Multicast positioning measurement reporting in sidelink

Abstract

In some implementations, a first user equipment (UE) may obtain a positioning configuration related to an SL positioning session. The first UE may perform, at the first UE, one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals according to the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine a location of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both. The first UE may transmit a message indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted from the first UE to a group of devices including a plurality of other UEs via multicast wireless communications.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Greek Application No. 20220100441, filed on May 26, 2022, entitled “MULTICAST POSITIONING MEASUREMENT REPORTING IN SIDELINK,” which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining the location of a user equipment (UE) using radio frequency (RF) signals.

[0004] 2. Related technologies

[0005] In a data communication network, various positioning techniques may be used to determine the position of a mobile device (referred to herein as a UE). Some of these positioning techniques may involve determining distance and / or angle information of RF signals received by one or more other UEs that are communicatively coupled to the data communication network. In the fifth generation (5G) wireless standard referred to as New Radio (NR), direct communication between UEs (including the transmission of RF signals for positioning) may be referred to as a side link (SL). Positioning sessions between UEs may be conducted to perform positioning measurements using SL RF signals, and the UEs may coordinate such SL positioning sessions to ensure efficient use of bandwidth and other wireless resources. Summary of the invention

[0006] An example method for reporting one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session performed at a first user equipment (UE) according to the present disclosure may include obtaining a positioning configuration associated with the SL positioning session at the first UE. The method may also include performing one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals at the first UE according to the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine the location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both. The method may also include transmitting a message indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted from the first UE to a device group including multiple other UEs via multicast wireless communication.

[0007] An example method performed at a second user equipment (UE) according to the present disclosure for enabling a first UE to report one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session may include receiving, at the second UE via SL communication, a message indicating one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals from the first UE, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein the message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and the message includes an identifier common to a group of devices including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE. The method may also include, based on the one or more measurements: (i) determining the location of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both. The method may also include (ii) performing one or more additional measurements. The method may also include (iii) both of the above situations.

[0008] An example first user equipment (UE) for reporting one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session according to the present disclosure may include a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain a positioning configuration associated with the SL positioning session. The one or more processors may also be configured to perform one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals at the first UE according to the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine the location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both. The one or more processors may also be configured to transmit a message indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted via the transceiver to a device group including multiple other UEs via multicast wireless communication.

[0009] An example second UE for enabling a first UE to report one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session according to the present disclosure may include a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, by the transceiver via SL communication, a message indicating one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals from the first UE, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein: the message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and the message includes an identifier common to a device group including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE. The one or more processors may also be configured to: (i) determine the location of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both based on the one or more measurements. The one or more processors may also be configured to (ii) perform one or more additional measurements. The one or more processors may also be configured to (iii) the above two situations.

[0010] This summary is neither intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of the disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail in the following description, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 is a diagram of a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) positioning system, which illustrates a positioning system implemented within a 5G NR communication system (e.g., Figure 1 implementation scheme of a positioning system).

[0013] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C is a simplified diagram of a scenario in which sidelink (SL) positioning may be used to determine the position of a target user equipment (UE).

[0014] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating a scenario in which measurement reporting is performed using unicast messaging to multiple receiving UEs.

[0015] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating a scenario in which measurement reporting is performed using multicast messaging to multiple receiving UEs.

[0016] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C is a diagram providing examples of some communication layers that may be used for measurement reporting, according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 7 is a flowchart of a method for reporting one or more measurements in a SL positioning session performed at a first UE according to an implementation.

[0018] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a method performed at a second UE according to an implementation scheme, which enables a first UE to report one or more measurements in a SL positioning session.

[0019] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an implementation of a UE that may be utilized in the implementations described herein.

[0020] Fig.10 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system that may be utilized in the embodiments described herein.

[0021] Similar reference symbols in the various drawings indicate similar elements according to certain example implementations. In addition, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by adding a letter or hyphen and a second number after the first number of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 can be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc. or 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When only the first number is used to refer to such an element, any instance of the element should be understood (for example, the element 110 in the previous example will refer to elements 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 or to elements 110a, 110b and 110c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following description is directed to certain specific implementations for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of each embodiment. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. The described specific implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communication standard, such as any of the following: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 standard for ultra-wideband (UWB), the IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Technical standards), Standard, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Revision A, EV-DO Revision B, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), or other known signals for communicating within a wireless, cellular or Internet of Things (IoT) network, such as a system utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G or further implementations thereof.

[0023] As used herein, "RF signals" include electromagnetic waves that transmit information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of each RF signal through multiple channels or paths, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal.

[0024] Additionally, unless otherwise noted, references to "reference signals," "positioning reference signals," "reference signals used for positioning," and the like may be used to refer to signals used to locate user equipment (UE). As described in more detail herein, such signals may include any of a variety of signal types, but may not necessarily be limited to positioning reference signals (PRS) as defined in relevant wireless standards.

[0025] The position determination of one or more UEs may be based at least in part on signal measurements performed by the first UE. In some instances, it may be desirable to transmit these measurements from the first UE to multiple other UEs. This may be done, for example, to perform additional measurements (e.g., and RTT determination) and / or to allow other UEs to determine their position and / or the position of the first UE. However, transmitting these measurements from the first UE to each of the other UEs may be inefficient because the first UE may transmit its own separate message to each of the other UEs, which may have its own overhead. The embodiments herein allow the first UE to combine multiple messages in a single message to multiple other UEs, which may make more efficient use of available bandwidth resources. Additional details on such embodiments are provided after discussing related techniques.

[0026] Figure 1 is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 according to an embodiment, in which a mobile device 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein to provide positioning measurement reports in a side link (SL) for positioning of the mobile device 105. The techniques described herein can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include: a mobile device 105; one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as a global positioning system (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou; a base station 120; an access point (AP) 130; a location server 160; a network 170; and an external client 180. In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of the mobile device 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the mobile device 105 and the known locations of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) that send and / or receive RF signals. Additional details about specific location estimation techniques are discussed below.

[0027] It should be noted that Figure 1Only a generalized illustration of the various components is provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be repeated as needed. Specifically, although only one mobile device 105 is illustrated, it will be understood that many mobile devices (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include more than one mobile device 105. Figure 1 100. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0028] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may include any one of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks. Network 170 may, for example, include any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks, etc. In addition, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may include, for example, cellular or other mobile networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include long-term evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also referred to as new radio (NR) wireless networks or 5GNR wireless networks), Wi-Fi WLANs, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network. In a wireless cellular network (e.g., LTE or 5G), mobile device 105 may be referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0029] The base station 120 and the access point (AP) 130 are communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base station 120 may be owned, maintained and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described herein below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base station 120 may include a node B, an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a transceiver base station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), an NRNodeB (gNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. In the case where the network 170 is a 5G network, the base station 120 as a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC). In view of the open radio access network (O-RAN) and / or virtualized radio access network (V-RAN or vRAN) in 5G or higher networks, the functionality performed by the base station 120 in earlier generation networks (e.g., 3G and 4G) may be separated into different functional components (e.g., radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU), and central unit (CU)) and layers (e.g., L1 / L2 / L3), which may be executed on different devices at different locations connected, for example, via fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul connections. As described herein, a "base station" (or ng-eNB, gNB, etc.) may include any or all of these functional components. For example, AP 130 may include a Wi-Fi AP or AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, mobile device 105 can transmit and receive information with network connectivity devices (such as location server 160) by accessing network 170 via base station 120 using first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, because AP 130 can also be communicatively coupled with network 170, mobile device 105 can communicate with network connectivity and Internet connectivity devices (including location server 160) using second communication link 135 or via one or more other mobile devices 145.

