Positioning method of intelligent reflecting surface, base station and computer readable medium

Abstract

The invention provides a positioning method of an intelligent reflecting surface, which comprises the following steps: determining first positioning information of a direct path of target user equipment and second positioning information of a reflecting path, the direct path being a path from the target user equipment to a base station, and the reflecting path being a path from the target user equipment to the base station; the reflection path is a path from the target user equipment to the base station through the intelligent reflection surface; and positioning the intelligent reflecting surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information. The invention further provides a base station and a computer readable medium.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method for an intelligent reflective surface, a base station, and a computer-readable medium. Background Art

[0002] The Reconfigurable Intelligence Surface (RIS) can intelligently adjust the wireless network environment and greatly improve the coverage performance of the wireless communication network. RIS relies on manual deployment and can only be measured manually during deployment, which will cause large engineering parameter errors. After experiencing bad weather or force majeure outdoors, the position of RIS may also change, causing RIS to fail to work properly. For example, changes in the position of RIS may cause the codebook of the base station and RIS to fail, and the coverage performance of the cell to deteriorate. Therefore, the position of RIS needs to be regularly maintained.

[0003] However, the efficiency and cost of RIS maintenance need to be further optimized. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning method for an intelligent reflective surface, a base station, and a computer-readable medium.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface, comprising: determining first positioning information of a direct path and second positioning information of a reflected path of a target user device, wherein the direct path is a path from the target user device to a base station, and the reflected path is a path from the target user device to the base station via the intelligent reflecting surface; positioning the intelligent reflecting surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information.

[0006] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station, including:

[0007] one or more processors;

[0008] A memory having one or more programs stored thereon, wherein when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the method for positioning the smart reflective surface described in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, and when the program is executed by a processor, the method for positioning the smart reflective surface described in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented.

[0010] In the disclosed embodiment, the base station locates the target user equipment through the direct path and the reflected path respectively, and locates the intelligent reflective surface based on the acquired positioning information, thereby realizing automatic measurement of the position of the intelligent reflective surface by the base station. There is no need to integrate a position measurement sensor in the intelligent reflective surface, which is beneficial to reducing the cost of the intelligent reflective surface and improving the maintenance efficiency of the intelligent reflective surface. On this basis, the deviation of the position of the intelligent reflective surface can be detected in time to avoid affecting the communication performance, thereby improving the user experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a method for positioning a smart reflective surface in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 is a flow chart of another method for positioning a smart reflective surface in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of positioning of an intelligent reflective surface in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another intelligent reflective surface positioning in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 5 is a flow chart of another method for positioning a smart reflective surface in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 6 is a flow chart of another method for positioning a smart reflective surface in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a base station in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the composition of a computer-readable medium in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present disclosure, the positioning method of the smart reflective surface, the base station, and the computer-readable medium provided by the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0020] Example embodiments will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the example embodiments may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the present disclosure thorough and complete and to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the present disclosure.

[0021] In the absence of conflict, the various embodiments of the present disclosure and the various features therein may be combined with each other.

[0022] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0023] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "made of" are used in this specification, the presence of the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components is specified, but the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof is not excluded.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined as such herein.

[0025] During the maintenance of RIS, the position of RIS needs to be measured regularly to determine whether the position of RIS has shifted. However, measuring the position of RIS usually relies on manpower, which is inefficient. Integrating position measurement sensors in RIS to measure the position of RIS will increase the cost of RIS. Automated measurement based on position measurement sensors will also increase the power consumption of RIS.

[0026] In view of this, firstly, refer to Figure 1 The present disclosure provides a method for positioning a smart reflective surface, including:

[0027] S1. Determine first positioning information of a direct path and second positioning information of a reflected path of a target user equipment, wherein the direct path is a path from the target user equipment to a base station, and the reflected path is a path from the target user equipment to the base station via the smart reflective surface;

[0028] S2. Position the smart reflective surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information.

[0029] In the scenario where RIS is deployed, when the base station communicates with the user equipment (UE), the signal sent by the UE can reach the base station directly or be reflected by the RIS; the signal sent by the base station can also reach the UE directly or be reflected by the RIS. Among them, the path for direct signal transmission between the UE and the base station is the direct path, and the path for signal transmission between the UE and the base station through the RIS is the reflected path.

