Handling conflicts between bundled radar reference signals and communication signals in wireless communication system

Abstract

Techniques for wireless sensing are disclosed. In one aspect, a network node detects a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled for transmission by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled for transmission by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; a collision avoidance operation is performed based on detecting the collision, and the two or more bundled radar reference signals are transmitted.

Description

Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

[0003] 2. Description of related technologies

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, wireless service with Internet capabilities, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0005] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G, enable high-precision positioning based on 5G. Summary of the invention

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, the following summary of the invention should neither be considered as an exhaustive overview related to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements related to all conceived aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary of the invention is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a brief form before the detailed embodiments presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless sensing performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: detecting a collision between at least one uplink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the UE and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the UE, wherein the at least one uplink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; performing a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision; and sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of wireless sensing performed by a network node includes: detecting a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and performing a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision.

[0009] In one aspect, a network node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: detect a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; perform a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; and send the two or more bundled radar reference signals via the at least one transceiver.

[0010] In one aspect, a network node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: detect a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and perform a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision.

[0011] In one aspect, a network node includes: a component for detecting a collision between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; a component for performing a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision; and a component for sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0012] In one aspect, a network node includes: means for detecting a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and means for performing a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision.

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: detect a collision between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; perform a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision; and send the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0014] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: detect a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and perform a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision.

[0015] Other objects and advantages associated with the various aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the various aspects.

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] 2A , 2B and 2C illustrate example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] 3A , 3B and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0020] 4A and 4B illustrate different types of radars.

[0021] 5 illustrates an example call flow for a New Radio (NR) based sensing procedure in which the network configures sensing parameters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] 6 and 7 illustrate example methods of wireless sensing according to aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[0024] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0025] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, which depends in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0026] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transient computer-readable storage medium, in which a corresponding computer instruction set is stored, which, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0027] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any specific radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) head-mounted device, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms are also possible for the UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (eg, based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0028] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be primarily used to support wireless access for UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE may transmit a signal to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station may transmit a signal to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0029] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP 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). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is a point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmitting from a base station or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0030] In some implementations of supporting UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead send a reference signal to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure a signal sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0031] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. 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 RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled as “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of the two, and the small cell base stations may include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0033] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through a backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communications between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0034] Among other functions, the base station 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: delivering user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0035] Base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In addition, because the TRP is generally the physical transmission point of the cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0036] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0037] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0038] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

[0039] The small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' using LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0040] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz, with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distance. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0041] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. In order to change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates RF beams that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to each antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the undesired direction.

[0042] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0043] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0044] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that parameters of a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0045] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam that receives a downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0046] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although distinct from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0047] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz–24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz–71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz–114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz–300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0048] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can be broadly referred to as frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" and the like are used in this article, they can be broadly referred to as frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0049] In a multi-carrier system (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. are used interchangeably.

[0050] For example, still referring to FIG. 1 , one of the frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and the other frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0051] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0052] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) may communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using a PC5 interface (i.e., an air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. Sidelink communications may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be located within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0053] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on an interesting wireless communication medium that may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. A "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the interesting medium may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (particularly those that employ small cell access points) have recently expanded operations into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technology (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0054] Note that while FIG1 illustrates only two of these UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. Furthermore, while only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) may be capable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cells 102', access point 150), and the like. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0055] In the example of FIG. 1 , any of the illustrated UEs (shown as a single UE 104 in FIG. 1 for simplicity) may receive a signal 124 from one or more earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UE 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine its position on or above the earth based at least in part on a positioning signal (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitter. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal of a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code marked with a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitter may sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, a base station 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from the SV 112.

[0056] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be enhanced by various 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. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0057] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as an improved base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element in turn will provide access to other elements in the 5G network, and ultimately provide access to entities outside the 5G network (such as Internet web servers and other user devices). In this way, instead of or in addition to communication signals from a ground base station 102, a UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from a SV 112.

[0058] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). In the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity via the D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity via the D2D P2P link). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® etc.

[0059] FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to 5GC 210, and specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In additional configurations, ng-eNB 224 can also connect to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. In addition, ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0060] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0061] FIG2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 240. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG2A) may be functionally viewed as control plane functions provided by access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions provided by user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein) and session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves security materials from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF, which it uses to derive access network-specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, for the transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), for the transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, for the allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperation with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0062] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 may also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0063] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0064] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 may support similar functionality as LMF 270, but LMF 270 may communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and SLP 272 may communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0065] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may communicate with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0066] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as an "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as a "Uu" interface.