[0030] As used herein, the term "base station" may generally refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple co-located physical transmission points that may be located at a base station 120. A transmit receive point (TRP) (also referred to as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term "TRP" may be used interchangeably with the terms "gNB," "ng-eNB," and "base station" herein. In some cases, a base station 120 may include multiple TRPs—for example, where each TRP is associated with a different antenna or a different antenna array of the base station 120. As used herein, the transmit functionality of a TRP may be performed using a transmit point (TP), and / or the receive functionality of a TRP may be performed by a receive point (RP), which may be physically separate or distinct from the TP. That is, a TRP may include both a TP and an RP. A physical transmission point may include an antenna array of a base station 120 (for example, as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or where the base station employs beamforming). The term "base station" may also refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0031] As used herein, the term "cell" may generally refer to a logical communication entity for communicating with base station 120, and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing neighboring cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access for different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocols). In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., an area) of a geographic coverage area in which the logical entity operates.

[0032] Satellites 110 may be used to locate mobile device 105 in one or more ways. For example, satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) may be part of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as a global positioning system (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou. Positioning using RF signals from GNSS satellites may include measuring multiple GNSS signals at a GNSS receiver of mobile device 105 to perform code-based and / or carrier-based positioning, which may be highly accurate. Additionally or alternatively, satellites 110 may be used for non-terrestrial network (NTN) based positioning, where satellites 110 may be functionally operable as a TRP (or multiple TPs) of a network (e.g., an LTE and / or NR network) and may be communicatively coupled with network 170. In particular, reference signals (e.g., PRS) sent by satellites 110 for NTN based positioning may be similar to those sent by base stations 120 and may be coordinated by location server 160. In some embodiments, satellites 110 used for NTN based positioning may be different from those used for GNSS based positioning.

[0033] The location server 160 may include a server and / or other computer system configured to determine an estimated location of the mobile device 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “assistance data”) to the mobile device 105 to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination by the mobile device 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Home Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP), which may support the SUPL User Plane (UP) positioning solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and may support location services for the mobile device 105 based on subscription information for the mobile device 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also include an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), which uses a Control Plane (CP) positioning solution to support positioning of the mobile device 105 for LTE radio access of the mobile device 105. The location server 160 may also include a location management function (LMF) that supports positioning of the mobile device 105 using a control plane (CP) positioning solution for NR or LTE radio access of the mobile device 105.

[0034] In the CP positioning solution, from the perspective of the network 170, the signaling for controlling and managing the positioning of the mobile device 105 can use existing network interfaces and protocols and be exchanged as signaling between the elements of the network 170 and with the mobile device 105. In the UP positioning solution, from the perspective of the network 170, the signaling for controlling and managing the positioning of the mobile device 105 can be exchanged between the location server 160 and the mobile device 105 as data (e.g., data transmitted using the Internet Protocol (IP) and / or the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0035] As previously mentioned (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated position of the mobile device 105 can be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted from and / or received by the mobile device 105. Specifically, these measurements can provide information about the relative distances and / or angles of the mobile device 105 and one or more components in the positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, APs 130, base stations 120). The estimated position of the mobile device 105 can be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angle measurements and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known positions of the one or more components.

[0036] Although ground components such as AP 130 and base station 120 may be fixed, embodiments are not limited in this regard. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of mobile device 105 may be estimated based at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between mobile device 105 and one or more other mobile devices 145 (the one or more other mobile devices may be mobile or fixed). As illustrated, the other mobile devices may include, for example, mobile phone 145-1, vehicle 145-2, static communication / positioning device 145-3, or other static and / or mobile devices capable of providing wireless signals for positioning mobile device 105, or combinations thereof. Wireless signals from mobile device 145 for positioning of mobile device 105 may include using, for example, (including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), IEEE 802.11x (e.g. ), ultra-wideband (UWB), IEEE 802.15x, or a combination thereof. The mobile device 145 may additionally or alternatively use non-RF wireless signals for positioning of the mobile device 105, such as infrared signals or other optical technologies.

[0037] The mobile devices 145 may include other mobile devices that are communicatively coupled to a cellular or other mobile network (e.g., network 170). When one or more other mobile devices 145 are used in the position determination of a particular mobile device 105, the mobile device 105 whose position is to be determined may be referred to as a "target mobile device" and each of the other mobile devices 145 used may be referred to as an "anchor mobile device". (In cellular / mobile broadband networks, the terms "anchor UE" and "target UE" may be used.) In order to perform position determination on a target mobile device, the corresponding positioning of the one or more anchor mobile devices may be known and / or determined jointly with the target mobile device. Direct communication between the one or more other mobile devices 145 and the mobile device 105 may include SL and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. The sidelink (SL) defined by 3GPP is a form of D2D communication under the cellular-based LTE and NR standards. UWB may be one such technology through which it can use measurements from one or more anchor devices (e.g., mobile devices 145) to facilitate the positioning of a target device (e.g., mobile device 105).

[0038] According to some embodiments, such as when the mobile device 105 includes and / or is incorporated into a vehicle, a form of D2D communication used by the mobile device 105 may include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. V2X is a communication standard for vehicles to exchange information about the traffic environment with related entities. V2X may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between vehicles with V2X capabilities, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication between vehicles and infrastructure-based equipment (commonly referred to as roadside units (RSUs)), vehicle-to-person (V2P) communication between vehicles and nearby people (pedestrians, cyclists and other road users), etc. In addition, V2X can use any of a variety of wireless RF communication technologies. For example, cellular V2X (CV2X) is a form of V2X that uses cellular-based communications in a direct communication mode defined by 3GPP, such as LTE (4G), NR (5G) and / or other cellular technologies. Figure 1The mobile device 105 illustrated in the figure may correspond to a component or device on a vehicle, an RSU, or other V2X entity used to communicate V2X messages. In an embodiment in which V2X is used, the static communication / positioning device 145-3 (which may correspond to an RSU) and / or the vehicle 145-2 may therefore communicate with the mobile device 105 and may be used to determine the position of the mobile device 105 using techniques similar to those used by the base station 120 and / or the AP 130 (e.g., using multi-angle and / or multilateration positioning). It may also be noted that according to some embodiments, the mobile device 145 (which may include a V2X device), the base station 120, and / or the AP 130 may be used together (e.g., in a WWAN positioning solution) to determine the position of the mobile device 105.

[0039] The estimated location of mobile device 105 may be used in various applications, such as to assist a user of mobile device 105 with direction finding or navigation or to assist another user (e.g., associated with external client 180) in locating mobile device 105. "Location" is also referred to herein as "location estimate," "estimated location," "position," "position estimate," "position determination," "estimated position," "position determination," or "determination." The process of determining a location may be referred to as "positioning," "position determination," "position determination," or the like. The location of mobile device 105 may include an absolute location of mobile device 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude, and possibly altitude) or a relative location of mobile device 105 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below some other known fixed location (including, for example, the location of base station 120 or AP 130) or some other location (such as the location of mobile device 105 at some known previous time, or the location of mobile device 145 (e.g., another mobile device) at some known previous time). The location may be specified as a geodetic location including coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined relative to a local area, such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, stadium, or convention center). The location may alternatively be a city location, and may then include one or more of a street address (e.g., including a country, state, county, city, road and / or street name or label, and / or road or street number) and / or a label or name of a place, a building, a portion of a building, a floor of a building, and / or a room within a building, etc. The location may also include an uncertainty or error indication, such as a horizontal and likely vertical distance that the location is expected to have error, or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) within which the mobile device 105 is expected to be located with a certain confidence level (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0040] The external client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with the mobile device 105 (e.g., may be accessed by a user of the mobile device 105), or may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user or users, which may include obtaining and providing the location of the mobile device 105 (e.g., to enable services such as friend or relative locating or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain the location of the mobile device 105 and provide it to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc.

[0041] Figure 2 A diagram showing a 5G NR positioning system 200 is shown, illustrating an embodiment of a positioning system implementing 5G NR (which may correspond to at least a portion of a larger positioning system as described herein, such as Figure 1 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine a user equipment (UE) 205 (which may communicate with a 5G NR positioning system 100) by using an access node (which may include NR Node Bs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to herein as gNBs 210), ng-eNBs 214, and / or WLANs 216). Figure 1 The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further be configured to determine the location of the UE 205 by using the LMF 220 (which may correspond to the location server described elsewhere herein) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes the UE 205, and components of the 5G NR network, including the next generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and the 5G core network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network; the NG-RAN 235 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and the 5G CN 240 may be referred to as an NG core network.

