex wireless nodes can perform monostatic sensing, full-duplex capability may not be available at every wireless node. For some wireless nodes, such as those with half-duplex capability, bistatic sensing can be used to sense the environment. Bistatic sensing involves two wireless nodes (and multistatic sensing involves more than two wireless nodes), which can coordinate to exchange some location information that can be used for such bistatic sensing.

[0084] In some aspects, the RIS 510 can achieve peer-to-peer bistatic sensing by providing a path between two UEs 504 and 506. The RIS 510 can be associated with a controller (such as a UE, a base station, a standalone RIS controller, or other radio node). Requests for configuring the reflective elements of the RIS 510 (e.g., requests for adjusting one or more reflectivity coefficients of one or more reflective elements) can be received at the controller of the RIS 510, and the RIS 510 can be configured according to the received requests.

[0085] In some aspects, the UE 504 sensing the environment (e.g., a "sensing node") can also be the controller of the RIS 510. In other aspects, the UE 504 can discover the RIS 510 and request its control, for example, via a request-response process with the RIS control node, which can be centralized. The control of the RIS 510 can be dynamic, wherein some or all of the components of the RIS 510 are controllable on a time-slot basis.

[0086] The RIS 510 can include a relatively large number of reflective elements, for example, on a scale of hundreds or thousands. Furthermore, the RIS 510 can be mounted on a wall, such as on the exterior of a building. Using a large number of controllable elements, the RIS 510 is capable of sharpening or increasing the spatial resolution of a beam incident upon it (e.g., a lens-like beam).

[0087] As an example, the sensing UE 504 may have an established (peer-to-peer) link 516 with another UE 506 (e.g., a “secondary node” in the context of bistatic sensing performed by the sensing UE 504). The sensing UE 504 may use a RIS 510 to send bursts of sensing signals 512 to the secondary UE 506 for bistatic sensing in the environment. The RIS 510 may be configured (e.g., by the sensed UE 504) to reflect the sensing signals 512, resulting in reflected sensing signals 514 being directed toward the secondary UE 506. The secondary UE 506 may receive some or all of the reflected sensing signals 514 and may perform various measurements thereon, as further described below. The secondary UE 506 may send the measurement results to the sensing UE 504 via the peer-to-peer link 516, and the sensing UE 504 may use those measurement results to sense objects in the environment.

[0088] Figure 6 Figure 600 illustrates example scenarios 650 and 655 of sensing signal transmission using RIS 610 and 660 when the line-of-sight (LOS) path between sensing nodes 604 and 652 and auxiliary nodes 606 and 656 is at least partially obstructed by obstructions 632 and 682. Typically, a suitable LOS path is expected between sensing nodes and auxiliary nodes to achieve accurate bistatic sensing. However, given the multiple variables in any uncontrolled environment and the frequency with which those variables change, obtaining such a path may be difficult.

[0089] In an example scenario 650, for example, a sensing node 604 (e.g., a UE) attempting to sense its environment (e.g., to locate a target object 630 located therein) may be prevented from doing so by an obstruction 632 that at least partially blocks the LOS path between the sensing node 604 and an auxiliary node 606 (e.g., another UE). The obstruction 632 can be any fixed or temporary object blocking RF waves transmitted by the wireless nodes (RF waves in the mmW (e.g., EHF or near-EHF) frequency range), whether organic or inorganic. Potentially, the obstruction 632 may be located in a position that results in the blockage of the direct link between nodes 604, 606, for example, because mmW communication may often suffer from relatively high path loss. In summary, the sensing and auxiliary nodes 604, 606 may lack the capability or components to allow communication when the LOS path (and other paths) between the nodes is blocked.

[0090] In some other respects, sensing node 604 may lack sufficient beamforming capability to transmit a beam that is narrow enough or has a sufficiently high spatial resolution to accurately sense target object 630 in the environment, especially when object 630 is complex and / or multifaceted (e.g., human facial features or expressions). However, sensing node 604 can overcome this deficiency by utilizing the RIS 610's ability to focus the beam or narrow the beam (e.g., lens-like reflection).

[0091] To this end, sensing node 604 can configure RIS 610 to modify the incident wave 612 upon reflection. For example, sensing node 604 can configure the reflective element of RIS 610 to scatter or focus (e.g., lens-like reflection) the reflected wave 614 into a wavelength range that can sense the contours (e.g., facial features) on the target object 630. Effectively, even if the sensing node lacks the ability to generate a sufficiently narrow beam, RIS 610 can achieve detailed and accurate bistatic sensing because the reflective element of RIS 610 can be configured to increase the spatial resolution of the reflected wave 614. Therefore, using RIS 610 can extend the range of target objects that can be sensed, as some focused or narrower reflected beams can improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), thereby increasing the distance at which the sensed signal is useful for various calculations related to bistatic sensing (e.g., CIR calculation).

[0092] As further described herein, sensing node 604 and auxiliary node 606 can communicate and be configured with various parameters that may be functional prerequisites for some bistatic sensing computation. In some cases, this information can be transmitted over a sidelink channel. However, obstruction 632 (or another obstruction) may interfere with or impede signals on the wireless path over which the sidelink channel is configured, thereby preventing sensing node 604 from coordinating with auxiliary node 606, and, more broadly, preventing bistatic sensing by sensing node 604 until the obstruction is removed. In some cases, such obstructions on the wireless path can be circumvented by using RIS 610 for sidelink data or control information and for sensing signals.

[0093] For example, sensing node 604 can configure RIS 610 to reflect a signal to auxiliary node 606. Sensing node 604 can then send lateral travel link data or control information to coordinate bistatic sensing between nodes on the incident wave (e.g., incident wave 612). This lateral travel link data or control information can reach auxiliary node 606 on the reflected wave 614. Therefore, sensing node 604 can coordinate bistatic sensing with auxiliary node 606 without a LOS path to auxiliary node 606.

[0094] In another example scenario 655, for example, a sensing node 652 (e.g., a base station) attempting to sense the environment (e.g., to locate a target object 630 located therein) may be prevented from doing so by an obstruction 682 that at least partially blocks the LOS path between the sensing node 604 and the auxiliary node 656 (e.g., a UE). For example, the obstruction 682 may be positioned in a way that interrupts the sensing signal expected to be transmitted between nodes 652 and 656. In the illustrated example, the sensing node 652 may have a clear LOS path to the target object 680 in the environment; however, the obstruction 682 may be located between the object 680 and the auxiliary node 656. Therefore, when the LOS path to the auxiliary node 656 is blocked, the sensing signal transmitted by the sensing node 652 may be blocked. Such an obstacle may prevent the auxiliary node 656 from receiving the sensing signal and calculating the CIR or other values ​​that could be used to sense the object 630 in the environment.

[0095] However, when the incident wave 662 reaches the target object 680, the sensing signal can be reflected from the target object 680. At least some of the incident waves 662 can be reflected towards the RIS 660. The RIS 660 can be configured with reflecting elements arranged to guide the reflected wave 676 towards the auxiliary node 656. For example, by compensating for the RIS 660 by taking into account the position of the RIS 660 and the path of the reflected wave 676, the auxiliary node 656 can still calculate a value (e.g., CIR) indicating the target object 680 sensed in the environment.

[0096] Therefore, as Figure 6 As shown in scenarios 650 and 655, the RIS can improve the ability of wireless nodes to sense objects in the environment using bistatic sensing. Furthermore, the RIS can facilitate coordination among wireless nodes to organize bistatic sensing, for example, by reflecting signals used for localization prior to bistatic sensing between wireless nodes.

[0097] Figure 7A and 7B Figures 700 and 750 illustrate an example of bistatic sensing using a RIS 710 by wireless nodes 704 and 706 when the LOS path between sensing node 704 and auxiliary node 706 is at least partially obstructed by obstruction 732. Depending on various aspects, bistatic sensing facilitated by the RIS may involve some coordination prior to objects in the sensing environment. In the aspects shown, sensing node 704 can detect and control the RIS 710. Control of the RIS 710 may be shared with one or more other nodes, for example, on a per-slot or subframe basis.