[0067] The functionality of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228, including delivery of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 may support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0068] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element or a network equipment (such as a base station or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station, a 5GNB, an access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP) or a cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a stand-alone base station or a single-chip base station) or a decomposed base station.

[0069] An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed in one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of a CU, a DU, and a RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0070] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a disaggregated base station may be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (network configurations such as those initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functionality of at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a disaggregated base station or disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0071] FIG. 2C illustrates an example disaggregated base station architecture 250 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CUs 226) that may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RU 287 can communicate with a corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 can be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0072] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of these units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of these units may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, these units may include a wired interface configured to receive or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, these units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or send signals, or both, to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium.

[0073] In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, the CU 280 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, the CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling.

[0074] DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) coding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least in part according to a functional split such as defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU 280.

[0075] The lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, a RU 287 controlled by a DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on functional partitioning (such as lower layer functional partitioning). In such an architecture, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 285 and the CU 280 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0076] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. In addition, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255 .

[0077] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 259 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 259.

[0078] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0079] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including a location server 230 and a LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a dedicated network) to support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. In addition, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0080] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for preventing transmitting, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) on a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a particular spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0081] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over the wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth ® 、Zigbee ® 、Z-Wave ® , PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) for communicating (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for preventing sending, etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to send and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for sending and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® transceiver, NFC transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0082] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian regional navigation satellite system (NAVIC), quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the positions of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0083] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0084] The transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some implementations may include separate transmitter circuits and separate receiver circuits, or may be implemented in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming", as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receiver 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) so that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 , short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 ) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0085] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some implementations, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0086] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for sending, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0087] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memory 340, 386, and 396 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include sensing components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Sensing components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, sensing components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the sensing components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations for the sensing component 342, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a separate component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations for the sensing component 388, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a separate component. FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations for the sensing component 398, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a separate component.

[0088] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. As an example, sensor 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. In addition, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate positioning in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0089] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing indications to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when a user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0090] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in a downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0091] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols may then be separated into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel state feedback sent by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0092] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0093] In the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0094] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0095] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0096] The uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0097] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0098] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C as including various components that can be configured according to various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. Specifically, the various components in FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choices, costs, use of equipment, or other considerations. For example, in the case of FIG. 3A, a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop computer may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), may also omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), may also omit satellite signal receiver 330, may also omit sensor 344, etc. In another example, in the case of FIG. 3B , a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0099] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of a communication interface for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between the different logical entities.

[0100] The components of FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, the components of FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory component of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory component of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory component of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor component). For simplicity, various operations, actions and / or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE”, “by a base station”, “by a network entity”, etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, sensing components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0101] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be operated separately from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0102] Wireless communication signals (e.g., RF signals configured to carry OFDM symbols according to wireless communication standards such as LTE, NR, etc.) sent between a UE and a base station can be used for environmental sensing (also referred to as "RF sensing" or "radar"). The use of wireless communication signals for environmental sensing can be considered as a consumer-grade radar with advanced detection capabilities, which enables non-contact / device-free interaction with devices / systems, etc. The wireless communication signal can be a cellular communication signal, such as an LTE or NR signal, a WLAN signal such as a Wi-Fi signal, etc. As a specific example, the wireless communication signal can be an OFDM waveform as utilized in LTE and NR. High-frequency communication signals such as mmW RF signals are particularly beneficial for use as radar signals because higher frequencies at least provide more accurate ranging (distance) detection.

[0103] Possible use cases for RF sensing include health monitoring use cases such as heartbeat detection, respiratory rate monitoring, etc., gesture recognition use cases such as human activity recognition, keystroke detection, sign language recognition, etc., contextual information acquisition use cases such as location detection / tracking, direction finding, ranging estimation, etc., and automotive radar use cases such as smart cruise control, collision avoidance, etc.