[0030] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, by positioning the target user equipment, the first positioning information corresponding to the direct path can be determined, such as the distance of the direct path, the pitch angle and azimuth of the target user equipment, and the second positioning information corresponding to the reflection path can also be determined, such as the distance of the reflection path, the pitch angle and azimuth of the RIS, and the like. On this basis, the distance between the RIS and the base station can be calculated, and then the position information of the RIS can be determined to achieve the positioning of the RIS.

[0031] The positioning method of the intelligent reflecting surface provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure realizes the automatic measurement of the position of the intelligent reflecting surface by the base station. There is no need to integrate a position measurement sensor in the intelligent reflecting surface, which is beneficial to reducing the cost of the intelligent reflecting surface and improving the maintenance efficiency of the intelligent reflecting surface. On this basis, the deviation of the position of the intelligent reflecting surface can be detected in time to avoid affecting the communication performance, thereby improving the user experience.

[0032] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not specifically limit how to determine the first positioning information and the second positioning information.

[0033] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 , determining first positioning information of a direct path and second positioning information of a reflected path of a target user equipment, including:

[0034] S11. Positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path to determine the first positioning information;

[0035] S12: Position the target user equipment according to the reflection path to determine the second positioning information.

[0036] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not specifically limit how to locate the target user equipment through the direct path and the reflected path respectively.

[0037] For example, the target user equipment can be positioned based on single-station positioning that combines the angle of arrival (AOA) and the round-trip time (RTT), or it can be positioned based on multi-station coordinated uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning.

[0038] In some embodiments, the user equipment is positioned based on RTT measurements via a direct path or a reflected path.

[0039] Accordingly, in some embodiments, positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path and the reflected path to determine the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes:

[0040] Performing round-trip time measurement on the direct path to determine the first positioning information, wherein the first positioning information includes a first path length of the direct path, a first azimuth angle and a first elevation angle of the target user equipment;

[0041] The round-trip time is measured on the reflection path to determine the second positioning information, wherein the second positioning information includes a second path length of the reflection path, a second azimuth angle and a second elevation angle of the smart reflection surface.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when performing RTT measurement, the base station sends a positioning reference signal (PRS) and records the sending time, the UE receives the PRS and then sends a sounding reference signal (SRS-Pos) for positioning and records the time difference, the base station receives the SRS-Pos and records the receiving time, the base station uses the time difference between SRS-Pos and PRS minus the time difference between UE SRS-Pos and PRS to obtain the round-trip time, and the round-trip time multiplied by the speed of light divided by 2 is the path length; when performing RTT measurement, the base station can use SRS-Pos to estimate the angle of arrival (AOA) of the UE, thereby determining the azimuth and elevation angles of the UE or RIS.

[0043] Based on the above RTT measurement process, when performing RTT measurement in a straight path, first positioning information including a first path length of the straight path, a first azimuth angle and a first elevation angle of a target user device can be determined; when performing RTT measurement in a reflection path, second positioning information including a second path length of the reflection path, a second azimuth angle and a second elevation angle of the intelligent reflection surface can be determined.

[0044] In some embodiments, measuring the round trip time of the straight path includes:

[0045] A round trip time measurement is performed on the direct path according to a beam pointing in the direction of the target user equipment and suppressing the direction of the smart reflection surface.

[0046] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the beam pointing in the direction of the target user equipment and suppressing the direction of the smart reflection surface refers to a beam obtained by changing the shape of the beam through beamforming, increasing the component in the direction of the target user equipment, and suppressing the component in the direction of the smart reflection surface. Figure 3 , Figure 4 Beam 1 in .

[0047] In the implementation of the present disclosure, measurement is performed based on a beam pointing in the direction of a target user equipment and suppressing the direction of a smart reflective surface, which can reduce measurement errors.