[0098] In some aspects, the RIS 710 can be controlled by a control node, which can be a centralized control node capable of controlling multiple RISs or a local controller co-located with the RIS 710. For example, the control node can send (e.g., broadcast) indications or announcements regarding the RIS 710 and its availability. Potentially, discovery information associated with the RIS 710 can be transmitted on a sidelink channel (e.g., on the PSDCH), and the sensing node 704 can discover the RIS 710 in a manner similar to D2D discovery.

[0099] In some aspects, the sensing node 704 can receive discovery signals associated with the RIS 710, such as beacon signals or other lightweight signals that announce the presence of the RIS 710 without causing significant overhead on the network. The sensing node 704 can send requests or queries to the RIS 710, which may indicate that the sensing node 704 is requesting to connect to and / or control the RIS 710.

[0100] When sensing node 704 knows that its LOS path to auxiliary node 706 is at least partially blocked by obstruction 732, sensing node 704 can request the use of RIS 710. For example, sensing node 704 may detect the absence of communication with auxiliary node 706 or a radio link failure, and sensing node 704 may attempt to re-establish the communication link with auxiliary node 706 using RIS 710 to circumvent obstruction 732. In another example, sensing node 704 may still be able to communicate with auxiliary node 706, but the channel quality may be too poor for accurate bistatic sensing, for example, when the SNR fails to meet (e.g., below) the threshold level at which bistatic sensing is considered accurate.

[0101] Therefore, sensing node 704 can send a request or query to the controller of RIS 710 (e.g., a base station or other controller) to request the configuration of RIS 710 to reflect signals from sensing node 704 to auxiliary node 706 and / or from auxiliary node 706 to sensing node 704. The controller of RIS 710 can respond to the request or query from sensing node 704 using information associated with RIS 710. Illustratively, such information may include the operating spectrum of RIS 710, the location of RIS 710 (e.g., in a global reference, in a local reference frame, 3D location, or direction of pilot signal transmission), the control protocol implemented by RIS 710, the signature of RIS 710, the area covered or served by RIS 710, and other such information.

[0102] In some other aspects, sensing node 704 can detect RIS 710 without utilizing a detection signal. For example, sensing node 704 can send a request to a base station or other centralized RIS controller, which is then notified of RISs near sensing node 704. Since sensing node 704 can benefit from reflective surfaces in the same environment that sensing node 704 will sense together with auxiliary node 706, sensing node 704 can include, for example, some information about auxiliary node 706, such as the location or position of auxiliary node 706, in the request, in addition to information associated with sensing node 704. Therefore, the centralized controller can select RIS 710 because RIS 710 is located in a position relatively useful to sensing node 704, as RIS 710 can provide an alternative path when the LOS path is blocked.

[0103] Then, the sensing node 704 can control the RIS 710, for example, based on information received from the centralized controller (e.g., authentication or verification information). To this end, the sensing node 704 can send control signals to the RIS 710, which can be in the format of a control protocol indicated by the centralized RIS controller in response to a query. In some aspects, control of the RIS 710 can be initiated by control signals; for example, control signals from the sensing node 704 can be used to obtain timing synchronization with the sensing node 704 (and potentially, the auxiliary node 706).

[0104] In some other aspects, sensing node 704 can use RIS 710 to discover and / or communicate with auxiliary node 706. For example, sensing node 704 may fail to autonomously find a suitable complementary device for bistatic sensing. Alternatively, sensing node 704 can use signals reflected from RIS 710 to discover and communicate with various candidate nodes, and then select the most suitable candidate node to assist the signals transmitted by sensing node 704. Thus, RIS 710 can be used to build and / or maintain a peer link 716 between node 704 and node 706, on which bistatic sensing can be coordinated.

[0105] After a peer-to-peer link 716 has been established and a usable path to the auxiliary node 706 is available, the sensing node 704 can send a sensing request to the auxiliary node 706. The sensing request may be a request for, for example, to act as a receiver or transmitter of a sensing signal in a bistatic sensing configuration (e.g., an ad hoc bistatic radar network). In some aspects, the sensing request may include information indicating the configuration of the sensing signal, the location of the sensing node 704, information related to the RIS 710, etc.

[0106] Potentially, the sensing request may include sufficient information to control the RIS 710; for example, in some cases, the auxiliary node 706 may control the RIS 710. For instance, a sensing request sent to the auxiliary node 706 may include information indicating the control protocol and / or signature of the RIS 710. Furthermore, if the auxiliary node 706 may control the RIS 710, the sensing request may include a RIS control plan. For example, the control plan may indicate one or more sets of reflection coefficients and the timing of applying each set, for example, ensuring that the sensing process between nodes 704 and 706 is well coordinated.

[0107] Although sensing requests can be sent over peer link 716, the communication method and the communication link carrying the request can vary in different implementations. In some aspects, sensing node 704 can send sensing requests to auxiliary node 706 using RIS 710, such as in the case where sensing node 704 is a base station (e.g., gNB) and / or a centralized RIS controller, or in the case where RIS 710 has enabled peer link 716 (e.g., where the LOS path is blocked). Depending on the implementation of sensing node 704 and the resources available to it (and potentially depending on the implementation of auxiliary node 706), sensing requests can be sent over uplink or downlink resources or sidelink resources.

[0108] In some other aspects, sensing node 704 may send a sensing request to auxiliary node 706 via a network (e.g., via at least one base station), for example, on a front-end or back-end link. For instance, when both node 704 and node 706 are within the coverage area of ​​a base station, sensing node 704 may send a sensing request to the base station (e.g., on uplink resources, on a front-end or back-end link with the base station), and the base station may then deliver the sensing request to auxiliary node 706 on downlink resources.

[0109] Based on a sensing request received from sensing node 704, auxiliary node 706 can send a response to sensing node 704. This response can instruct auxiliary node 706 whether to accept or reject the sensing request from sensing node 704. Assuming the former, if auxiliary node 706 is configured with self-localization capabilities, the response can indicate the location of auxiliary node 706, such as via GPS or NR positioning. Therefore, nodes 704 and 706 can locate each other for a bistatic sensing process.

[0110] Similar to sensing requests, although responses to sensing requests can be sent on peer link 716, the communication method and the communication link carrying the response can vary in different implementations. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 706 can send a response to the sensing node 704 using RIS 710, such as in aspects where peer link 716 has been enabled by RIS 710 (e.g., where the LOS path is blocked). Depending on the implementation of the auxiliary node 706 and the resources available to it (and potentially depending on the implementation of the sensing node 704), the response can be sent on one of the uplink or downlink resources or the sidelink resources.

[0111] In some other aspects, the auxiliary node 706 may send a response to the sensing node 704 via a network (e.g., via at least one base station), for example, on a front-end or back-end link. For instance, when both node 704 and node 706 are within the coverage area of ​​the base station, the auxiliary node 706 may send a response to the base station (e.g., on uplink resources, on a front-end or back-end link with the base station), and the base station may then deliver a sensing request to the sensing node 704 on downlink resources.

[0112] Once a communication link is established between nodes 704 and 706, and the auxiliary node 706 has received a sensing response to facilitate bistatic sensing, some RIS-related measurements can be performed. Such RIS-related measurements can compensate for or account for non-LOS and potential detours through which the sensing signal can traverse to reach one or the other of nodes 704 and 706.

[0113] In some aspects, sensing node 704 may transmit one or more RSs to auxiliary node 706 along a path traversing RIS 710. The one or more RSs may include synchronization signals, reference signals, and / or other pilot signals. For example, the one or more RSs may include one or more of PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, etc.

[0114] The auxiliary node 706 can receive one or more RSs reflected from the RIS 710 (but not the object 730) and can measure at least one and / or another value of the time of arrival (ToA), angle of arrival (AoA), and CIR based on them. Values ​​measured by the auxiliary node 706 of signals never reflected from the object 730 can then be used for filtering (e.g., filtering out direct reflections from the RIS 710 during sensing). Potentially, the auxiliary node 706 can use timing values ​​measured from ToA or other measurements to establish a reference time for bistatic sensing.