[0104] There are different types of sensing, including single-station sensing (also known as "active sensing") and dual-station sensing (also known as "passive sensing"). Figures 4A and 4B illustrate these different types of sensing. Specifically, Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating a single-station sensing scenario, and Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating a dual-station sensing scenario. In Figure 4A, a transmitter (Tx) and a receiver (Rx) are co-located in the same device 404 (e.g., UE). The sensing device 404 transmits one or more RF sensing signals 434 (e.g., uplink or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS) in the case where the device 404 is a UE), and some of the RF sensing signals 434 are reflected from a target object 406. The sensing device 404 can measure various properties of the reflection 436 of the RF sensing signal 434 (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), angle of arrival (AoA), phase shift, etc.) to determine the characteristics of the target object 406 (e.g., size, shape, speed, motion state, etc.).

[0105] In FIG4B , the transmitter (Tx) and the receiver (Rx) are not co-located, that is, they are separate devices (e.g., UE and base station). Note that, although FIG4B illustrates the use of a downlink RF signal as the RF sensing signal 432, an uplink RF signal or a sidelink RF signal may also be used as the RF sensing signal 432. In the downlink scenario, as shown in the figure, the transmitter is the base station and the receiver is the UE, while in the uplink scenario, the transmitter is the UE and the receiver is the base station.

[0106] 4B , the transmitter device 402 transmits RF sensing signals 432 and 434 (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) to the receiver device 404, but some of the RF sensing signals 434 are reflected from the target object 406. The receiver device 404 (also referred to as a “sensing device”) may measure the time of arrival (ToA) of the RF sensing signal 432 received directly from the transmitter device and the ToA of a reflection 436 of the RF sensing signal 434 reflected from the target object 406.

[0107] More specifically, as described above, a transmitter device (e.g., a base station) may transmit a single RF signal or multiple RF signals to a receiver device (e.g., a UE). However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, the receiver may receive multiple RF signals corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. Each path may be associated with a cluster of one or more channel taps. Typically, the time at which the receiver detects the first cluster of channel taps is considered to be the ToA of the RF signal on the site line (LOS) path (i.e., the shortest path between the transmitter and the receiver). Later clusters of channel taps are considered to have been reflected by objects between the transmitter and the receiver, and are therefore along a non-LOS (NLOS) path between the transmitter and the receiver.

[0108] 4B, the RF sensing signal 432 follows the LOS path between the transmitter device 402 and the receiver device 404, and the RF sensing signal 434 follows the NLOS path between the transmitter device 402 and the receiver device 404 due to reflection from the target object 406. The transmitter device 402 may have transmitted multiple RF sensing signals 432, 434, some of which follow the LOS path and others of which follow the NLOS path. Alternatively, the transmitter device 402 may have transmitted a single RF sensing signal in a sufficiently wide beam, a portion of which follows the LOS path (RF sensing signal 432) and a portion of which follows the NLOS path (RF sensing signal 434).

[0109] Based on the ToA of the LOS path, the ToA of the NLOS path, and the speed of light, the receiver device can determine the distance to the target object. For example, the receiver device can calculate the distance to the target object as the difference between the ToA of the LOS path and the ToA of the NLOS path multiplied by the speed of light. In addition, if the receiver device is capable of receiving beamforming, the receiver device may be able to determine the approximate direction to the target object as the direction (angle) of the receiving beam on which the RF sensing signal along the NLOS path is received. That is, the receiver device can determine the direction to the target object as the angle of arrival (AoA) of the RF sensing signal, which is the angle of the receiving beam used to receive the RF sensing signal. The receiver device can then optionally report this information to the transmitter device, its serving base station, an application server associated with the core network, an external client, a third-party application, or some other sensing entity. Alternatively, the receiver device can report the ToA measurement results to the transmitter device or other sensing entity (for example, if the receiver device itself does not have the processing power to perform the calculation), and the transmitter device can determine the distance and optionally determine the direction to the target object.

[0110] Note that if the RF sensing signal is an uplink RF signal sent by the UE to the base station, the base station will perform object detection based on the uplink RF signal, just like the UE does based on the downlink RF signal.

[0111] As with conventional radar, radar signals based on wireless communication can be used to estimate the range (distance), velocity (Doppler), and angle (AoA) of a target object. However, the performance (e.g., the resolution and maximum value of range, velocity, and angle) may depend on the design of the reference signal.

[0112] 5 illustrates an example call flow 500 for an NR-based sensing process (eg, a dual-station sensing process) in which the network configures sensing parameters in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Although FIG. 5 illustrates a network-coordinated sensing process, the sensing process may be coordinated through a sidelink channel.