[0048] In some embodiments, measuring the round trip time of the reflection path includes:

[0049] A round trip time measurement is performed on the direct path according to a beam pointing in the direction of the smart reflective surface and suppressing the direction of the target user equipment.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the beam pointing in the direction of the smart reflection surface and suppressing the direction of the target user equipment refers to a beam obtained by changing the shape of the beam through beamforming, increasing the component in the direction of the smart reflection surface, and suppressing the component in the direction of the target user equipment, such as Figure 3 , Figure 4 Beam 2 in .

[0051] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, measurement is performed based on a beam that points in the direction of the smart reflective surface and suppresses the direction of the target user equipment, which can reduce measurement errors.

[0052] In some embodiments, the direct path and reflected path of the target user equipment may be distributed in different frequency bands. For example, when the base station is in an NR-DC environment, due to the large penetration loss of millimeter waves, the paths that may be identified in the high-frequency and low-frequency bands are different. The high-frequency base station identifies the reflected path, and the low-frequency base station identifies the direct path.

[0053] Accordingly, in some embodiments, positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path and the reflected path to determine the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes:

[0054] Identify the direct path of the target user equipment in a first frequency band;

[0055] Identifying the reflection path of the target user equipment in a second frequency band;

[0056] Positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path to obtain the first positioning information;

[0057] The target user equipment is positioned according to the reflection path to obtain the second positioning information. In some embodiments, the first frequency band is a high frequency band, and the second frequency band is a low frequency band.

[0058] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not specifically limit how to position the smart reflective surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information.

[0059] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2, positioning the smart reflective surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information, including:

[0060] S21. Determine a distance between the smart reflecting surface and the base station according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information;

[0061] S22. Determine the position information of the smart reflective surface according to the positioning reference information, wherein the positioning reference information includes the distance.

[0062] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not specifically limit how to calculate the distance between the intelligent reflecting surface and the base station. For example, the distance between the RIS and the base station can be calculated based on the distance of the direct path, the pitch angle and azimuth of the target user equipment, and the distance of the reflection path, the pitch angle and azimuth of the RIS.

[0063] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the first positioning information includes a first path length of the straight path, a first azimuth angle and a first elevation angle of the target user equipment; the second positioning information includes a second path length of the reflection path, a second azimuth angle and a second elevation angle of the smart reflection surface; and determining the distance between the smart reflection surface and the base station according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes:

[0064] Determining a spatial angle according to the first azimuth angle, the first elevation angle, the second azimuth angle, and the second elevation angle;

[0065] The distance is determined according to the spatial angle, the first path length, and the second path length.

[0066] In some embodiments, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the base station (gNB), UE, and RIS, where Φ UE represents the first azimuth of the UE, Φ RIS Indicates the second azimuth of RIS, R UE represents the first path length, R RIS represents the second path length, and R represents the distance between the base station and the RIS. UE Denotes the first pitch angle of the UE, θ RIS represents the second pitch angle of RIS, and Δθ represents the spatial angle. The spatial angle Δθ can be calculated by formula (1):

[0067] cosΔθ=cosθ UE cosφ UE cosθ RIS cosφ RIS

[0068] +cosθUE sinφ UE cosθ RIS sinφ RIS

[0069] +sinθ UE sinθ RIS (1)

[0070] = cosθ UE cosθ RIS cos(φ UE -φ RIS )

[0071] +sinθ UE sinθ RIS

[0072] The distance R can be calculated by formula (2):

[0073]

[0074] Formula (2) can be transformed into formula (3):

[0075]

[0076] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, only one target user equipment may be determined, or multiple target user equipments may be determined, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0077] In some embodiments, when there are multiple target user equipments, determining the distance between the smart reflecting surface and the base station according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes:

[0078] Determine the initial distance between the smart reflecting surface and the base station respectively according to the first location information and the second location information of the plurality of target user equipments;

[0079] The distance is determined according to the initial distance corresponding to each of the target user equipments.

[0080] The embodiment of the present disclosure does not specifically limit how to determine the distance between the base station and the RIS according to the initial distances corresponding to the target user equipments.

[0081] In some embodiments, determining the distance according to the initial distance corresponding to each of the target user equipments includes:

[0082] The distance is obtained by performing weighted averaging on each of the initial distances according to the power of each of the target user equipments.