[0115] In some other aspects, the auxiliary node 706 may send one or more RSs to the RIS 710 at an established time (e.g., a pre-configured time or a time indicated during a sensing request-response exchange), such as a timing offset relative to a sensing request. The RSs sent by the auxiliary node 706 may be reflected back to the sensing node 704, which may use at least one of the RSs to measure the round-trip time (RTT) and filter out direct reflections from the RIS 710.

[0116] Subsequently, sensing node 704 and auxiliary node 706 can continue bistatic sensing of the environment using RIS 710, even if object 730 is behind an obstruction 732 that blocks the LOS path between nodes 704 and 706. In one configuration, sensing node 704 can send a burst of sensing signal 714 (e.g., sensing RS) toward RIS 710, which can be on the incident waveform in contact with RIS 710. Sensing signal 714 can be reflected from RIS 710 toward object 730 at an angle of incidence. Thus, the reflected sensing signal 718 can strike object 730 and be scattered therefrom. A portion of the sensing signal 718 reflected by RIS can be reflected from object 730 toward auxiliary node 706, which can receive the sensing signal 720 reflected by the object.

[0117] In another configuration, when the sensing signal 714 is reflected from the RIS 710, the sensing node 704 or the auxiliary node 706 can control the RIS 710 to change its state or set of modes to effectively provide beam scanning. For example, the reflection coefficient can be changed over a set of time intervals according to repeatable patterns, causing the reflecting element to guide the reflected sensing signal 718 in multiple different directions. The reflection coefficient can be adjusted according to the pattern at symbol-level intervals, slot-level intervals, subframe-level intervals, or another interval. This reconfiguration (which can act as beam scanning of the reflected signal 718) can cause the reflected sensing signal 718 to be reflected from different regions of the object 730 at different incident angles. Therefore, the auxiliary node 706 can receive the reflected sensing signal 720 from the object 730, which has ToA, AoA, etc., and represents different CIRs. These CIRs can be used to deduce regions of the object 730 that are different from or additional to those regions sensed by the RIS 710 in a static configuration (e.g., including contours and facets).

[0118] In some aspects, sensing node 704 can calculate the pattern to be applied to the sensing signal 714 reflected by RIS 710. For example, sensing node 704 can calculate a set of reflection coefficients to be applied to the reflecting elements of RIS 710 at each time interval in a set of time intervals, such as a first set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a first time slot or subframe, a second set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a second time slot or subframe, and so on.

[0119] In the aspect where the sensing node 704 does not control the RIS 710, the sensing node 704 may send information indicating the mode to the RIS controller, for example, as a request to apply the mode according to the schedule provided by the sensing node 704.

[0120] In some other aspects, sensing node 704 may, for example, transmit one or more RIS control signals according to a RIS control protocol, and the RIS control signals may instruct RIS 710 to apply a mode of reflection coefficient or other adjustments at a specific time, such as for the time when RIS 710 receives (and processes) the RIS control signals. Such RIS control signals may be embedded in sensing signal 714 (e.g., in-band, potentially time-domain multiplexed with sensing signal 714) and / or transmitted separately from sensing signal 714 (e.g., out-of-band, adjacent frequency band, and / or potentially frequency-domain multiplexed with sensing signal 714).

[0121] refer to Figure 7B The auxiliary node 706 detects a reflected sensing signal 718 having an angle of incidence at object 730. Upon receiving such a reflected sensing signal 718, the auxiliary node 706 can record the corresponding ToA, AoA, and / or other information. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 706 can calculate at least one corresponding Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) based on at least one of the reflected sensing signals 718 having an angle of incidence with object 730. For example, the auxiliary node 706 can calculate the corresponding TDoA as the difference between a reference time (or ToA) recorded from a signal sent by sensing node 704 and reflected at RIS 710 but not at object 730, and a ToA recorded from at least one of the reflected sensing signals 720 having an angle of incidence with both RIS 710 and object 730.

[0122] The auxiliary node 706 can filter out some other reflected sensing signals 722 that have no angle of incidence at the object 730. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 706 can detect those sensing signals 722 to be filtered out based on the ToA recorded for the reflected sensing signals 722. For example, the auxiliary node 706 can compare the corresponding ToA of the reflected sensing signal 722 with at least one reference time (such as another ToA recorded from one or more earlier received signals previously reflected from RIS 710 rather than the object 730). The filtered sensing signals 722 can indicate the space in the environment in which the object 730 is not located.

[0123] In some aspects, the auxiliary node 706 can operate to perform bistatic sensing operations. For example, the auxiliary node 706 can treat the RIS 710 as a virtual node 724 because the auxiliary node 706 can determine the position (and / or other information, such as the contour and facet information of the object 730) as if the virtual node 724 were a transmitter in the bistatic sensing arrangement and the reflected sensing signal 720 originated from the virtual node 724. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 706 can obtain the distance between the auxiliary node 706 and the RIS 710, and the auxiliary node 706 can infer the position of the object based on the reflected sensing signal 720 and the distance between the auxiliary node 706 and the RIS 710. The auxiliary node 706 can then report the position of the object 730 to the sensing node 704. Potentially, the auxiliary node 706 can compensate for the path component (before the angle of incidence at RIS 710) used for the initial transmission of the sensing signal 714, since the path component (e.g., path duration) between the sensing node 704 and RIS 710 can be the same, regardless of whether one or more of the sensing signals 714 are subsequently reflected from the object 730.

[0124] In some other aspects, sensing node 704 (e.g., not auxiliary node 706) can perform bistatic sensing operations to deduce the position of object 730. In such other aspects, auxiliary node 706 can report measurements calculated from the reflected sensing signal 720 to sensing node 704, including, for example, at least one TDoA, and potentially one or more AoA and / or CIR. For example, auxiliary node 706 can send information reporting such measurements over peer link 716 and / or use RIS 710 as the path to sensing node 704. Sensing node 704, having obtained the distance to auxiliary node 706 (and the distance to RIS 710), can then use bistatic sensing operations to deduce the position of target object 730 based on the measurements received from auxiliary node 706, even if the LOS paths of both object 730 and auxiliary node 706 are obstructed by obstruction 732.

[0125] Figure 8 Figure 800 illustrates some other examples of bistatic sensing performed by wireless nodes 804, 806 using RIS 810 when the LOS path between sensing node 804 and auxiliary node 806 is at least partially obstructed. As shown, the LOS path between sensing node 804 and auxiliary node 806 is obstructed by obstruction 832; however, the LOS path between the sensing node and the target object 830 may be sufficiently unobstructed.

[0126] In some aspects, sensing node 804 can transmit bursts of sensing signal 814 toward target object 830. At least one of sensing node 804 or auxiliary node 806 can control RIS 810 to adjust the reconfigurable surface, for example, by configuring RIS 810 with a set of reflection coefficients to be applied to a set of reflective elements forming the reconfigurable surface. Specifically, at least one of nodes 804, 806 can configure RIS 810 to reflect various sensing signals in various directions (e.g., in beam scanning modes). For example, the reflection coefficients can be varied over a set of time intervals according to a repeatable pattern, such that the reflective elements guide the reflected sensing signal 818 from multiple different directions. The reflection coefficients can be adjusted according to the pattern at symbol-level intervals, slot-level intervals, subframe-level intervals, or another interval.

[0127] This reconfiguration (which can be used for beam scanning of the sensing signal 814 and the reflected sensing signal 818) can guide the reflected sensing signal 818, reflected from different regions of the object 830 at different incident angles, toward the auxiliary node 806. Therefore, the auxiliary node 806 can receive the reflected sensing signal 820, reflected from the RIS 810 at an incident angle at the object 830. Thus, the auxiliary node 806 can determine various measurements and / or calculations (e.g., ToA, AoA, CIR, etc.) based on the sensing signals traveling along paths reflected from various regions of the object 830 (e.g., including contours and facets).