[0042] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also utilize information from satellites 207. As previously indicated, satellites 207 may include GNSS satellites from a GNSS system such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) or a similar system such as GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). Additionally or alternatively, satellites 207 may include NTN satellites that may be communicatively coupled with LMF 220 and operable to serve as TRPs (or TPs) in NG-RAN 235. As such, satellites 207 may communicate with one or more gNBs 210.

[0043] It should be noted that Figure 2 Only generalized illustrations of various components are provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of the components may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although only one UE 205 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a larger (or smaller) number of GNSS satellites 207, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, wireless local area network (WLAN) 216, access and mobility management function (AMF) 215, external client 230, and / or other components. The connections shown connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0044] UE 205 may include and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a terminal (SET) enabled with secure user plane location (SUPL), or some other name. In addition, UE 205 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet device, a personal data assistant (PDA), a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 205 may support the use of one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE802.11 Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX TM), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5GCN 240). UE 205 may also support wireless communications using WLAN 216, which (similar to one or more RATs as described elsewhere herein) may connect to other networks, such as the Internet. Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 205 (e.g., via Figure 2 Elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown in the figure, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) communicate with the external client 230 and / or allow the external client 230 (e.g., via GMLC225) to receive location information about the UE 205. Figure 2 The external client 230 may correspond to an external client as implemented in a 5G NR network or communicatively coupled with a 5G NR network.

[0045] UE 205 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network in which a user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O devices, and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. The estimate of the location of UE 205 may be referred to as location, location estimation, location determination, determination, orientation, orientation estimation or orientation determination, and may be geodetic, thereby providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) about UE 205, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below ground level, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 205 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or smaller area in a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 205 may also be expressed as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) within which the UE 205 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 205 may also be a relative location, including, for example, a distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined geodetically, municipally, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term "location" may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates are typically solved, and then the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level) if necessary.

[0046] Figure 2The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 1 may correspond to base stations described elsewhere herein and may include gNBs 210. Pairs of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1 ). Figure 2 The communication interface between the base stations (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may be referred to as an Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 205 via wireless communication between the UE 205 and one or more gNBs in the gNB 210, which may use 5G NR to provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 on behalf of the UE 205. The wireless interface between the base station (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) and the UE 205 may be referred to as an Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. Figure 2 , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 205 is gNB 210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) may act as serving gNBs if UE 205 moves to another location, or may act as secondary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 205.

[0047] Figure 2 The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in the figure may additionally or alternatively include a next generation evolved Node B (also referred to as ng-eNB) 214. The ng-eNB 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235—e.g., directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 214 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 205. Figure 2Some of the gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNBs 214 in the 5G CN 240 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons that may transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or may broadcast assistance data to assist in positioning UE 205, but may not receive signals from UE 205 or from other UEs. Some of the gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNBs 214 may be configured to function as detection-only nodes that may scan for signals containing, for example, PRS data, assistance data, or other location data. Such detection-only nodes may not transmit signals or data to the UE, but may transmit signals or data (relating to, for example, PRS, assistance data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., one or more components of the 5G CN 240, an external client 230, or a controller), which may receive and store the data or use the data to locate at least UE 205. Note that although in Figure 2 Only one ng-eNB 214 is shown in FIG, but some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may communicate directly with each other via an Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base stations may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 (such as LMF 220 and AMF 215).

[0048] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that may be connected to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5GCN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 205 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., access points as described elsewhere herein). Here, the N3IWF 250 may be connected to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access of the UE 205 to other elements in the 5GCN 240 and / or may support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 205 with one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240 (such as the AMF 215). For example, the N3IWF 250 may support: IPSec tunnel establishment with the UE 205, termination of the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE 205, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces with the 5G CN 240 for the control plane and the user plane, respectively, and relay of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling across the N1 interface between the UE 205 and the AMF 215. In some other embodiments, the WLAN 216 may be directly connected to elements in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., Figure 2 215) and not via the N3IWF 250. For example, a direct connection of the WLAN 216 to the 5GCN 240 may occur when the WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5GCN 240 and may use a trusted WLAN interworking function (TWIF) ( Figure 2 (not shown). Note that although Figure 2 Only one WLAN 216 is shown in FIG. 2 , but some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216 .

[0049] The access node may include any of a variety of network entities that enable communication between the UE 205 and the AMF 215. As mentioned, this may include a gNB 210, an ng-eNB 214, a WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, the access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include a network entity that enables communication with the AMF 215. Figure 2214, or WLAN 216.

[0050] In some embodiments, an access node (such as a gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to: in response to receiving a request for location information from LMF 220, obtain a location measurement for an uplink (UL) signal received from UE 205 and / or obtain a DL location measurement from UE 205 for a downlink (DL) signal received by UE 205 from one or more access nodes. As mentioned, although Figure 2 The access nodes (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and WLAN 216) are depicted as being configured to communicate in accordance with 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, but access nodes configured to communicate in accordance with other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, a Node B using a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using an LTE protocol for an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or an eNB using a LTE protocol for a WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) that provides LTE wireless access to UE 205, the RAN may include an E-UTRAN, which may include base stations including eNBs that support LTE wireless access. The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where Figure 2 , E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 235 and EPC corresponds to 5GCN 240. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining the municipal location of UE 205 may be applicable to such other networks.

[0051] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 may communicate with the AMF 215, which communicates with the LMF 220 for positioning functionality. The AMF 215 may support the mobility of the UE 205, including cell change and handover of the UE 205 from an access node of a first RAT (e.g., gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216) to an access node of a second RAT. The AMF 215 may also be involved in supporting signaling connections with the UE 205 and possibly supporting data and voice bearers for the UE 205. The LMF 220 may support positioning the UE 205 using a CP positioning solution when the UE 205 accesses the NG-RAN 235 or the WLAN 216, and may support positioning procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (which may be referred to as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round Trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF 220 may also process a location service request for the UE 205 received, for example, from the AMF 215 or from the GMLC 225. The LMF 220 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225. In some embodiments, the network (such as 5GCN 240) may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL location platform (SLP). Note that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including determining the location of UE 205) may be performed at UE 205 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals sent by wireless nodes (such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214 and / or WLAN 216) and / or using assistance data provided to UE 205, for example, by LMF 220).

[0052] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for the UE 205 received from the external client 230, and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding by the AMF 215 to the LMF 220. A location response (e.g., including a location estimate of the UE 205) from the LMF 220 may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225 directly or via the AMF 215, and the GMLC 225 may then return the location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0053] A network exposure function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events regarding the 5GCN 240 and the UE 205 to the external client 230, which may therefore be referred to as an access function (AF) and may enable secure provisioning of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may connect to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225 to obtain the location (e.g., municipal location) of the UE 205 and provide the location to the external client 230.

[0054] like Figure 2 As further illustrated in , LMF 220 may communicate with gNB 210 and / or with ng-eNB 214 using NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be passed between gNB 210 and LMF 220 and / or between ng-eNB 214 and LMF 220 via AMF 215. Figure 2 As further illustrated in , the LMF 220 and the UE 205 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 205 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or the serving ng-eNB 214 of the UE 205. For example, the LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 220 and the AMF 215 using messages for service-based operations (e.g., based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and may be transferred between the AMF 215 and the UE 205 using the 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 205 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 205 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA) and / or may be used by LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0055] In the case where the UE 205 accesses the WLAN 216, the LMF 220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of the UE 205 in a manner similar to that just described for the UE 205 accessing the gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Thus, NRPPa messages may be passed between the WLAN 216 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of the UE 205 and / or to pass other location information from the WLAN 216 to the LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be passed between the N3IWF 250 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of the UE 205 based on location-related information and / or location measurements that are known or accessible to the N3IWF 250 and passed from the N3IWF 250 to the LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be communicated between UE 205 and LMF 220 via AMF 215, N3IWF 250, and serving WLAN 216 of UE 205 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of UE 205 by LMF 220.