[0083] In some embodiments, Figure 4As shown, UE0 and UE1 are taken as target user equipment, where Φ UE0 represents the first azimuth of UE0, Φ RIS0 Indicates the second azimuth of the RIS corresponding to UE0, R UE0 represents the first path length of UE0, R RIS0 represents the second path length corresponding to UE0; Φ UE1 represents the first azimuth of UE1, Φ RIS1 Indicates the second azimuth of the RIS corresponding to UE1, R UE1 represents the first path length of UE1, R RIS1 represents the second path length corresponding to UE1; R represents the distance between the base station and the RIS. Based on the above formula (1), formula (2) and formula (3), the initial distance corresponding to UE0 and the initial distance corresponding to UE1 are calculated respectively.

[0084] In some embodiments, the initial distances between the base station and RIS corresponding to the two base stations UE0 and UE1 are R1 and R2. R1 and R2 are weighted averaged according to the channel qualities of UE0 and UE1 to obtain an estimated R. The powers of the two UEs are P1 and P2 respectively. R is calculated according to formula (4):

[0085]

[0086] The embodiment of the present disclosure does not specifically limit how to determine the position information of the smart reflective surface according to the positioning reference information.

[0087] In some embodiments, the positioning reference information further includes the position information of the base station; and determining the position information of the smart reflective surface according to the positioning reference information includes:

[0088] Acquiring location information of the base station;

[0089] The position information of the smart reflecting surface is determined according to the position information of the base station and the first distance.

[0090] In some embodiments, the location information of the base station includes Global Positioning System (GPS) information and downtilt angle, azimuth angle and other information of the base station.

[0091] In some embodiments, when a position measurement sensor is integrated in the RIS, the position information of the smart reflective surface determined by the base station can be corrected according to the position measurement information reported by the RIS.

[0092] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the positioning reference information further includes position measurement information from the smart reflecting surface; and determining the position information of the smart reflecting surface according to the first distance includes:

[0093] Acquiring location information of the base station;

[0094] Determining initial position information of the smart reflective surface according to the position information of the base station and the first distance;

[0095] The position information of the smart reflecting surface is determined according to the initial position information and the position measurement information from the smart reflecting surface.

[0096] In some embodiments, the position information of the smart reflective surface is obtained by weighted averaging the initial position information and the position measurement information.

[0097] In some embodiments, reference Figure 5 Before determining the first positioning information of the direct path and the second positioning information of the reflected path of the target user equipment, the positioning method further includes:

[0098] S3. Identify the path status and round-trip time measurement capability of the user equipment accessing the base station, and determine the target user equipment, wherein the path status represents whether the user equipment has a direct path and / or a reflected path.

[0099] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the round trip time measurement capability of the UE refers to whether the UE can support RTT measurement.

[0100] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE and the base station may establish only a direct path, or only a reflected path, or both a direct path and a reflected path. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE that establishes both a direct path and a reflected path is determined as a target user equipment. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, only one target user equipment may be determined, or multiple target user equipment may be determined. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not specifically limit this.

[0101] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not specifically limit how to identify the path status of the user equipment accessing the base station and determine the target user equipment. In some embodiments, the user equipment can be measured in different directions to determine the power value of the user equipment. If there are two directions with a power difference less than a preset threshold, it indicates that the user equipment has a direct path and a reflection path. In some embodiments, the uplink channel of the user equipment can be angle estimated. If there is an angle difference between the two uplink channels and the power difference between the two uplink channels is less than a preset threshold, it indicates that the user equipment has a direct path and a reflection path.