[0128] In some aspects, at least one of nodes 804 and 806 can calculate the patterns to be applied to the sense signals 814 and 818 reflected by the RIS 810. For example, sense node 804 can calculate a set of reflection coefficients to be applied to the reflective elements of the RIS 810 at each time interval in the set of time intervals, such as a first set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a first time slot or subframe, a second set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a second time slot or subframe, and so on.

[0129] In which neither node 804 nor node 806 controls any aspect of the RIS 810, information indicating the mode can be sent to the RIS controller, for example, as a request to apply the mode according to the schedule.

[0130] In some other aspects, sensing node 804 (or auxiliary node 806) may, for example, transmit one or more RIS control signals according to a RIS control protocol, and the RIS control signals may instruct RIS 810 to apply a mode of reflection coefficient or other adjustments at a specific time, such as for the time when RIS 810 receives (and processes) the RIS control signals. Such RIS control signals may be embedded in sensing signal 814 (e.g., in-band, potentially time-domain multiplexed with sensing signal 814) and / or transmitted separately from sensing signal 814 (e.g., out-of-band, adjacent frequency band, and / or potentially frequency-domain multiplexed with sensing signal 814).

[0131] Therefore, the auxiliary node 806 detects a reflected sensing signal 818 having an angle of incidence at object 830. Upon receiving such a reflected sensing signal 818, the auxiliary node 806 can record the corresponding ToA, AoA, and / or other information. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 806 can calculate at least one corresponding time difference of arrival (TDoA) based on at least one of the reflected sensing signals 818 having an angle of incidence with object 830. For example, the auxiliary node 806 can calculate the corresponding TDoA as the difference between a reference time (or ToA) recorded from a signal sent by sensing node 804 and reflected at RIS 810 but not at object 830, and a ToA recorded from at least one of the reflected sensing signals 820 having an angle of incidence with both RIS 810 and object 830.

[0132] The auxiliary node 806 can filter out some other reflected sensing signals 822 that have no angle of incidence at object 830. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 806 can detect those sensing signals 822 to be filtered out based on the ToA recorded for the reflected sensing signals 822. For example, the auxiliary node 806 can compare the corresponding ToA of the reflected sensing signals 822 with at least one reference time (such as another ToA recorded from one or more earlier received signals previously reflected from RIS 810 rather than object 830). The filtered sensing signals 822 can indicate the space in the environment in which object 830 is not located.

[0133] In some aspects, the auxiliary node 806 can operate to perform bistatic sensing operations to infer the position of the target object 830, for example, even though the object 830 is positioned such that an obstruction 832 occludes the LOS path to the auxiliary node 806. For example, the auxiliary node 806 can treat the RIS 810 as a virtual node because the auxiliary node 806 can determine its position (and / or other information, such as the contour and facet information of the object 830) as if the virtual node were a transmitter in the bistatic sensing arrangement and the reflected sensing signal 820 originated from the virtual node. In some aspects, the auxiliary node 806 can acquire the distance between the auxiliary node and the RIS 810, and the auxiliary node 806 can infer the position of the object based on the reflected sensing signal 820 and the distance between the auxiliary node and the RIS 810. The auxiliary node 806 can then report the position of the object 830 to the sensing node 804. Potentially, the auxiliary node 806 can compensate for the path component used for the initial transmission of the sensing signal 814 (before the angle of incidence at RIS 810) because the path component (e.g., path duration) between the sensing node 804 and RIS 810 can be the same, regardless of whether one or more of the sensing signals 814 are subsequently reflected from the object 830.

[0134] Figure 9 Figure 900 illustrates an example of bistatic sensing using a RIS 910 when the LOS path between wireless nodes 904 and 906 is at least partially obstructed. In one configuration, the auxiliary node 906 may send a burst of sensing signal 914 (e.g., sensing RS) toward the RIS 910, the burst being on the incident waveform in contact with the RIS 910. The sensing signal 914 may be reflected from the RIS 910 and toward an object 930 (e.g., positioned on the opposite side of an obstruction 932 relative to the auxiliary node 906) at an angle of incidence. Thus, the reflected sensing signal 918 may strike the object 930 and be scattered therefrom. A portion of the sensing signal 918 reflected by the RIS may be reflected from the object 930 and toward the sensing node 904, which may receive the sensing signal 920 reflected by the object.

[0135] In another configuration, when the sensing signal 914 is reflected from the RIS 910, sensing node 904 or auxiliary node 906 can control the RIS 910 to change its state or mode set to effectively provide beam scanning. That is, at least one of nodes 904 and 906 can control the RIS 910 to change its state and / or mode (e.g., beam scanning mode) to achieve better sensing performance (e.g., reflecting the signal towards the desired angle of incidence at the target object 930) and / or obtain a full-space image of the target object 930. For example, the reflection coefficient can be changed over a set of time intervals according to a repeatable pattern, causing the reflecting element to guide the reflected sensing signal 918 in multiple different directions. The reflection coefficient can be adjusted according to the pattern at symbol-level intervals, slot-level intervals, subframe-level intervals, or another interval. This reconfiguration (which can act as beam scanning of the reflected signal 918) allows the reflected sensing signal 918 to be reflected from different regions of the object 930 at different angles of incidence. Therefore, the auxiliary node 906 can receive reflected sensing signals 920 from the object 930, which have ToA, AoA, etc. and represent different CIRs. These CIRs can be used to deduce regions of the object 930 that are different from or additional to those regions sensed by the statically configured RIS 910 (e.g., including contours and facets).

[0136] In some aspects, the auxiliary node 906 can calculate the pattern to be applied to the reflected sensing signal 914 by the RIS 910. For example, the auxiliary node 906 can calculate a set of reflection coefficients to be applied to the reflective elements of the RIS 910 at each time interval in the set of time intervals, such as a first set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a first time slot or subframe, a second set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a second time slot or subframe, and so on.

[0137] In the aspect where the auxiliary node 906 does not control the RIS 910, the auxiliary node 906 can send information indicating the mode to the RIS controller, for example, as a request to apply the mode according to the schedule provided by the auxiliary node 906.

[0138] In some other aspects, the auxiliary node 906 may, for example, transmit one or more RIS control signals according to a RIS control protocol, and the RIS control signals may instruct the RIS 910 to apply a mode of reflection coefficient or other adjustments at a specific time, such as the time when the RIS 910 receives (and processes) the RIS control signals. Such RIS control signals may be embedded in the sensing signal 914 (e.g., in-band, potentially time-domain multiplexed with the sensing signal 914) and / or transmitted separately from the sensing signal 914 (e.g., out-of-band, adjacent frequency band, and / or potentially frequency-domain multiplexed with the sensing signal 914).

[0139] In the example shown, sensing node 904 detects a reflected sensing signal 918 having an angle of incidence at object 930. Upon receiving such a reflected sensing signal 918, sensing node 904 can record the corresponding ToA, AoA, and / or other information. In some aspects, sensing node 904 can calculate at least one corresponding TDoA based on at least one of the reflected sensing signals 918 having an angle of incidence with object 930. For example, sensing node 904 can calculate the corresponding TDoA as the difference between a reference time (or ToA) recorded from a signal sent by auxiliary node 906 and reflected at RIS 910 but not at object 930, and a ToA recorded from at least one of the reflected sensing signals 920 having an angle of incidence with both RIS 910 and object 930.

[0140] Sensing node 904 can filter out some other reflected sensing signals 922 that have no angle of incidence at object 930. In some aspects, sensing node 904 can detect those sensing signals 922 to be filtered out based on a ToA recorded for the reflected sensing signals 922. For example, sensing node 904 can compare the corresponding ToA of the reflected sensing signals 922 with at least one reference time (such as another ToA recorded from one or more earlier received signals previously reflected from RIS 910 rather than object 930). The filtered sensing signals 922 can indicate the space in the environment in which object 930 is not located.