[0056] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods may be classified as "UE-assisted" or "UE-based". This may depend on where the request to determine the position of the UE 205 originates. For example, if the request originates from the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" executed by the UE), the positioning method may be classified as UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client 230, LMF 220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method may be classified as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0057] With UE-assisted positioning methods, UE 205 may obtain location measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) for use in computing a location estimate for UE 205. For positioning methods based on RAT, the location measurements may include one or more of the following for one or more access points of gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time of arrival (TOA), AoA, receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or timing advance (TA). Additionally or alternatively, similar measurements may be made on SL signals sent by other UEs, which may be used as anchor points for positioning UE 205 if the positions of these other UEs are known. The position measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements for a RAT-independent positioning method, such as GNSS (eg, GNSS pseudoranges with respect to GNSS satellites 207 , GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase), WLAN, and the like.

[0058] Using the UE-based positioning method, UE 205 can obtain a position measurement (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurement of the UE-assisted positioning method), and the position of UE 205 can be further calculated (e.g., with the aid of auxiliary data received from a location server such as LMF 220, SLP or broadcast by gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216).

[0059] Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN 216), or N3IWF 250 may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA) of signals sent by UE 205, and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 205 or, in the case of N3IWF 250, by APs in WLAN 216, and may transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) for use in calculating a position estimate for UE 205.

[0060] The positioning of UE 205 may also be classified as UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based according to the type of signal used for positioning. For example, if the positioning is based only on signals received at UE 205 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), the positioning may be classified as DL-based. On the other hand, if the positioning is based only on signals sent by UE 205 (which may be received by, for example, a base station or other UE), the positioning may be classified as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning based on signals sent and received by UE 205, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning includes signals communicated between UE 205 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, the UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning described herein may be able to use SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0061] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based), the type of reference signal used may be different. For example, for DL-based positioning, these signals may include PRS (e.g., DL-PRS sent by a base station or SL-PRS sent by other UEs), which may be used for TDOA measurements, AoD measurements, and RTT measurements. Other reference signals that may be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Synchronization Signal (e.g., Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Synchronization Signal (SS)), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), etc. In addition, the reference signal may be sent in a Tx beam and / or received in an Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which may affect angle measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0062] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C 3 is a simplified illustration of a scenario in which SL positioning may be used to determine the position of a target UE 305 according to some embodiments. One or more anchor UEs 310 may be used to transmit and / or receive reference signals via SL. As illustrated, one or more base stations 320 (Uu interface) may also be used to determine positioning. However, it will be understood that, depending on the desired functionality, the signals used for positioning of the UE 305 may vary. More specifically, some types of positioning may utilize signals other than, for example, FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Signals other than RTT / TDOA illustrated in .

[0063] Figure 3AThe diagram of illustrates a configuration in which positioning of a target UE 305 may include RTT and / or TDOA measurements between the target UE 305 and three base stations 320. In this configuration, the target UE 305 may be within the coverage of a DL and / or UL signal via a Uu connection with the base station 320. In addition, an anchor UE 310 at a known location may be used to improve the position determination of the target UE 305 by providing an additional anchor. As illustrated, ranging may be performed between the target UE 305 and the anchor UE 310 by performing RTT measurements via a SL connection between the target UE 305 and the anchor UE 310.

[0064] Figure 3B The diagram illustrates a configuration in which the positioning of the target UE 305 can be SL-only positioning / ranging. In this configuration, the target UE 305 can perform RTT measurements via a SL connection between multiple anchor UEs 310. In this example, the target UE 305 may not be in the UL coverage of the base station 320, and therefore each anchor UE 310 may report RTT measurement information to the network via a Uu connection between each anchor UE 310 and the base station 320. (In the case where the UE relays information between a remote UE and a base station, the UE may be referred to as a "relay" UE.) Such a scenario may exist when the target UE 305 has a weaker transmit power than the anchor UE 310 (for example, the target UE 305 includes a wearable device, and the anchor UE includes a larger cellular phone, an IOT device, etc.). In other scenarios in which the target UE 305 is within the UL coverage of the base station 320, the target UE 305 may report the RTT measurement directly to the base station 320. In some implementations, no base station 320 may be used, in which case one of the UEs (eg, one of the anchor UEs 310 or the target UE 305 ) may receive the RTT measurement information and determine the position of the target UE 305 .

[0065] Figure 3C 305. The diagram of exemplifies a configuration in which the positioning of the target UE 305 may include the target UE 305 and the anchor UE 310 receiving a reference signal (DL-PRS) from the base station 320 and the target UE 305 transmitting a reference signal (SL-PRS) to the anchor UE 310. The positioning of the target UE may be determined based on the known positions of the base station 320 and the anchor UE 310 and the time difference between the time when the anchor UE 310 receives the reference signal from the base station 320 and the time when the anchor UE 310 receives the reference signal from the target UE 305.

[0066] As previously discussed, SL positioning (e.g., SL positioning only or Uu / SL positioning, such as FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CThe use of a resource pool (RP-P) for positioning can be utilized. The RP-P can be communicated to the UE via the SL configuration (e.g., using the techniques described below), and a specific resource pool for SL reference signals can be specified in different scenarios. The resource pool includes a set of resources (e.g., frequency and time resources in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme used by 4G and 5G cellular technologies) that can be used to send RF signals via the SL for positioning. Each resource pool may also include a specific subcarrier spacing (SCS), a cyclic prefix (CP) type, a bandwidth (BW) (e.g., subcarriers, bandwidth parts, etc.), a time domain position (e.g., periodicity and time slot offsets). The resource pool may include, for example, a Tx resource pool for "Mode 1" SL positioning, where SL positioning is performed using one or more network-connected UEs, in which case the network-connected UEs may receive network-based resource allocations via a Uu interface with a base station (e.g., via downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC)). Tx resource pools for "Mode 2" SL positioning, where autonomous resource selection is performed by the UE in the absence of network-based resource allocation. The resource pools may also include Rx resource pools, which may be used in Mode 1 or Mode 2 SL positioning. Each RP-P configuration may be relayed via a physical SL control channel (PSCCH), which may retain one or more SL-PRS configurations. Each of the one or more SL-PRS configurations in the RP-P may include corresponding specific physical layer characteristics, such as the number of symbols, comb type, comb offset, number of subchannels, a certain channel size, and a starting resource block (RB). The RP-P configuration may also include sensing configuration, power control and / or channel busy rate (CBR).

[0067] According to some embodiments, an exception RP-P may be specified and used in situations where it may not be desirable or possible to perform SL positioning via an available resource pool of a non-exceptional RP-P for SL. Such exceptional circumstances may include situations similar to those that trigger the use of an exceptional resource pool for communication, such as situations where there may be physical layer problems before the UE completes and initiates a connection or during a handover of the UE. Like the non-exceptional RP-P for SL, the exception RP-P for SL may be configured or pre-configured and may be assigned or autonomously selected by the network (e.g., for use in mode 1 or mode 2 SL positioning). In addition, according to some embodiments, the exception RP-P may be pre-configured, pre-loaded and / or hard-coded into UEs for different geographic areas or regions. For example, in the case of public safety, different countries may specify specific resources for the exception RP-P. The exception RP-P may be configured via dedicated signaling (e.g., PC5) over the Uu interface and / or configured via a system information block (SIB). In some embodiments, the exception RP-P may be broadcast during the positioning session setup phase or discovery phase of the UE. Additionally or alternatively, resource reservation techniques may be used to assign or allocate exceptional RP-Ps.