[0102] Accordingly, in some embodiments, identifying the path state and round trip time measurement capability of the user equipment accessing the base station and determining the target user equipment includes:

[0103] identifying a round trip time measurement capability of the user equipment;

[0104] Measuring the user equipment according to a beam pointing in the direction of the smart reflecting surface to determine a first power value;

[0105] Measuring the user equipment according to a beam that suppresses the direction of the smart reflection surface to determine a second power index;

[0106] A user equipment whose difference between the first power value and the second power value is less than a first threshold and has a round-trip time measurement capability is determined as the target user equipment, wherein the difference between the first power value and the second power value is less than the first threshold, indicating that the user equipment has a direct path and a reflected path.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the beam pointing in the direction of the smart reflecting surface refers to a beam obtained by changing the shape of the beam through beam forming to increase the component in the direction of the smart reflecting surface; the beam suppressing the direction of the smart reflecting surface refers to a beam obtained by changing the shape of the beam through beam forming to limit the component in the direction of the smart reflecting surface.

[0108] Accordingly, in some embodiments, identifying the path state and round trip time measurement capability of the user equipment accessing the base station and determining the target user equipment includes:

[0109] identifying a round trip time measurement capability of the user equipment;

[0110] Performing angle estimation on an uplink channel of the user equipment;

[0111] A user equipment having two uplink channels with a difference in arrival angles greater than a second threshold and a power difference less than a third threshold is determined as the target user equipment, wherein the existence of two uplink channels with a difference in arrival angles greater than the second threshold and a power difference less than the third threshold indicates that the user equipment has a direct path and a reflected path.

[0112] In some embodiments, reference Figure 6 After determining the position information of the smart reflective surface according to the first distance, the positioning method further includes:

[0113] S41, reporting the position information of the smart reflective surface;

[0114] S42: When the position information of the smart reflective surface indicates that the position of the smart reflective surface is offset, issuing an alarm message.

[0115] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, whether the position of the smart reflective surface is offset is determined by comparing the position information of the smart reflective surface with the historical position information of the smart reflective surface.

[0116] In some embodiments, when the deviation between the position information of the smart reflective surface determined for multiple consecutive times and the historical position information is greater than a preset threshold, it is determined that the position of the smart reflective surface is offset.

[0117] Second, refer to Figure 7 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station, comprising:

[0118] One or more processors 101;

[0119] A memory 102, on which one or more programs are stored. When the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the positioning method of the smart reflective surface described in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0120] One or more I / O interfaces 103 are connected between the processor and the memory and are configured to implement information exchange between the processor and the memory.

[0121] Among them, the processor 101 is a device with data processing capabilities, including but not limited to a central processing unit (CPU) and the like; the memory 102 is a device with data storage capabilities, including but not limited to random access memory (RAM, more specifically SDRAM, DDR, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (FLASH); the I / O interface (read-write interface) 103 is connected between the processor 101 and the memory 102, and can realize information interaction between the processor 101 and the memory 102, including but not limited to a data bus (Bus) and the like.

[0122] In some embodiments, the processor 101 , the memory 102 , and the I / O interface 103 are connected to each other via a bus 104 , and further connected to other components of the computing device.

[0123] Thirdly, refer to Figure 8 The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the positioning method of the smart reflective surface described in the first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented.

[0124] In order to enable those skilled in the art to more clearly understand the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below through specific embodiments:

[0125] Embodiment 1

[0126] In this embodiment, RIS integrates a control module and a communication module. The control module maintains the status of RIS itself, including but not limited to startup, normal operation, sleep, alarm, shutdown, etc.; the communication module is responsible for interacting with the base station, and the communication method includes but is not limited to wireless methods such as NB-IOT, 5G, WiFi, etc. The communication content includes but is not limited to reporting RIS array configuration and / or RIS codebook set, receiving codebook switching commands issued by the base station, etc. RIS can be integrated with a sensor module or not, where the sensor is used to measure its own status, including but not limited to address, inclination, angular displacement, etc.

[0127] The process of locating RIS in this embodiment includes:

[0128] ① The base station is powered on, and the RIS is powered on and connected to the base station through the communication module. After the RIS and the base station are synchronized, the RIS reports the RIS parameter information to the base station, including but not limited to the array configuration, codebook set, etc. The base station estimates the AOA of the RIS through beam scanning or other AOA estimation algorithms based on the information reported by the RIS, which is used for downlink codebook generation and subsequent RIS beam scanning.