[0113] At stage 505, a sensing server 570 (e.g., inside or outside the core network) transmits a request for network (NW) information to a gNB 522 (e.g., a serving gNB for UE 504). The request may be for a list of serving cells and any neighboring cells for UE 504. At stage 510, the gNB 522 transmits the requested information to the sensing server 570. At stage 515, the sensing server 570 transmits a request for sensing capabilities to the UE 504. At stage 520, the UE 504 provides its sensing capabilities to the sensing server 570. At stage 525, the sensing server 570 transmits a configuration to the UE 504 indicating reference signals (RS) to be sent for sensing. The reference signals for sensing may be sent by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells identified at stage 510. At stage 530, the sensing server 570 transmits a request for sensing information to the UE 504. The UE 504 then measures the transmitted reference signal and, at stage 535 , transmits the measurement result or any sensing result determined based on the measurement result to the sensing server 570 .

[0114] In one aspect, communication between the UE 504 and the sensing server 570 may be via the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). Communication between the sensing server 570 and the gNB may be via the NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa).

[0115] As bandwidth allocated for cellular communication systems increases (e.g., 5G and above) and as more use cases are introduced for cellular communication systems, joint communication and RF sensing capabilities will be important features for future cellular communication systems. For RF sensing, especially for Doppler estimation, long measurement intervals may be required to transmit radar reference signals. That is, subsequent radar reference signals may be transmitted with relatively long intervals between them to facilitate Doppler estimation. The challenge in this case is that phase continuity at the radar transmitter needs to be maintained during the long measurement period required for Doppler estimation. That is, the transmitter needs to transmit radar reference signals with the same phase. However, for downlink transmission of radar reference signals, the power amplifier (PA) states used for the transmission of radar reference signals and any SSBs may be different, which means that when there is an SSB transmitted during the interval between two radar reference signals, the transmission phase may change. Similarly, for uplink or sidelink transmissions, other reference signals or channel transmissions may interrupt phase continuity (i.e., phase coherence) at the transmitter.

[0116] To address the above challenges, radar reference signal bundling may be enabled. Through bundling, the transmitter suppresses or does not allow any phase change between the transmissions of two or more radar reference signals. For example, the transmitter may not transmit any other signal or channel during the interval between radar reference signals. However, radar reference signal bundling may cause conflicts between the transmission and / or reception of radar reference signals and certain preconfigured or periodic communication signals. For example, some preconfigured uplink and / or sidelink transmissions may conflict with bundled uplink or sidelink radar reference signals because the preconfigured uplink or sidelink transmissions may use different transmission chains or PA states for their transmissions.

[0117] The present disclosure provides techniques for handling collisions between bundled radar reference signals and communication signals in a cellular communication system.A first technique described herein relates to handling collisions between radar reference signals and other uplink and / or sidelink transmissions.

[0118] More specifically, with respect to conflicts between uplink and / or sidelink communication signals and a bundled radar reference signal, if the two radar reference signals are bundled to achieve phase coherence (continuity), the transmitting UE needs to be able to handle conflicts between the bundled radar reference signal and any other uplink / sidelink transmissions, because the other uplink / sidelink transmissions may disrupt the uplink / sidelink transmission phase coherence. For example, if the other uplink / sidelink signals and the bundled radar reference signal are transmitted at different transmit power levels (e.g., different PA states), the uplink / sidelink transmission phase coherence may be disrupted. For example, if the UE transmits a first radar reference signal at a transmit power of P_tx_0, then transmits an SRS at a transmit power of P_tx_1, and then transmits a second radar reference signal at a transmit power of P_tx_0, there may be a disruption in the phase coherence between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0119] As a first technique to address this issue, if the uplink / sidelink signal and the bundled radar reference signal are transmitted at different transmit power levels (e.g., different PA states), the uplink / sidelink transmission phase coherence may be disrupted. In this case, the UE may discard other uplink / sidelink transmissions. The discarded uplink / sidelink transmissions may be preconfigured uplink / sidelink transmissions, periodic uplink / sidelink transmissions (such as SRS), or PRACH transmissions scheduled to be transmitted during the interval between bundled radar reference signals.

[0120] As a second technique, if the uplink / sidelink transmission and the bundled radar reference signal are transmitted at the same transmit power level (e.g., the same PA state), the uplink / sidelink transmission phase coherence can be maintained. For example, if the UE transmits a first radar reference signal at a transmit power of P_tx_0, then transmits an SRS at a transmit power of P_tx_0, and then transmits a second radar reference signal at a transmit power of P_tx_0, then the uplink / sidelink transmission (here, SRS) does not need to be dropped.