[0141] In some aspects, sensing node 904 can operate to perform bistatic sensing operations. For example, sensing node 904 can treat RIS 910 as a virtual node because sensing node 904 can determine its position (and / or other information, such as the contour and facet information of object 930) as if the virtual node were a transmitter in the bistatic sensing arrangement and the reflected sensing signal 920 originated from the virtual node. In some aspects, sensing node 904 can acquire the distance between sensing node 904 and RIS 910, and sensing node 904 can infer the position of the object based on the reflected sensing signal 920 and the distance between sensing node 904 and RIS 910. In some aspects, sensing node 904 can report the position of object 930 to auxiliary node 906, even if sensing node 904 initiates or requests a bistatic sensing process. Potentially, sensing node 904 can compensate for the path component used for the initial transmission of sensing signal 914 (before the angle of incidence at RIS 910) because the path component (e.g., path duration) between auxiliary node 906 and RIS 910 can be the same, regardless of whether one or more of sensing signals 914 are subsequently reflected from object 930.

[0142] Figure 10 Figure 1000 illustrates another example of bistatic sensing using the RIS1010 when the LOS path between wireless nodes 1004 and 1006 is at least partially obstructed. As shown, the LOS path between the auxiliary node 1006 and the sensing node 1004 is obstructed by obstruction 1032; however, the LOS path between the auxiliary node and the target object 1030 can be sufficiently unobstructed.

[0143] In some aspects, auxiliary node 1006 can send bursts of sensing signal 1014 toward target object 1030. At least one of auxiliary node 1006 or sensing node 1004 can control RIS 1010 to adjust the reconfigurable surface, for example, by configuring RIS 1010 with a set of reflection coefficients to be applied to a set of reflective elements forming the reconfigurable surface. Specifically, at least one of nodes 1004, 1006 can configure RIS 1010 to reflect various sensing signals in various directions (e.g., in beam scanning modes). For example, the reflection coefficients can be varied over a set of time intervals according to a repeatable pattern, such that the reflective elements guide the reflected sensing signal 1018 from multiple different directions. The reflection coefficients can be adjusted according to the pattern at symbol-level intervals, slot-level intervals, subframe-level intervals, or another interval.

[0144] This reconfiguration (which can be used for beam scanning of sensing signal 1014 and reflected sensing signal 1018) can guide the reflected sensing signal 1018, reflected from different regions of object 1030 at different incident angles, toward sensing node 1004. Therefore, sensing node 1004 can receive the reflected sensing signal 1020, reflected from RIS 1010 at an incident angle at object 1030. Thus, sensing node 1004 can determine various measurements and / or calculations (e.g., ToA, AoA, CIR, etc.) based on the sensing signals traveling along paths reflected from various regions of object 1030 (e.g., including contours and facets).

[0145] In some aspects, at least one of nodes 1004 and 1006 can calculate a pattern to be applied to the sense signals 1014 and 1018 reflected by the RIS1010. For example, auxiliary node 1006 can calculate a set of reflection coefficients to be applied to the reflective elements of the RIS1010 at each time interval in the set of time intervals, such as a first set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a first time slot or subframe, a second set of reflection coefficients to be applied at a second time slot or subframe, and so on. Such patterns can be calculated to configure the RIS1010 to change states and / or modes (e.g., as with beam scanning) to achieve better sensing performance and / or obtain a complete or more complete spatial image of potential target objects.

[0146] In the case where neither node 1004 nor node 1006 controls any aspect of the RIS1010, information indicating the mode can be sent to the RIS controller, for example, as a request to apply the mode according to the schedule.

[0147] In some other aspects, the auxiliary node 1006 (or sensing node 1004) may, for example, transmit one or more RIS control signals according to a RIS control protocol, and the RIS control signals may instruct the RIS 1010 to apply a mode of reflection coefficient or other adjustments at a specific time, such as for the time when the RIS 1010 receives (and processes) the RIS control signals. Such RIS control signals may be embedded in the sensing signal 1014 (e.g., in-band, potentially time-domain multiplexed with the sensing signal 1014) and / or transmitted separately from the sensing signal 1014 (e.g., out-of-band, adjacent frequency band, and / or potentially frequency-domain multiplexed with the sensing signal 1014).

[0148] Therefore, sensing node 1004 detects a reflected sensing signal 1018 having an angle of incidence at object 1030. When such a reflected sensing signal 1018 is received, sensing node 1004 can record the corresponding ToA, AoA, and / or other information. In some aspects, sensing node 1004 can calculate at least one corresponding TDoA based on at least one of the reflected sensing signals 1018 having an angle of incidence with object 1030. For example, sensing node 1004 can calculate the corresponding TDoA as the difference between a reference time (or ToA) recorded from a signal sent by auxiliary node 1006 and reflected at RIS1010 but not reflected at object 1030, and a ToA recorded from at least one of the reflected sensing signals 1020 having an angle of incidence with both RIS1010 and object 1030.

[0149] Sensing node 1004 can filter out some other reflected sensing signals 1022 that have no angle of incidence at object 1030. In some aspects, sensing node 1004 can detect those sensing signals 1022 to be filtered out based on the ToA recorded for the reflected sensing signals 1022. For example, sensing node 1004 can compare the corresponding ToA of the reflected sensing signals 1022 with at least one reference time (such as another ToA recorded from one or more earlier received signals previously reflected from RIS1010 rather than object 1030). The filtered sensing signals 1022 can indicate the space in the environment in which object 1030 is not located.

[0150] In some aspects, sensing node 1004 can operate to perform bistatic sensing operations to infer the position of target object 1030, for example, even though object 1030 is located as an obstruction 1032 occluding the LOS path to sensing node 1004. For example, sensing node 1004 can treat RIS 1010 as a virtual node because sensing node 1004 can determine the position (and / or other information, such as the contour and facet information of object 1030) as if the virtual node were a transmitter in the bistatic sensing arrangement and the reflected sensing signal 1020 originated from the virtual node. In some aspects, sensing node 1004 can acquire the distance between sensing node and RIS 1010, and sensing node 1004 can infer the position of the object based on the reflected sensing signal 1020 and the distance between sensing node and RIS 1010. In some aspects, sensing node 1004 can then report the position of object 1030 to auxiliary node 1006. Potentially, sensing node 1004 can compensate for the path component (before the angle of incidence at RIS1010) used for the initial transmission of sensing signal 1014, since the path component (e.g., path duration) between auxiliary node 1006 and RIS1010 can be the same, regardless of whether one or more of sensing signals 1014 are subsequently reflected from object 1030.

[0151] Figure 11 This is a flowchart 1100 of a method for performing bistatic sensing at a wireless node. The method can be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, 350, 404, 406, 504, 506), a base station (e.g., base station 102 / 180, 310, 402), a wireless node (e.g., node 604, 606, 652, 656, 704, 706, 804, 806, 904, 906, 1004, 1006), a device (e.g., device 1302), or at least one component of any of the foregoing. Depending on various aspects, one or more of the operations shown may be interchanged, omitted, and / or performed simultaneously.

[0152] At point 1102, the wireless node can configure the intermediate device to reflect signals for use by both the wireless node and another wireless node. For example, first, the wireless node can calculate a set of reflection coefficients; second, the wireless node can send this set of reflection coefficients to the intermediate device to adjust its reflection characteristics. For example, refer to... Figure 7A , 7B 8-10, at least one of wireless nodes 704, 804, 904, 1004 can configure a corresponding one of RIS 710, 810, 910, 1010 to reflect signals for use by other wireless nodes 706, 806, 906, 1006.

[0153] At 1104, a wireless node can use an intermediate device to transmit a set of sensing signals to another wireless node. For example, the wireless node can transmit signals in at least one direction to be reflected from the intermediate device for detection by another wireless node, or the wireless node can receive signals reflected from the intermediate device in at least one direction after transmission by the other wireless node. For example, refer to... Figure 7A , 7B 8-10, at least one of the wireless nodes 704, 804, 904, 1004 can transmit signals 714, 814, 914, 1014 in at least one direction to be reflected from RIS 710, 810, 910, 1010 for detection by another wireless node 706, 806, 906, 1006, or wireless nodes 704, 804, 904, 1004 can receive signals 720, 820, 920, 1020 reflected from RIS 710, 810, 910, 1010 in at least one direction after transmission by another wireless node 706, 806, 906, 1006.