[0129] ②UE0, UE1, UE2, etc. access the base station. The base station identifies in turn whether the UE supports RTT measurement and whether there are both direct path and RIS reflection path. For example, the base station uses a beam pointing to the RIS and a beam suppressing the RIS direction to measure the UE. If the power difference between the two beams is less than the preset threshold, the UE is considered to meet the conditions. The base station selects the UE that meets the conditions for positioning, such as single-station positioning based on the combination of AOA and RTT, UL-TDOA positioning based on multi-station collaboration, etc. In the UE positioning process, in order to reduce the measurement error, the base station uses a beam pointing to the UE direction and suppressing the RIS direction to perform uplink and downlink RTT or TDOA measurements.

[0130] ③ The base station uses the RTT solution to measure the delay of the reflection path of the base station-RIS-UE in time division. Since the measurement interval is short, the UE position can be considered unchanged. To reduce the measurement error, the base station uses a beam pointing in the direction of the RIS and suppressing the UE direct path direction to measure the RTT.

[0131] ④ The base station calculates the spatial angle based on the measured AOA of the UE and the AOA of the RIS. Figure 3 As shown, Φ UE represents the first azimuth of the UE, Φ RIS Indicates the second azimuth of RIS, R UE represents the first path length, R RIS represents the second path length, and R represents the distance between the base station and the RIS. UEDenotes the first pitch angle of the UE, θ RIS represents the second pitch angle of RIS, and Δθ represents the spatial angle. The spatial angle Δθ can be calculated by formula (5):

[0132] cosΔθ=cosθ UE cosφ UE cosθ RIS cosφ RIS

[0133] +cosθ UE sinφ UE cosθ RIS sinφ RIS

[0134] +sinθ UE sinθ RIS (5)

[0135] = cosθ UE cosθ RIS cos(φ UE -φ RIS )

[0136] +sinθ UE sinθ RIS

[0137] The distance R can be calculated by formula (6):

[0138]

[0139] Formula (6) can be transformed into formula (7):

[0140]

[0141] For the distance R between RIS and base stations, the base station can use multiple UEs that meet the conditions to measure, and then use algorithms such as power weighted averaging to average and reduce measurement errors.

[0142] ⑤ The base station can calculate the address of RIS by combining the GPS information (longitude, latitude, altitude) and downtilt and azimuth information of the base station. When RIS has an address measurement sensor, the base station performs a weighted average based on the measurement value reported by RIS and the measurement value of the base station to obtain the final measurement value; when RIS does not have an address measurement sensor, the base station uses the measurement value of RIS as the final measurement result and reports the final measurement to the server. When it is not the first measurement, the base station can make a judgment based on the measurement value and the historical value. When the difference is greater than the preset threshold for several consecutive times, it is considered that the RIS position has shifted and an alarm message is sent to the server.

[0143] Embodiment 2

[0144] RIS uses the communication module to connect with the base station, and RIS reports array configuration information and sensor capabilities. The base station learns that RIS does not have an address measurement sensor, and the base station locates RIS based on the process of locating RIS in the first embodiment.

[0145] The base station selects UEs that meet the conditions for positioning and assisting RIS positioning. Assume that one UE is selected, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0146] The base station sends PRS using a beam pointing to the UE and suppressing the RIS direction and records the sending time. The UE receives the PRS and then sends SRS-Pos and records the difference between the two times. The base station receives SRS-Pos and records the receiving time. The base station uses the time difference between SRS-Pos and PRS minus the time difference between UE SRS-Pos and PRS to obtain the round-trip time. This time multiplied by the speed of light and divided by 2 is the base station-UE distance RUE. The base station can use SRS-Pos to estimate the AOA of the UE. The estimation method includes but is not limited to spectrum peak search, super-resolution estimation algorithm, etc.

[0147] The base station uses the same process to measure the distance of the reflection path of base station-RIS-UE. The base station uses a beam pointing to RIS and suppressing the direct path direction of UE to send PRS and receive SRS-Pos signal. The distance RRIS of the reflection path of base station-RIS-UE and (or) the AOA of RIS relative to the base station can be measured (AOA can also be measured after RIS access).