[0068] As mentioned previously, it may be desirable to locate the session in SL (e.g. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C In an example such as the one or more embodiments of the present invention, the measuring UE may perform one or more measurements and transmit information indicating the one or more measurements (e.g., RSTD, AoA, etc.) to multiple other UEs. In such an example, the measuring UE may include a target UE or an anchor UE. In addition, the multiple other UEs may include an anchor UE and / or a target UE. (The SL positioning session may be used to determine the position of a single target UE or the positions of multiple target UEs simultaneously). However, the transmission of this measurement information to multiple other UEs may be performed in a relatively inefficient manner. Figure 4A and Figure 4B Helps illustrate this inefficient communication in more detail.

[0069] Figure 4A 4 is a diagram illustrating a scenario 400-A in which UE A 410 (a measuring UE) transmits measurement information to UE B 420-1, UE C 420-2, and UE D 420-3 (collectively referred to herein as receiving UEs 420). Typically, when transmitting measurement information, UE A 410 will transmit the measurement information to each receiving UE 420 via a corresponding unicast message (collectively referred to herein as unicast message 430). Figure 4A In the example of , UE A 410 transmits a first unicast message 430-1 to UE B 420-1, a second unicast message 430-2 to UE C 420-2, and a third unicast message 430-3 to UE D 420-3.

[0070] Figure 4B This is an example of how to send Figure 4A 4. A timing diagram 400-B of an example of unicast messages 430 for scenario 400-A of FIG. 400-A. As illustrated, each unicast message 430 may be sent separately, such that a first unicast message 430-1 is transmitted to UE B 420-1, a second unicast message 430-2 is transmitted to UE C 420-2, and a third unicast message 430-3 is transmitted to UE C 420-3, one after another in sequence. The measurements of each receiving UE 420 may be unique, and thus each receiving UE may require a separate set of measurements. Since each unicast message 430 may have its own overhead, using multiple messages in this manner may result in relatively inefficient use of bandwidth.

[0071] In view of this, embodiments herein provide for enabling a measuring UE (e.g., UE A) to transmit measurements to multiple receiving UEs (e.g., UE B, UE C, and UE D) in a single multicast message. As discussed in more detail below, different communication layers may be used depending on the desired functionality. Furthermore, changes may be made to applicable protocols to achieve such multicast messaging.

[0072] Figure 5A FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a scenario 500-A similar to scenario 400-A of FIG. A, where UE A 510 (a measuring UE) transmits measurement information to UE B 520-1, UE C 520-2, and UE D 520-3 (collectively referred to herein as receiving UEs 520). Here, UE A 510 does not transmit individual unicast transmissions, but rather transmits a multicast message 530. Figure 5B As indicated in the corresponding timing diagram 500-B of , the multicast message 530 may multiplex the measurement information to the intended UEs. In this way, the multicast message 530 may contain relevant information for each receiving UE 520. Upon receiving the multicast message 530, each receiving UE 520 may extract its own relevant solution data and discard the information intended for other UEs.

[0073] The advantages of this method can be achieved in various scenarios. For example, in a joint positioning scenario (for simultaneous positioning of multiple UEs) where the information provided by UE A 510 about UE B 520 can be relevant to all UEs participating in a joint session, it can be more efficient to transmit a multicast message 530 to all receiving UEs 520. This not only allows for reduced overhead in the case where the same measurement information is intended for multiple receiving UEs, but also allows measurement information to be combined to different receiving UEs. According to some embodiments, in addition to the measurement information (e.g., one or more groups of one or more measurements), the multicast message from the measuring UE may include one or more timestamps corresponding to the measurement and / or other information and / or information elements (IEs) related to the measurement.

[0074] As mentioned, the content of the measurement information may vary depending on the scenario. Different types of positioning may generate different measurement information. For example, for RTT-based positioning, the measuring UE may provide measurement ToA information, allowing the receiving UE to determine the RTT. The measurement information may include additional or alternative types of measurements, such as RSTD, AoA, etc. In addition, the measurement information provided in the multicast message may allow the receiving device to determine the location of one or more UEs, including its own location, the location of the measuring UE, and / or the locations of other UEs participating in the SL positioning session.

[0075] The multicast message sent by the measuring UE may be transmitted using any of a variety of different communication layers, depending on the desired functionality. FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B Examples are provided of some communication layers that may be used according to some embodiments.

[0076] Fig. 6A is an illustration of various communication layers that may be utilized by UE A (measurement UE) to convey a multicast message with measurement information to multiple receiving UEs (UE B, UE C, and UE D). The communication layers defined and utilized in relevant wireless communication standards (e.g., 3GPP standards related to 5G NR) include a physical (PHY) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a PC5 radio resource control (RRC) layer (as used herein, the term PC5 may be used interchangeably with SL), and a PC5 non-access layer (NAS) layer. According to some embodiments, Fig. 6A (as well as Figure 6B and Figure 6C The various communication layers of the various UEs illustrated in ) may include the communication layers in the PC5 control plane (CP) protocol stack.

[0077] like Fig. 6AAs illustrated in , according to some embodiments, UE A may send a multicast message (related to a SL positioning session) with measurement information via a message, which is transmitted via the MAC layer. This message may include, for example, a report of channel state information (CSI) transmitted on the CP. Since the applicable standards currently only provide unicast reporting of positioning information via the MAC layer, the implementation scheme may utilize a new multicast (or groupcast) MAC control element (MAC-CE) message containing positioning measurements based on measuring UE data and related identifiers of receiving UEs. One or more measurements of different groups may be marked by the measuring UE using the IDs of one or more receiving UEs, and the one or more marked measurements are intended for the one or more receiving UEs. After receiving the multicast message, the receiving UE may process the multicast message and identify the one or more measurements intended for the corresponding receiving UE based on whether the one or more measurements are associated with the UE ID of the corresponding UE.

[0078] For example, UE A may provide measurement information in a multicast message including a first set of measurements and a second set of measurements. The first set of measurements may be intended for UE B and UE C and the second set of measurements may be intended for UE D. In this way, UE A may include the first set of measurements and the second set of measurements in the multicast message, and associate the IDs of UE B and UE C with the first set of measurements and associate the ID of UE D with the second set of measurements. Of course, the number of measurements and the number of receiving UEs may vary depending on the situation. In addition to the case where a single set of measurements can be transmitted to multiple UEs, there may be a case where a single UE receives multiple sets of measurements. Furthermore, one or more UE IDs are marked between each set of measurements to identify the UE for which the set of measurements is intended. In some embodiments, in addition to or as an alternative to transmitting a multicast message to one or more other UEs, the measuring UE may transmit measurement information to one or more non-UE devices via a multicast message via the SL.

[0079] According to some embodiments, a logical channel ID (LCID) may be used to achieve multicasting of MAC-CE messages including measurement information from a measuring UE. According to some embodiments, an LCID may be assigned to a group of UEs participating in a SL positioning session. In this way, the LCID may be unique for the SL positioning session. In addition, the LCID may be assigned by an entity that organizes the SL positioning session. In mode 1, for example, the LCID may be assigned to a group of UEs by an organization location server (e.g., an organization LMF in a 5G cellular network) or otherwise associated with a group of UEs. In mode 2, for example, the LCID may be assigned by an organization UE. Depending on the situation of the positioning session, the organization UE may include a measuring UE or a receiving UE. In addition, the organization UE may include a target UE (for which the positioning session is used for the estimated position) or an anchor UE (with a known position for helping to estimate the position of one or more target UEs). In an embodiment using an LCID, the LCID may be embedded in a multicast MAC-CE message. The receiving UE may then determine whether the multicast message is intended for the receiving UE by determining whether the multicast message has an LCID associated with the receiving UE. The entity organizing the positioning session (e.g., a location server or an organizing UE) may assign the LCID to the UE participating in the SL positioning session before or during the positioning session. In some embodiments, the LCID may be included in the positioning configuration information of the SL positioning session, which is transmitted to each participating UE.

[0080] Figure 6B is an illustration showing how measurement information may be communicated from UE A in a multicast message via the RRC layer of the PC5 (SL) protocol stack. Similar to the MAC layer, the RRC layer may not currently be used to transmit multicast messages to report positioning information. Therefore, an implementation may define and use a new multicast (or groupcast) RRC message. Similar to the discussion above regarding the MAC-CE message, this new multicast RRC message may include a group identifier defined by and / or identified in the SL positioning session and / or identifiers of individual receiving UEs (e.g., UE B, UE C, and UE D).