[0121] As a third technique, the UE may determine whether it can maintain its transmit phase coherence during the interval between two or more bundled radar reference signals despite transmitting another uplink / sidelink transmission during that interval. The UE may then determine whether to discard the uplink / sidelink transmission based on whether it can maintain its transmit phase coherence. For example, a high-capability UE may have hardware that is capable of measuring the phase of an uplink / sidelink transmission (whether a radar reference signal or other uplink / sidelink transmission) at the time of transmission and comparing that phase to the phase that a subsequent uplink / sidelink transmission will have at the time of transmission. If the phases are / will be different, the UE may discard the subsequent uplink / sidelink transmission.

[0122] As a fourth technique, if multiple uplink / sidelink transmissions are scheduled during the interval between two radar reference signals, the UE may prioritize the uplink / sidelink transmissions that share the most similarity with the radar reference signals (e.g., uplink / sidelink channel, reference signal, etc.) to avoid RF (re)tuning between transmissions. For example, the UE may prioritize uplink transmissions with similar bandwidth to avoid BWP switching and deprioritize any uplink / sidelink transmissions that require RF (re)tuning.

[0123] As a fifth technique, some uplink / sidelink transmissions during the intervals between bundled radar reference signals should be prioritized. In this case, the UE may have to tune its RF transmitter to meet the requirements of such uplink / sidelink transmissions. At least the following uplink transmissions should be prioritized: (1) the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) carrying HARQ feedback (e.g., acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK)), and (2) ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) transmissions. In this case, because the phase continuity will most likely be interrupted, the UE may report to the radar receiver (e.g., gNB, another UE) that the phase coherence between the bundled radar reference signals is interrupted, and the radar receiver may use the bundled radar reference signals for other sensing purposes (e.g., range), but not for Doppler estimation.

[0124] As a sixth technique, instead of dropping the other uplink / sidelink transmission, the network may configure two resource sets for the uplink / sidelink transmission, one for non-collision scenarios and one for collision scenarios. The uplink / sidelink resources used for collision situations may be orthogonal to the resources used for radar reference signals. In this case, if there would be a collision between the bundled radar reference signal and the other uplink / sidelink transmission, the UE may send the other uplink / sidelink transmission on the allocated resources that are orthogonal to the resources used for the radar reference signal.

[0125] As a seventh technique, for single-site sensing, the UE may discard the sensing measurement report (based on the UE's measurements of the bundled radar reference signals) if phase coherence is not maintained. Note that for network-based sensing, the UE may still be required to report its measurements even if it is performing single-site sensing. In this case, the lack of phase coherence between the bundled radar reference signals may be indicated.

[0126] It should be noted that although uplink-based sensing has been generally described above, the disclosed technology is also applicable to downlink-based sensing. Similarly, the aforementioned technology is applicable to single-station sensing (whether based on uplink or downlink) and dual-station sensing (whether based on uplink or downlink).

[0127] The present disclosure also provides techniques for handling conflicts between downlink radar reference signals and other downlink transmissions. For conflicts between a bundled radar reference signal and another downlink transmission, the following example scenarios may be considered. First, RF sensing may be on-demand and urgent. For example, the base station has transmitted a downlink grant for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in slot n+1 in slot n, but then in slot n+1, the base station decides to perform some emergency sensing, and the radar reference signal overlaps with the scheduled PDSCH. As a second scenario, there may be some periodic downlink communication reference signals, such as SSB or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). If periodic communication reference signals are sent in different PA states and between bundled radar reference signals, phase coherence may be interrupted.

[0128] As a first technique to address this problem, if the network gives higher priority to sensing services, the base station can indicate to the UE that some PDSCH transmissions will be dropped, because the UE may not even be aware of the transmission of downlink radar reference signals. Here, the preemption indication in the URLLC case can be reused for this purpose.

[0129] As a second technique, if the network gives higher priority to the communication service, the base station may need to indicate to the radar receiver that the sensing reference signal will be discarded. If the radar receiver is a UE, the signaling can be implemented through RRC, downlink control information (DCI), MAC control element (MAC-CE), or slot format indicator (SFI). If the radar receiver is another base station, the signaling can be implemented through the X1 interface or a protocol such as the New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa).

[0130] 6 illustrates an example method 600 of wireless sensing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the method 600 may be performed by a network node (eg, any of the UE or base station described herein).