[0148] The base station uses formula (5), formula (6), and formula (7) to calculate the distance R between the base station and RIS, and then calculates the address of RIS based on the base station's own GPS measurement information and downtilt angle and azimuth information, and reports it to the server.

[0149] Embodiment 3

[0150] RIS uses the communication module to connect with the base station, and RIS reports array configuration information and sensor capabilities. The base station learns that RIS does not have an address measurement sensor, and the base station locates RIS based on the process of locating RIS in the first embodiment.

[0151] The base station selects UEs that meet the conditions for positioning and assisting RIS positioning. Assume that two UEs, UE0 and UE1, are selected. Figure 4 shown.

[0152] The base station uses the AOA+RTT solution to locate the two UEs, that is, R UE0 and R UE1 .

[0153] The base station uses the same process to measure the distance R of the base station-RIS-UE reflection path RIS0 and R RIS1 .

[0154] The base station uses formula (5), formula (6), and formula (7) to calculate the initial distances R1 and R2 between the base station and RIS corresponding to UE0 and UE1 respectively. Then the base station performs weighted average of R1 and R2 according to the channel quality of UE0 and UE1 to obtain an estimated R. For example, the powers of the two UEs are P1 and P2 respectively. R is calculated according to formula (8):

[0155]

[0156] The base station calculates the absolute address of the RIS based on its own GPS measurement information and downtilt and azimuth information, and reports it to the server.

[0157] Embodiment 4

[0158] In this embodiment, the base station is in an NR-DC environment. Due to the large penetration loss of millimeter waves, the paths that may be identified by the high-frequency and low-frequency bands are not the same. The low-frequency base station measures the RTT of the direct path, and the high-frequency base station measures the RTT of the RIS reflection path. The results are combined to calculate the address of the RIS.

[0159] The low-frequency base station identifies that a UE has a direct path, and the high-frequency base station identifies that the UE has a RIS reflection path, and selects the UE for positioning.

[0160] The low-frequency base station calculates the AOA and RTT of the UE's direct path, and the high-frequency base station calculates the AOA and RTT of the RIS reflection path.

[0161] The distance R between the base station and the RIS is calculated using formula (5), formula (6), and formula (7).

[0162] The base station corrects the estimated R based on the distance difference between the low-frequency base station and the high-frequency base station.

[0163] The base station calculates the absolute address of the RIS based on its own parameter measurement information and reports it to the server.

[0164] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps, systems, and functional modules / units in the methods disclosed above may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. In hardware implementations, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, a physical component may have multiple functions, or a function or step may be performed by several physical components in cooperation. Some or all physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or implemented as hardware, or implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or temporary medium). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, it is well known to those skilled in the art that communication media typically contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0165] Example embodiments have been disclosed herein, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and should be interpreted only in a general illustrative sense and not for limiting purposes. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, unless otherwise expressly noted, features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with a particular embodiment may be used alone or in combination with features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with other embodiments. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for positioning a smart reflective surface, comprising: Determine first positioning information of a direct path and second positioning information of a reflected path of a target user equipment, wherein the direct path is a path from the target user equipment to a base station, and the reflected path is a path from the target user equipment to the base station via the smart reflective surface; The smart reflective surface is positioned according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information.

2. The positioning method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining first positioning information of a direct path and second positioning information of a reflected path of a target user equipment includes: Positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path to determine the first positioning information; The target user equipment is positioned according to the reflection path to determine the second positioning information.

3. The positioning method according to claim 2, wherein: Positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path to determine the first positioning information includes: Performing round-trip time measurement on the direct path to determine the first positioning information, wherein the first positioning information includes a first path length of the direct path, a first azimuth angle and a first elevation angle of the target user equipment; Positioning the target user equipment according to the reflection path to determine the second positioning information includes: The round-trip time is measured on the reflection path to determine the second positioning information, wherein the second positioning information includes a second path length of the reflection path, a second azimuth angle and a second elevation angle of the smart reflection surface.

4. The positioning method according to claim 3, wherein: The round trip time of the straight path is measured, including: A round trip time measurement is performed on the direct path according to a beam pointing in the direction of the target user equipment and suppressing the direction of the smart reflection surface.