[0081] like Figure 6C As shown in , embodiments may utilize the NAS communication layer of PC5. Currently, this communication layer is not well defined by the relevant SL standards. However, according to some embodiments, multicast messages may be transmitted via the NAS layer, which are sent in transparent RRC containers.

[0082] According to some embodiments, the multicast RRC message described herein may be acknowledged by the receiving UE. In this way, retransmission of the multicast RRC message may be supported. In some embodiments, group sequence numbering may be implemented to track messages and implement PDCP retransmission. For example, the first UE may have a sequence space of 1 to N, the second UE may have a sequence space of N+1 to 2N, the 1 / 3 UE may have a sequence space of 2N+1 to 3N, and so on.

[0083] According to some embodiments, the communication layer for transmitting multicast messages reporting measurement information from the measuring UE may be dynamically selected. In some embodiments, for example, the entity organizing the SL positioning session (e.g., a location server or an organizing UE) may select the communication layer to use. In some embodiments, the measuring UE (e.g., UE A) may make this selection. Since MAC layer messaging may be faster but more restrictive, it may be utilized in certain situations, while upper layer messaging (e.g., RRC or NAS) may be able to convey more information, but may not be as fast. Thus, the selection may be based on many factors, such as the size of the multicast message payload, the priority and / or speed required for the positioning session, and the like.

[0084] Some embodiments may utilize encryption in a SL positioning session to help ensure that position-related data (e.g., measurement information) is sent between UEs. Thus, multicast messages transmitted by a measuring UE (e.g., UE A) may be encrypted using one or more encryption keys associated with the SL positioning session. According to some embodiments, an organizational entity (e.g., a location server or an organizational UE) may generate and distribute encryption keys for use in the SL positioning session before or at the start of the SL positioning session. UEs participating in the SL positioning session (including measuring UEs and receiving UEs) may then use these encryption keys to encrypt and decrypt messages with each other. For example, the creation of such encryption keys may be performed according to existing encryption protocols.

[0085] Figure 7 7 is a flow chart of a method 700 for reporting one or more measurements in a SL positioning session performed at a first UE according to an embodiment. The functionality of the first UE may correspond to the measurement UE (e.g., UE A) in the previously described embodiments. Figure 7 The functional components illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in the figure may be performed by hardware and / or software components of the UE. Fig. 9 Example components of a UE are illustrated in FIG, and are described in more detail below.

[0086] At box 710, the functionality includes obtaining a positioning configuration associated with a SL positioning session at the first UE. Here, the positioning configuration may include information for conducting the SL positioning session, which may be determined by an organizational entity (such as a location server or an organizational UE). In such instances, the positioning configuration may be obtained by receiving a message from the location server or the organizational UE. In some instances, the first UE may include an organizational UE, in which case obtaining the positioning configuration may include generating a positioning configuration (e.g., based on capability information provided by other UEs participating in the SL positioning session).

[0087] For the first UE, the positioning configuration may include information for performing positioning-related measurements, such as the type of measurement to be performed (e.g., ToA, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, TDOA, AoA, etc.), accuracy and / or granularity requirements, timing and / or frequency used by the RF signal to be measured by the first UE, or a combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the positioning configuration may further indicate what measurement information the first UE will transmit and / or what measurement information will be transmitted to the UE.

[0088] The means for performing the functionality at block 710 may include a bus 905, a processor 910, a DSP 920, a wireless communication interface 930, a sensor 940, a memory 960, and / or other components of the UE 900, such as Fig. 9 As illustrated in and described below.

[0089] At box 720, the functionality includes performing one or more measurements of one or more RF signals at the first UE according to the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine the location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both. Here, the one or more RF signals may be transmitted by other UEs participating in the SL positioning session, and the other UEs may include one or more target UEs whose locations are to be determined. These signals may include reference signals used for positioning, such as PRS signals (e.g., SL-PRS), SRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.

[0090] As mentioned elsewhere herein, determining the location of the target device may include determining an absolute location, a relative location, or a distance of the target device to one or more other devices. Thus, according to some embodiments of method 700, for a target device including a first UE or one or more target UEs, determining the location of the target device includes determining: the location of the target device in a coordinate system, the location of the target device relative to another device or structure, or the distance between the target device and another device, or a combination thereof.

[0091] The means for performing the functionality at block 720 may include the bus 905, processor 910, DSP 920, wireless communication interface 930, sensor 940, memory 960, and / or other components of the UE 900, such as Fig. 9 As illustrated in and described below.

[0092] At block 730, the functionality includes transmitting a message indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted from the first UE to a device group including a plurality of other UEs via a multicast communication. As previously indicated, the multicast communication may include direct SL communication from the first UE to each of the plurality of other UEs in the group.

[0093] As previously indicated, depending on the desired functionality, various embodiments may include one or more additional features. According to some embodiments, for example, the multiple other UEs include one or more target UEs in addition to the first UE. According to some embodiments, the message may be transmitted via a MAC-CE message. In such embodiments, the MAC-CE message may include an LCID (or other identifier) ​​used by the group. As mentioned, the LCID may be assigned by the entity organizing the SL positioning session, and the entity organizing the SL positioning session may transmit the LCID to each UE in the group. Depending on the desired functionality, the entity organizing the SL positioning session may include a location server or an organizing UE. According to some embodiments, the message may be transmitted via an RRC message or a NAS message. In some embodiments, the method may include encrypting the message by the first UE before transmitting the message, wherein the encryption uses an encryption key dedicated to the group.

[0094] The means for performing the functionality at block 730 may include the bus 905, processor 910, DSP 920, wireless communication interface 930, sensor 940, memory 960, and / or other components of the UE 900, such as Fig. 9 As illustrated in and described below.

[0095] Figure 8 8 is a flow chart of a method 800 performed at a second UE to enable a first UE to report one or more measurements in a SL positioning session according to an embodiment. The functionality of the first UE may correspond to the receiving UE (e.g., UE B, UE C, or UE D) in the previously described embodiments. Figure 8 The functional components illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in the figure may be performed by hardware and / or software components of the UE. Fig. 9 Example components of a UE are illustrated in FIG, and are described in more detail below.

[0096] At box 810, the functionality includes receiving, at the second UE via SL communication, a message indicating one or more measurements of one or more RF signals from the first UE, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein: the message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and the message includes an identifier common to a group of devices including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE. Furthermore, the type of measurements performed may vary (e.g., ToA, RSTD, RSRP, RTT, TDOA, AoA, etc.), and other aspects (such as accuracy and / or granularity, etc.) may also vary. These aspects may be related to the type of positioning performed. According to some embodiments, the positioning configuration received by the second UE may indicate to the second UE what measurement information the first UE will transmit.

[0097] The means for performing the functionality at block 810 may include a bus 905, a processor 910, a DSP 920, a wireless communication interface 930, a sensor 940, a memory 960, and / or other components of the UE 900, such as Fig. 9 As illustrated in and described below.

[0098] At block 820, the functionality includes, based on the one or more measurements: (i) determining the position of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; (ii) performing one or more additional measurements; or (iii) performing both operations (i) and (ii). As previously indicated, the second UE may perform one or more additional measurements using the one or more measurements provided by the first UE. This may be the case, for example, in RTT positioning, where the second UE determines an RTT measurement (e.g., based on a ToA measurement provided by the first UE). Additionally or alternatively, the second UE may determine a position estimate of the first UE, one or more target UEs, or both using the one or more measurements provided by the first UE.

[0099] The means for performing the functionality at block 820 may include the bus 905, processor 910, DSP 920, wireless communication interface 930, sensor 940, memory 960, and / or other components of the UE 900, such as Fig. 9 As illustrated in and described below.