[0154] At 1106, the wireless node can sense an object based on a set of measurements associated with a set of sensed signals. For example, the wireless node can calculate the Time-DoA (TDoA) between a reference time and the Time-of-Average (ToA) of at least one signal reflected from the object. The wireless node can then perform bistatic sensing based on the TDoA to obtain at least one of the object's location and / or an image representing the object. For example, referring to... Figure 7A , 7B 8-10, at least one of the wireless nodes 704, 706, 804, 806, 904, 906, 1004, 1006 can sense objects 730, 830, 930, 1030 based on a set of measurements associated with the set of sense signals 720, 820, 920, 1020.

[0155] Figure 12This is a flowchart of another method for performing bistatic sensing at a wireless node. This method can be performed by a UE (e.g., UE 104, 350, 404, 406, 504, 506), a base station (e.g., base station 102 / 180, 310, 402), a wireless node (e.g., node 604, 606, 652, 656, 704, 706, 804, 806, 904, 906, 1004, 1006), a device (e.g., device 1302), or at least one component of any of the foregoing. Depending on various aspects, one or more of the operations shown may be interchanged, omitted, and / or performed simultaneously.

[0156] At point 1202, a wireless node can send a request for assistance with the sensing environment to another wireless node. At point 1204, a wireless node can receive a response to the request from another wireless node.

[0157] At point 1206, a wireless node can determine that the LOS path to another wireless node is at least partially blocked. For example, a wireless node can detect that there is no communication on a resource on which another wireless node has been scheduled to communicate with that wireless node, and the wireless node can detect that the duration of the lack of communication exceeds a threshold.

[0158] At 1208, the wireless node can send a request to configure the intermediate device for reflecting the set of sensing signals, based on the fact that the LOS path is at least partially blocked.

[0159] At 1210, the wireless node can configure the intermediate device to relay signals between the wireless node and another wireless node. For example, the wireless node can calculate the pattern on which the various reflective elements of the intermediate device are adjusted, and the wireless node can send the pattern to the intermediate device.

[0160] At 1212, a wireless node can use an intermediary device to transmit (e.g., send or receive) a set of sensing signals to another wireless node.

[0161] In some aspects, at 1214, a wireless node can receive a computation set from another wireless node based on the set of sensed signals it sends.

[0162] In some other aspects, at 1216, the wireless node can determine a computation set based on a set of sensed signals received from another wireless node. For example, the wireless node can detect a ToA associated with at least one signal in the signal set, and the wireless node can compare the ToA with the association to determine whether signals that failed to reflect from the target object should be filtered out.

[0163] At point 1218, a wireless node can send information to another wireless node instructing it to compute a set.

[0164] At 1220, the wireless node can sense objects in the environment based on a computation set. In some aspects, at 1222, the wireless node can generate a spectral image representing the object based on the computation set. In some other aspects, at 1224, the wireless node can locate the position of the object based on the computation set.

[0165] At point 1226, the wireless node can determine whether object sensing is complete. For example, the wireless node can aggregate information representing multiple different regions of an object, and the wireless node can perform bistatic sensing. At point 1228, the wireless node can reconfigure the intermediate device after transmitting the set of sensed signals.

[0166] Figure 13 Figure 1300 illustrates an example of a hardware implementation for device 1302. Device 1302 may be a wireless node, such as a UE, a base station, or a component of one of the foregoing, or a similar device. Device 1302 may in particular include a cellular baseband processor 1304 (also referred to as a modem) and / or a cellular RF transceiver 1322, which may be coupled together and / or integrated into the same package or module.

[0167] In some aspects, device 1302 may accept or include one or more Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards 1320, which may include one or more integrated circuits, chips, or similar circuits, and may be removable or embedded. The one or more SIM cards 1320 may carry identification and / or authentication information, such as International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and / or IMSI-related keys. Furthermore, device 1302 may include one or more of the following coupled to a Secure Digital (SD) card 1308 and a screen 1310: an application processor 1306, a Bluetooth module 1312, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module 1314, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 1316, and / or a power supply 1318.

[0168] Cellular baseband processor 1304 communicates with UE 104 and / or base station 102 / 180 via cellular RF transceiver 1322. Cellular baseband processor 1304 may include computer-readable medium / memory. The computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transitory. Cellular baseband processor 1304 is responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. When executed by cellular baseband processor 1304, the software causes cellular baseband processor 1304 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by cellular baseband processor 1304 during software execution. Cellular baseband processor 1304 also includes receiving component 1330, communication manager 1332, and transmitting component 1334. Communication manager 1332 includes one or more of the components shown. Components within communication manager 1332 may be stored in computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within cellular baseband processor 1304.

[0169] exist Figure 3 In the context of UE 350, cellular baseband processor 1304 may be a component of UE 350 and may include memory 360 and / or at least one of TX processor 368, RX processor 356 and / or controller / processor 359. In one configuration, device 1302 may be a modem chip and / or may be implemented as baseband processor 1304, while in another configuration, device 1302 may be the entire UE (e.g., Figure 3 The UE 350 may include some or all of the modules, components and / or circuits described above in the context of device 1302. In one configuration, the cellular RF transceiver 1322 may be implemented as at least one of transmitter 354TX and / or receiver 354RX.

[0170] The receiving component 1330 can be configured to receive signaling on a wireless channel, such as signaling from base station 102 / 180 or UE 104. The transmitting component 1334 can be configured to transmit signaling on a wireless channel, such as signaling to base station 102 / 180 or UE 104. The communication manager 1332 can coordinate or manage some or all wireless communications performed by device 1302, including those across the receiving component 1330 and the transmitting component 1334.

[0171] The receiving component 30 may provide some or all of the data and / or control information included in the received signaling to the communication manager 1332, and the communication manager 1332 may generate some or all of the data and / or control information to be included in the transmitted signaling and provide it to the transmitting component 1334. The communication manager 1332 may include various components shown, including one or more components configured to process the received data and / or control information, and / or one or more components configured to generate data and / or control information for transmission.

[0172] The communication manager 1332 may include, in particular, a configuration component 1340, a determination component 1342, a sensing signal component 1344, a calculation component 1346, or an object sensing component 1348.

[0173] The transmitting component 1334 can be configured to send a request for assistance with the sensing environment to another wireless node 1350, for example, as in conjunction with Figure 12 As described in 1202. The receiving component 1330 can receive a response to a request from another wireless node 1350, for example, as in conjunction with... Figure 12 As described in 1204.

[0174] Component 1342 determines that the LOS path to another wireless node 1350 is at least partially obstructed, for example, as in combination with Figure 12 As described in 1206. The transmitting component 1334 can transmit a request for configuring an intermediate device for a set of reflected sensing signals based on the LOS path being at least partially blocked, for example, as in conjunction with... Figure 12 As described in 1208.

[0175] Configuration component 1340 can configure the intermediate device to relay signals between device 1302 and another wireless node 1350, for example, as in combination with Figure 12 As described in 1210. For example, configuration component 1340 can calculate the pattern on which the various reflective elements of the intermediate device are to be adjusted, and transmission component 1334 can send the pattern to the intermediate device.

[0176] The sensing signal component 1344 can use an intermediate device to transmit (e.g., send or receive) a set of sensing signals with another wireless node 1350, such as in combination. Figure 12 As described in 1212.

[0177] In some aspects, the receiving component 1330 can receive a computed set from another wireless node 1350 based on a set of transmitted sensed signals, for example, as in combination with Figure 12 As described in 1214.

[0178] In some other aspects, computing component 1346 can determine the computing set based on a set of sensed signals received from other wireless nodes 1350, for example, by combining Figure 12 As described in 1216. For example, computing component 1346 can detect a ToA associated with at least one signal in the signal set, and computing component 1346 can compare the ToA with the association to determine whether signals that failed to reflect from the target object should be filtered out.

[0179] Transmitting component 1334 can send information indicating the computation set to another wireless node 1350, for example, as in combination Figure 12 As described in 1218.