5. The positioning method according to claim 3, wherein: Measuring the round trip time of the reflection path, comprising: A round trip time measurement is performed on the direct path according to a beam pointing in the direction of the smart reflective surface and suppressing the direction of the target user equipment.

6. The positioning method according to claim 2, wherein: Positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path to determine the first positioning information includes: Identify the direct path of the target user equipment in a first frequency band; Positioning the target user equipment according to the direct path to obtain the first positioning information; Positioning the target user equipment according to the reflection path to determine the second positioning information includes: Identifying the reflection path of the target user equipment in a second frequency band; The target user equipment is positioned according to the reflection path to obtain the second positioning information.

7. The positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Positioning the smart reflective surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes: Determine a distance between the smart reflective surface and the base station according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information; The position information of the smart reflective surface is determined according to the positioning reference information, wherein the positioning reference information includes the distance.

8. The positioning method according to claim 7, wherein: The first positioning information includes a first path length of the direct path, a first azimuth angle and a first elevation angle of the target user equipment; the second positioning information includes a second path length of the reflection path, a second azimuth angle and a second elevation angle of the smart reflection surface; Determining a distance between the smart reflecting surface and the base station according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes: Determining a spatial angle according to the first azimuth angle, the first pitch angle, the second azimuth angle, and the second pitch angle; The distance is determined according to the spatial angle, the first path length, and the second path length.

9. The positioning method according to claim 7, wherein: Determining a distance between the smart reflecting surface and the base station according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information includes: Determine the initial distance between the smart reflecting surface and the base station respectively according to the first location information and the second location information of the plurality of target user equipments; The distance is determined according to the initial distance corresponding to each of the target user equipments.

10. The positioning method according to claim 9, wherein: Determining the distance according to the initial distance corresponding to each of the target user equipments includes: The distance is obtained by performing weighted averaging on each of the initial distances according to the power of each of the target user equipments.

11. The positioning method according to claim 7, wherein: The positioning reference information also includes the location information of the base station.

12. The positioning method according to claim 11, wherein: The positioning reference information also includes position measurement information from the smart reflective surface.

13. The positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Before determining the first positioning information of the direct path and the second positioning information of the reflected path of the target user equipment, the positioning method further includes: Identify the path status and round-trip time measurement capability of the user equipment accessing the base station, and determine the target user equipment, wherein the path status represents whether the user equipment has a direct path and / or a reflected path.

14. The positioning method according to claim 13, wherein: Identifying a path state and a round trip time measurement capability of a user equipment accessing the base station, and determining the target user equipment, including: identifying a round trip time measurement capability of the user equipment; Measuring the user equipment according to a beam pointing in the direction of the smart reflecting surface to determine a first power value; Measuring the user equipment according to a beam that suppresses the direction of the smart reflection surface to determine a second power index; A user equipment whose difference between the first power value and the second power value is less than a first threshold and has a round-trip time measurement capability is determined as the target user equipment, wherein the difference between the first power value and the second power value is less than the first threshold, indicating that the user equipment has a direct path and a reflected path.

15. The positioning method according to claim 13, wherein: Identifying a path state and a round trip time measurement capability of a user equipment accessing the base station, and determining the target user equipment, including: identifying a round trip time measurement capability of the user equipment; Performing angle estimation on an uplink channel of the user equipment; A user equipment having two uplink channels with a difference in arrival angles greater than a second threshold and a power difference less than a third threshold is determined as the target user equipment, wherein the existence of two uplink channels with a difference in arrival angles greater than the second threshold and a power difference less than the third threshold indicates that the user equipment has a direct path and a reflected path.

16. The positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: After positioning the smart reflective surface according to the first positioning information and the second positioning information, the positioning method further includes: Reporting the position information of the intelligent reflective surface; When the position information of the smart reflecting surface indicates that the position of the smart reflecting surface is offset, an alarm message is issued.

17. A base station, comprising: one or more processors; A memory having one or more programs stored thereon, which, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, enables the one or more processors to implement the method for positioning the smart reflective surface according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the program is executed by a processor, the method for positioning the smart reflective surface according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is implemented.

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