[0100] As previously indicated, depending on the desired functionality, each embodiment may include one or more additional features. According to some embodiments, for example, receiving the message may also include identifying the one or more measurements within the message based at least in part on a UE-specific identifier corresponding to the second UE. As previously mentioned, the receiving UE (such as a second UE) may process the message received by the first UE to identify a portion of the message that includes one or more measurements intended for the second UE. In order to enable the second UE to identify the one or more measurements, the one or more measurements may be marked with an identifier of the UE (e.g., associated with an identifier of the UE). According to some embodiments, the message may be received via a MAC-CE message. In such embodiments, the MAC-CE message may include an LCID (or other identifier) ​​used by the group. As mentioned, the LCID may be assigned by an entity that organizes the SL positioning session, and such embodiments may also include receiving the LCID at the second UE from the entity that organizes the SL positioning session. Depending on the desired functionality, the entity that organizes the SL positioning session may include a location server or an organizing UE. According to some embodiments, the message may be received via an RRC message or a NAS message. In some embodiments, the method may include decrypting the message using an encryption key dedicated to the group.

[0101] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE 900, which may be described herein above (e.g., with Figures 1 to 8 For example, UE 900 may execute Figure 7 or Figure 8 One or more of the functions of any of the methods shown in and / or the more general functionality of the UE described herein (e.g., measurement UE, receiving UE, organizing UE, target UE, anchor UE and other such UEs). It should be noted that Fig. 9 It is intended only to provide a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. It may be noted that in some instances, Fig. 9 The illustrated components may be localized as a single physical device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located at different physical locations. In addition, as previously mentioned, the functionality of the UE discussed in the previously described embodiments may be provided by Fig. 9 The system may be executed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components illustrated in the specification.

[0102] UE 900 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via bus 905 (or may communicate in other ways as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 910, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or components. Processor 910 may include one or more processing units, which may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. Fig. 9 As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 920, depending on the desired functionality. Position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in the processor 910 and / or the wireless communication interface 930 (discussed below). The UE 900 may also include: one or more input devices 970, which may include but are not limited to one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 915, which may include but are not limited to one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0103] UE 900 may also include a wireless communication interface 930, which may include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as Device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE802.15.4 device, Wi-Fi device, WiMAX device, WAN device and / or various cellular devices, etc.), which can enable UE 900 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 930 can allow the use of the TRP of the network, for example, via eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, access point, various base stations and / or other access node types, and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic device communicatively coupled to the TRP to communicate (e.g., send and receive) data and signaling, as described herein. Communication can be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 932 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 934. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 932 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof. The antenna 932 may be able to use beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams) to send and receive wireless signals. Beamforming can be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques using corresponding digital and / or analog circuits. Wireless communication interface 930 may include such circuitry.

[0104] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 930 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers to communicate with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers (such as wireless devices and access points). The UE 900 may communicate with different data networks, which may include various network types. For example, the WWAN may be a CDMA network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, etc. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as WCDMA, etc. Includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, Advanced LTE, 5G NR, and the like. 5G NR, LTE, Advanced LTE, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from 3GPP. Described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. A wireless local area network (WLAN) may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) may be a Bluetooth network, IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0105] The UE 900 may also include a sensor 940. The sensor 940 may include, but is not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain position-related measurements and / or other information.

[0106] Embodiments of UE 900 may also include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver 980 that is capable of receiving signals 984 from one or more GNSS satellites using antenna 982 (which may be the same as antenna 932). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. GNSS receiver 980 may use conventional techniques to extract the position of UE 900 from GNSS satellites of GNSS systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) covering Japan, IRNSS covering India, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) covering China, etc. In addition, the GNSS receiver 980 may be used for various augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN), among others.

[0107] It can be noted that although Fig. 9 980 is illustrated as a different component, but the embodiments are not limited to this. As used herein, the term "GNSS receiver" may include hardware and / or software components configured to obtain GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Therefore, in some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may include (as software) a measurement engine executed by one or more processors (such as processor 910, DSP 920 and / or a processor within wireless communication interface 930 (e.g., in a modem)). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the orientation of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), a hatch filter, a particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors such as processor 910 or DSP 920.

[0108] The UE 900 may also include and / or communicate with a memory 960. The memory 960 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, and the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems, database structures, and the like.

[0109] The memory 960 of the UE 900 may also include software elements ( Fig. 9 ), including an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries and / or other code such as one or more applications, which software elements may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more processes described for the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 960 that can be executed by UE 900 (and / or processor 910 or DSP 920 within UE 900). Then, in some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0110] Fig.10 1000, which may be used in whole or in part to provide the functionality of one or more network components (e.g., location servers) described in the embodiments herein. Fig.10 It is intended only to provide a generalized illustration of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. Fig.10 The following broadly illustrates how various system elements can be implemented in a relatively separate or relatively more integrated manner. Fig.10 The illustrated components may be localized into a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located at different geographical locations.

[0111] The computer system 1000 is shown as including hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus 1005 (or can communicate in other ways as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1010, which may include but is not limited to one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, etc.) and / or other processing structures, which can be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 1000 may also include one or more input devices 1015, which may include but are not limited to a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, etc.; and one or more output devices 1020, which may include but are not limited to a display device, a printer, etc.

[0112] The computer system 1000 may also include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1025, which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage devices, and / or may include, but are not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data storage may include databases and / or other data structures for storing and managing messages and / or other information to be transmitted to one or more devices via the hub, as described herein.

[0113] The computer system 1000 may also include a communication subsystem 1030, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communication interface 1033, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communication, universal serial bus (USB), etc.). The wireless communication interface 1033 may include one or more wireless transceivers, which may transmit and receive wireless signals 1055 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1050. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1030 may include a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset, etc., which may enable the computer system 1000 to communicate with any device on the corresponding network including user equipment (UE), base stations and / or other TRPs, and / or any other electronic device described herein on any or all of the communication networks described herein. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1030 can be used to receive and transmit data, as described in the embodiments of this invention.

[0114] In many embodiments, the computer system 1000 will also include a working memory 1035, which may include a RAM or ROM device, as described above. The software elements shown as being located within the working memory 1035 may include an operating system 1040, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code such as one or more applications 1045, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more of the procedures described for the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions that can be executed by a computer (and / or a processor within a computer); then, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0115] A set of these instructions and / or codes may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (such as storage device 1025 described above). In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system such as computer system 1000. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., removable media such as an optical disk), and / or may be provided in an installation package so that the storage medium can be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer having the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may take the form of executable code that can be executed by computer system 1000, and / or may take the form of source code and / or installable code that, when compiled and / or installed on computer system 1000 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

[0116] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computer systems (such as network input / output devices) may be employed.

[0117] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the components that may include memory may include non-transient machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may be involved when providing instructions / codes to processors and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / codes. In many specific implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example: magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with hole patterns, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or memory box, or any other medium that can be used for computer-readable instructions and / or codes.

[0118] The methods, systems and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may appropriately omit, substitute or add various processes or components. For example, the features described for certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. The different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the accompanying drawings provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. In addition, technology may evolve, and therefore many of the elements are examples, which do not limit the scope of the present disclosure to those specific examples.

[0119] It has proven convenient, primarily for reasons of common usage, to sometimes refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, digital symbols, and the like. However, it should be understood that all of these or similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise expressly noted, as is apparent from the above discussion, it should be understood that throughout this specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "calculating," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "correlating," "measuring," "performing," and the like refer to the actions or processes of a particular device such as a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as physical, electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities in a memory, register, or other information storage device, a transmitting device, or a display device of the special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device.

[0120] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" may include various meanings that are also intended to depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (inclusive meaning is used here) as well as A, B, or C (exclusive meaning is used here). In addition, as used herein, the term "one or more" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe a certain combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the subject matter claimed is not limited to this example. In addition, the term "at least one of", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0121] Several embodiments have been described, and various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over the application of the various embodiments or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. In addition, multiple steps may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0122] In view of this description, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0123] Clause 1. A method for reporting one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session performed at a first user equipment (UE), the method comprising: obtaining a positioning configuration associated with the SL positioning session at the first UE; performing one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals at the first UE based on the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine the location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; and transmitting a message indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted from the first UE to a device group including multiple other UEs via multicast wireless communication.