[0180] Object sensing component 1348 can sense objects in the environment based on a compute set, for example, by combining... Figure 12 As described in 1220. In some aspects, the object sensing component 1348 can generate a spectral image representing the object based on a computational set, for example, as combined with Figure 12 As described in 1222. In some other aspects, the object sensing component 1348 can locate the position of an object based on a computational set, for example, as combined with Figure 12 As described in 1224.

[0181] The object sensing component 1348 can determine whether object sensing is complete, for example, by combining... Figure 12 As described in 1226. For example, object sensing component 1348 can aggregate information representing multiple different regions of an object, and object sensing component 1348 can perform bistatic sensing.

[0182] Configuration component 1340 can reconfigure the intermediate device after transmitting the set of sensed signals, for example, by combining... Figure 12 As described in 1228.

[0183] Device 1302 may include execution Figure 11 and 12 The aforementioned call flowchart and / or the additional components of the algorithm blocks, operations, signaling, etc., in the flowchart. Therefore, these components can be executed. Figure 11 and 12 The aforementioned call flowchart and / or some or all of the boxes, operations, signaling, etc. in the flowchart, and the device 1302 may include one or more of those components. A component may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the stated process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for processor implementation, or some combination thereof.

[0184] In one configuration, device 1302 (specifically, cellular baseband processor 1304) includes: a unit for configuring an intermediate device to reflect signals between a wireless node and another wireless node; a unit for transmitting a set of sensing signals using the intermediate device and another wireless node; and a unit for sensing an object based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensing signals.

[0185] In one configuration, the unit for configuring the intermediate device is configured to send a set of reflection coefficients of an electrically controllable reflective element set to be applied to the intermediate device at the RIS.

[0186] In one configuration, device 1302 (specifically, cellular baseband processor 1304) includes: a unit for sending a request for assistance in sensing the environment to another wireless node; and a unit for receiving a response to the request from the other wireless node, wherein a set of sensing signals is transmitted to the other wireless node based on the response.

[0187] In one configuration, the request indicates at least one of the following: configuration of a set of sensing signals, location of a wireless node, control protocol associated with an intermediate device, or beam scanning mode for transmitting the set of sensing signals; and the response indicates at least one of the following: acceptance of a request for sensing of the environment or location of another wireless node.

[0188] In one configuration, device 1302 (specifically, cellular baseband processor 1304) includes: a unit for determining that the LOS path to another wireless node is at least partially blocked; and a unit for sending a request to configure an intermediate device for reflecting a set of sensing signals based on the at least partially blocked LOS path to another wireless node.

[0189] In one configuration, the computation set includes at least one of the following: a ToA associated with at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, an AoA associated with at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, a TDoA between at least two sensing signals in the set of sensing signals, the location of the object, or a CIR on at least one communication channel.

[0190] In one configuration, device 1302 (specifically, cellular baseband processor 1304) includes a unit for receiving a computation set from another wireless node based on a set of transmitted sensing signals.

[0191] In one configuration, device 1302 (specifically, cellular baseband processor 1304) includes: a unit for determining a computation set based on a set of sense signals received from another wireless node; and a unit for transmitting the computation set to the other wireless node.

[0192] In one configuration, the unit for sensing an object based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals is configured to generate a spectral image representing the object based on the set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals.

[0193] In one configuration, the unit for sensing an object based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals is configured to locate the position of the object based on the set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals, and the position includes at least one of the following: a distance relative to the position of a wireless node, a distance relative to the position of another wireless node, a set of coordinates indicating the position of the object relative to a relative reference system, or a set of geographic coordinates.

[0194] In one configuration, device 1302 (specifically, cellular baseband processor 1304) includes: a unit for reconfiguring an intermediate device after a set of sense signals has been transmitted; and a unit for transmitting another set of sense signals after the intermediate device has been reconfigured, wherein a first region of an object is sensed based on a set of computations associated with the set of sense signals, and a second region of an object is sensed based on another set of computations associated with the other set of sense signals.

[0195] In some aspects, the aforementioned unit may be one or more of the aforementioned components of device 1302 configured to perform the functions described therein. As described above, device 1302 may include TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359. Thus, in one configuration, the aforementioned unit may be TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions described therein.

[0196] In some other aspects, the aforementioned unit may be one or more of the aforementioned components of device 1302 configured to perform the functions described therein. As described above, device 1102 may include TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375. Thus, in one configuration, the aforementioned unit may be TX processor 316, RX processor 370, and controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions described therein.

[0197] The specific order or hierarchy of boxes or operations in each of the aforementioned processes, flowcharts, and other diagrams disclosed herein are illustrations of exemplary methods. Based on design preferences, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the specific order or hierarchy of boxes in each process, flowchart, and other diagram can be rearranged, omitted, and / or performed concurrently without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, some boxes can be combined or omitted. The appended method claims give the elements of each box in an exemplary order, but are not intended to limit one to the given specific order or hierarchy.

[0198] The following examples are merely illustrative and may be combined with other embodiments or aspects of the teachings described herein without limitation.

[0199] Example 1 is a method for wireless communication at a wireless node, comprising: configuring an intermediate device to reflect a signal between the wireless node and another wireless node; using the intermediate device to transmit a set of sensed signals to the other wireless node; and sensing an object based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals.

[0200] Example 2 includes the method according to Example 1, wherein configuring the intermediate device includes sending to the intermediate device a set of reflection coefficients of an electrically controllable set of reflective elements to be applied to a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) of the intermediate device.

[0201] Example 3 includes the method according to Example 1, further comprising: sending a request for assistance with the sensing environment to the other wireless node; and receiving a response to the request from the other wireless node, wherein the set of sensing signals is transmitted with the other wireless node based on the response.

[0202] Example 4 includes the method according to Example 3, wherein the request indicates at least one of the following: configuration of the sensing signal set, location of the wireless node, control protocol associated with the intermediate device, or beam scanning mode for transmission of the sensing signal set, and wherein the response indicates at least one of acceptance of the request for sensing the environment or location of the other wireless node.

[0203] Example 5 includes the method according to Example 3, further comprising: determining that the line-of-sight (LOS) path to the other wireless node is at least partially obstructed; and sending a request to configure the intermediate device for reflecting the set of sensed signals based on the at least partially obstructed LOS path to the other wireless node.

[0204] Example 6 includes the method according to Example 1, wherein the calculation set includes at least one of the following: time of arrival (ToA) associated with at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, angle of arrival (AoA) associated with the at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, time difference of arrival (TDoA) between at least two sensing signals in the set of sensing signals, the location of the object, or channel impulse response (CIR) on at least one communication channel.

[0205] Example 7 includes the method according to Example 6, further comprising: receiving the computation set from the other wireless node based on transmitting the set of sensed signals.

[0206] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 6, further comprising: determining the computation set based on receiving the set of sense signals from the other wireless node; and transmitting the computation set to the other wireless node.

[0207] Example 9 includes the method according to Example 1, wherein sensing the object based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals includes: generating a spectral image representing the object based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals.

[0208] Example 10 includes the method according to Example 1, wherein sensing the object based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals includes: locating the position of the object based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals, wherein the position includes at least one of the following: a distance relative to the position of the wireless node, a distance relative to the position of the other wireless node, a set of coordinates indicating the position of the object relative to a relative reference frame, or a set of geographic coordinates.

[0209] Example 11 includes the method according to Example 1, further comprising: reconfiguring the intermediate device after the set of sense signals has been transmitted; and transmitting another set of sense signals after the intermediate device has been reconfigured, wherein a first region of the object is sensed based on the set of computations associated with the set of sense signals, and a second region of the object is sensed based on another set of computations associated with the other set of sense signals.

[0210] The foregoing description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are given the full scope consistent with the language used.

[0211] As an example, the language "determine" can encompass a wide variety of actions and is therefore not limited to the concepts and aspects explicitly described or shown in this disclosure. In some contexts, "determine" can include calculation, operation, processing, measurement, derivation, investigation, lookup (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertainment, parsing, selection, selection, establishment, etc. In some other contexts, "determine" can include some communication and / or memory operations / processes through which some information or value is obtained, such as "receiving" (e.g., receiving information), "accessing" (e.g., accessing data in memory), "detecting," etc.