[0124] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the plurality of other UEs include the one or more target UEs.

[0125] Clause 3. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the message is transmitted via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message.

[0126] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the MAC-CE message includes a logical channel ID (LCID) used by the group.

[0127] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the LCID is assigned by an entity that organizes the SL positioning session; and the entity that organizes the SL positioning session transmits the LCID to each UE of the group.

[0128] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the entity organizing the SL positioning session comprises a location server or an organizing UE.

[0129] Clause 7. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the message is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0130] Clause 8. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the message is transmitted via a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

[0131] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, further comprising encrypting, by the first UE, the message prior to transmitting the message, wherein the encryption uses an encryption key specific to the group.

[0132] Clause 10. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein, for a target device including the first UE or one or more target UEs, determining the position of the target device includes determining: the position of the target device in a coordinate system, the position of the target device relative to another device or structure, or the distance between the target device and another device, or a combination thereof.

[0133] Clause 11. A method performed at a second user equipment (UE) to enable a first UE to report one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session, the method comprising: receiving at the second UE a message indicating one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals from the first UE via SL communication, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein: the message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and the message includes an identifier common to a group of devices including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE; and based on the one or more measurements: (i) determining the position of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; (ii) performing one or more additional measurements; or (iii) both of the above.

[0134] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein receiving the message further comprises identifying the one or more measurements within the message based at least in part on a UE-specific identifier corresponding to the second UE.

[0135] Clause 13. A method as described in any of clauses 11 to 12, wherein the message is received via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message.

[0136] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 11 to 13, wherein the MAC-CE message includes a logical channel ID (LCID) used by the group.

[0137] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the LCID is assigned by an entity that organizes the SL positioning session, and the method further comprises receiving the LCID at the second UE from the entity that organizes the SL positioning session.

[0138] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the entity organizing the SL positioning session comprises a location server or an organizing UE.

[0139] Clause 17. A method as described in any of clauses 11 to 12, wherein the message is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0140] Clause 18. A method as described in any of clauses 11 to 12, wherein the message is received via a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

[0141] Clause 19. The method of any one of clauses 11 to 18, further comprising decrypting the message using an encryption key specific to the group.

[0142] Clause 20. A first user equipment (UE) for reporting one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session, the first UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: obtain a positioning configuration associated with the SL positioning session; perform one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals at the first UE based on the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine the location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; and transmit a message indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted via the transceiver to a device group including multiple other UEs via multicast wireless communication.

[0143] Clause 21. The first UE of clause 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the message via a medium access control - control element (MAC-CE) message.

[0144] Clause 22. The first UE of clause 21, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include a logical channel ID (LCID) used by the group in the MAC-CE message.

[0145] Clause 23. The first UE of clause 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the message via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0146] Clause 24. The first UE of clause 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the message via a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

[0147] Clause 25. A first UE as described in any of clauses 20 to 24, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to encrypt, by the first UE, the message prior to transmitting the message, wherein the encryption uses an encryption key specific to the group.

[0148] Clause 26. A first UE according to any one of clauses 20 to 25, wherein in order to determine the position of a target device including the first UE or one or more target UEs, the one or more processors are configured to determine the position of the target device in a coordinate system, the position of the target device relative to another device or structure, or the distance between the target device and another device, or a combination thereof.

[0149] Clause 27. A second UE for enabling a first UE to report one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session, the second UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, by the transceiver via SL communication, a message indicating one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals from the first UE, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein: the message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and the message includes an identifier common to a group of devices including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE; and based on the one or more measurements: (i) determine the position of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; (ii) perform one or more additional measurements; or (iii) both of the above.

[0150] Clause 28. The second UE of clause 27, wherein to receive the message, the one or more processors are configured to identify the one or more measurements within the message based at least in part on a UE-specific identifier corresponding to the second UE.

[0151] Clause 29. The second UE of any of clauses 27 to 28, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to decrypt the message using an encryption key specific to the group.

[0152] Clause 30. The second UE of any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the message via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message.

[0153] Clause 31. An apparatus having means for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 19.

[0154] Clause 32. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions comprising code for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 19.

Claims

1. A method for reporting one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session at a first user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Obtaining, at the first UE, a positioning configuration associated with the SL positioning session; performing, at the first UE, one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals according to the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine a location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or Both of the above; and A message is transmitted indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted from the first UE to a group of devices including a plurality of other UEs via multicast wireless communication. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of other UEs include the one or more target UEs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is transmitted via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the MAC-CE message includes a logical channel ID (LCID) used by the group.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The LCID is assigned by the entity that organizes the SL location session; and The entity organizing the SL positioning session transmits the LCID to each UE of the group.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the entity organizing the SL positioning session comprises a location server or an organizing UE.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is transmitted via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is transmitted via a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising encrypting, by the first UE, the message prior to transmitting the message, wherein the encryption uses an encryption key specific to the group.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein for a target device including the first UE or one or the one or more target UEs, determining the location of the target device comprises determining: the position of the target device in the coordinate system, the location of the target device relative to another device or structure, or the distance between the target device and another device, or A combination of them.

11. A method, performed at a second user equipment (UE), of enabling a first UE to report one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session, the method comprising: receiving, at the second UE via the SL communication, a message from the first UE indicating one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein: The message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and The message includes an identifier common to a group of devices including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE; and Based on the one or more measurements: (i) determining the location of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; (ii) performing one or more additional measurements; or (iii) Both of the above situations.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the message further comprises identifying the one or more measurements within the message based at least in part on a UE-specific identifier corresponding to the second UE.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the message is received via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the MAC-CE message includes a logical channel ID (LCID) used by the group.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the LCID is assigned by an entity that organizes the SL positioning session, and the method further comprises receiving the LCID at the second UE from the entity that organizes the SL positioning session.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the entity organizing the SL positioning session comprises a location server or an organizing UE.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the message is received via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the message is received via a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising decrypting the message using an encryption key specific to the group.

20. A first user equipment (UE) for reporting one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session, the first UE comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Obtaining a positioning configuration associated with the SL positioning session; performing, at the first UE, one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals according to the positioning configuration, wherein the one or more measurements are performed to determine a location of: the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or Both of the above; and A message is transmitted indicating the one or more measurements, wherein the message is transmitted via the transceiver to a group of devices including a plurality of other UEs via multicast wireless communication.

21. The first UE of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the message via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message.

22. The first UE of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are configured to include a logical channel ID (LCID) used by the group in the MAC-CE message.

23. The first UE of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the message via a radio resource control (RRC) message.

24. The first UE of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the message via a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

25. The first UE of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to encrypt, by the first UE, the message prior to transmitting the message, wherein the encryption uses an encryption key specific to the group.

26. The first UE of claim 20, wherein in order to determine the location of a target device including the first UE or one or the one or more target UEs, the one or more processors are configured to determine: the position of the target device in the coordinate system, the location of the target device relative to another device or structure, or the distance between the target device and another device, or A combination of them.

27. A second UE for enabling a first UE to report one or more measurements in a sidelink (SL) positioning session, the second UE comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, by the transceiver via SL communication, from the first UE a message indicating one or more measurements of one or more radio frequency (RF) signals, the one or more measurements being performed by the first UE, wherein: The message is received from the first UE via multicast wireless communication, and the message includes an identifier common to a group of devices including the second UE and at least one additional UE other than the first UE; and Based on the one or more measurements: (i) determining the location of the first UE, one or more target UEs other than the first UE, or both; (ii) performing one or more additional measurements; or (iii) Both of the above situations.

28. The second UE of claim 27, wherein to receive the message, the one or more processors are configured to identify the one or more measurements within the message based at least in part on a UE-specific identifier corresponding to the second UE.

29. The second UE of claim 27, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to decrypt the message using an encryption key specific to the group.

30. The second UE of claim 27, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the message via a Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) message.

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