[0212] As another example, unless explicitly stated otherwise, references to singular elements are not intended to mean "one and only one," but rather "one or more." Specifically, unless explicitly stated otherwise, references to singular elements are not intended to mean "one and only one," but rather "one or more." Terms such as "if," "when," and "at the same time as" should be interpreted as "under the condition of," rather than implying an immediate temporal relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases (e.g., "when") do not imply an immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but only that the action will occur if the condition is met, without requiring a specific or immediate temporal constraint on the occurrence of the action. The term "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred over or superior to other aspects. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "one or more of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C", "one or more of A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", "one or more of A, B, and C", and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements described throughout the various aspects of this disclosure that are known to or will be known later by one of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be included by the claims. Furthermore, the disclosure herein is not intended to be offered to the public, whether or not such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. The terms “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” etc., are not necessarily substitutes for the term “unit.” Therefore, no claim can be made that an element should be interpreted as a functional unit unless the element is explicitly described using the phrase “unit for…”.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a wireless node, comprising: Send a request for assistance regarding the sensing environment to another wireless node; Receive a response to the request from the other wireless node; It is determined that the line-of-sight (LOS) path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked; Based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked, the intermediate device is configured to reflect signals between the wireless node and the other wireless node; The intermediate device is used to transmit a set of sensing signals to the other wireless node; Determine 1) the distance between the wireless node and the intermediate device, or 2) the distance between the wireless node and the other wireless node; as well as The object is sensed based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals. The calculation set includes the time difference of arrival (TDoA) between at least two sensing signals in the set of sensing signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Configuring the intermediate device includes: Send to the intermediate device a set of reflection coefficients for an array of electrically controllable reflective elements to be applied to a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) on the intermediate device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The set of sensed signals is transmitted to the other wireless node based on the response.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, The request indicates at least one of the following: configuration of the sensing signal set, location of the wireless node, control protocol associated with the intermediate device, or beam scanning mode for transmission of the sensing signal set, and wherein the response indicates acceptance of the request for sensing the environment or location of the other wireless node.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: The request to configure the intermediate device for reflecting the set of sense signals is sent based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The calculation set includes at least one of the following: time of arrival (ToA) associated with at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, angle of arrival (AoA) associated with the at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, the location of the object, or channel impulse response (CIR) on at least one communication channel.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The computation set is received from the other wireless node based on the transmission of the set of sensed signals.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The computation set is determined based on the set of sensing signals received from the other wireless node; as well as The computation set is sent to the other wireless node.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Sensing the object based on the set of calculations associated with the set of sensed signals includes: A spectral image representing the object is generated based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Sensing the object based on the set of calculations associated with the set of sensed signals includes: The location of the object is determined based on the set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals, wherein, The location includes at least one of the following: the distance relative to the location of the wireless node, the distance relative to the location of the other wireless node, a set of coordinates indicating the location of the object relative to a relative reference system, or a set of geographic coordinates.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The intermediate device is reconfigured after the set of sensed signals has been transmitted; as well as After the intermediate device is reconfigured, another set of sensing signals is transmitted, wherein, The first region of the object is sensed based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals, and the second region of the object is sensed based on another computation set associated with the other set of sensed signals.

12. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless node, comprising: Memory; as well as At least one processor, coupled to the memory, is configured to: Send a request for assistance regarding the sensing environment to another wireless node; Receive a response to the request from the other wireless node; It is determined that the line-of-sight (LOS) path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked; Based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked, the intermediate device is configured to reflect signals between the wireless node and the other wireless node; The intermediate device is used to transmit a set of sensing signals to the other wireless node; Determine 1) the distance between the wireless node and the intermediate device, or 2) the distance between the wireless node and the other wireless node; as well as The object is sensed based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals. The calculation set includes the time difference of arrival (TDoA) between at least two sensing signals in the set of sensing signals.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, The configuration of the intermediate device includes: Send to the intermediate device a set of reflection coefficients for an array of electrically controllable reflective elements to be applied to a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) on the intermediate device.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, The set of sensed signals is transmitted to the other wireless node based on the response.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, The request indicates at least one of the following: configuration of the sensing signal set, location of the wireless node, control protocol associated with the intermediate device, or beam scanning mode for transmission of the sensing signal set, and wherein the response indicates acceptance of the request for sensing the environment or location of the other wireless node.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: The request to configure the intermediate device for reflecting the set of sense signals is sent based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked.

17. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, The calculation set includes at least one of the following: time of arrival (ToA) associated with at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, angle of arrival (AoA) associated with the at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, the location of the object, or channel impulse response (CIR) on at least one communication channel.

18. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: The computation set is received from the other wireless node based on the transmission of the set of sensed signals.

19. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: The computation set is determined based on the set of sense signals received from the other wireless node; and The computation set is sent to the other wireless node.

20. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, Sensing the object based on the set of calculations associated with the set of sensed signals includes: A spectral image representing the object is generated based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals.

21. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, Sensing the object based on the set of calculations associated with the set of sensed signals includes: The location of the object is determined based on the set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals, wherein, The location includes at least one of the following: the distance relative to the location of the wireless node, the distance relative to the location of the other wireless node, a set of coordinates indicating the location of the object relative to a relative reference system, or a set of geographic coordinates.

22. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: The intermediate device is reconfigured after the set of sensed signals is transmitted; and After the intermediate device is reconfigured, another set of sensing signals is transmitted, wherein, The first region of the object is sensed based on the computation set associated with the set of sensed signals, and the second region of the object is sensed based on another computation set associated with the other set of sensed signals.

23. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless node, comprising: A unit for sending a request for assistance regarding the sensing environment to another wireless node; A unit for receiving a response to the request from the other wireless node; A unit for determining that the line-of-sight (LOS) path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked; A unit for configuring an intermediate device to reflect signals between the wireless node and the other wireless node based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked; A unit for transmitting a set of sensing signals to the other wireless node using the intermediate device; A unit for determining 1) the distance between the wireless node and the intermediate device, or 2) the distance between the wireless node and the other wireless node; as well as A unit for sensing an object based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals. The calculation set includes the time difference of arrival (TDoA) between at least two sensing signals in the set of sensing signals.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, The unit for configuring the intermediate device is configured as follows: Send to the intermediate device a set of reflection coefficients for an array of electrically controllable reflective elements to be applied to a reconfigurable smart surface (RIS) on the intermediate device.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, The set of sensed signals is transmitted to the other wireless node based on the response.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein, The request indicates at least one of the following: configuration of the sensing signal set, location of the wireless node, control protocol associated with the intermediate device, or beam scanning mode for transmission of the sensing signal set, and wherein the response indicates acceptance of the request for sensing the environment or location of the other wireless node.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising: A unit for sending a request to configure the intermediate device for reflecting the set of sense signals based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked.

28. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, The calculation set includes at least one of the following: time of arrival (ToA) associated with at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, angle of arrival (AoA) associated with the at least one sensing signal in the set of sensing signals, the location of the object, or channel impulse response (CIR) on at least one communication channel.

29. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising: A unit for receiving the computation set from the other wireless node based on transmitting the set of sensing signals.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication at a wireless node, the code causing the processor to perform the following operations when executed by a processor: Send a request for assistance regarding the sensing environment to another wireless node; Receive a response to the request from the other wireless node; It is determined that the line-of-sight (LOS) path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked; Based on the fact that the LOS path to the other wireless node is at least partially blocked, the intermediate device is configured to reflect signals between the wireless node and the other wireless node; The intermediate device is used to transmit a set of sensing signals to the other wireless node; Determine 1) the distance between the wireless node and the intermediate device, or 2) the distance between the wireless node and the other wireless node; as well as The object is sensed based on a set of computations associated with the set of sensed signals. The calculation set includes the time difference of arrival (TDoA) between at least two sensing signals in the set of sensing signals.

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