[0131] At 610, the network node detects a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals. In one aspect, where the network node is a UE, operation 610 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, where the network node is a base station, operation 610 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0132] At 620, the network node performs a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision. In one aspect, where the network node is a UE, operation 620 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, where the network node is a base station, operation 620 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0133] At 630, the network node transmits the two or more bundled radar reference signals. In one aspect, where the network node is a UE, operation 630 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, where the network node is a base station, operation 620 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0134] 7 illustrates an example method 700 of wireless sensing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the method 700 may be performed by a network node (eg, a base station or a component of a base station).

[0135] At 710, the network node detects a conflict between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to the UE and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals. In an aspect, operation 710 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0136] At 720, the network node performs a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision. In one aspect, operation 720 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0137] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of methods 600 and 700 is that phase continuity is maintained during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0138] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than the features explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include less than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the description accordingly, where each clause itself can be used as a separate example. Although each subordinate clause may refer to a specific combination of one clause with other clauses in the clause, the aspects of the subordinate clause are not limited to specific combinations. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include a combination of the subject matter of the subordinate clause aspect with any other subordinate clause or independent clause or any feature with other subordinate clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is clearly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended to be used (for example, contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also expected that various aspects of the clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0139] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0140] Clause 1. A method of wireless sensing performed by a network node, comprising: detecting a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; performing a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; and sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0141] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein performing the conflict avoidance operation comprises refraining from transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being different from a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0142] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic wireless communication signal.

[0143] Clause 4. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein performing the conflict avoidance operation includes: sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on the transmission power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being the same as the transmission power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0144] Clause 5. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein performing the conflict avoidance operation includes: determining whether the network node is able to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal; sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is able to maintain the phase coherence; and refraining from sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node cannot maintain the phase coherence.

[0145] Clause 6. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal includes multiple wireless communication signals, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes sending a wireless communication signal that does not require radio frequency (RF) tuning among the multiple wireless communication signals during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0146] Clause 7. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal is a high priority wireless communication signal, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes sending the at least one wireless communication signal during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal, regardless of whether the sending of the at least one wireless communication signal requires RF tuning.

[0147] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal comprises: a physical uplink control channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, or an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service.

[0148] Clause 9. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein: a first set of resources allocated to the at least one wireless communication signal is orthogonal to a second set of resources allocated to the two or more bundled radar reference signals, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes sending the at least one wireless communication signal.

[0149] Clause 10. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for a single-station sensing operation, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes discarding a sensing measurement report for the single-station sensing operation based on the network node failing to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0150] Clause 11. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 10, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for network-based radar sensing operations, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes indicating to a network entity that the network node failed to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0151] Clause 12. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein: the network node is a user equipment (UE) and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one uplink wireless communication signal.

[0152] Clause 13. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein: the network node is a base station and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0153] Clause 14. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 13, wherein: as part of a single-station sensing operation, the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node, or as part of a dual-station sensing operation, the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node.

[0154] Clause 15. A method of wireless sensing performed by a network node, comprising: detecting a conflict between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and performing a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict.

[0155] Clause 16. A method according to clause 15, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for high priority radar sensing operations, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals and refraining from sending the at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0156] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein: the high priority radar sensing operation is an on-demand sensing operation and the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic downlink wireless communication signal.

[0157] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 16 to 17, further comprising sending an indication to the UE that the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is not to be sent.

[0158] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 16 to 18, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted at a different transmit power level than the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0159] Clause 20. A method according to clause 15, wherein: the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a high priority downlink wireless communication signal, and performing the conflict avoidance operation includes sending the at least one uplink wireless communication signal and refraining from sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0160] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, further comprising: sending an indication to a radar receiver that the two or more bundled radar reference signals are not to be transmitted.

[0161] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein: the radar receiver is the UE and the indication is sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, downlink control information (DCI), one or more medium access control elements (MAC-CE), or a slot format indicator (SFI).

[0162] Clause 23. The method of clause 21, wherein: the radar receiver is another network node and the indication is sent via an X1 interface or New Radiolocation Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling.

[0163] Clause 24. A network node comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: detect a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; perform a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; and send the two or more bundled radar reference signals via the at least one transceiver.

[0164] Clause 25. A network node according to clause 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation, including the at least one processor being configured to: refrain from sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being different from a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0165] Clause 26. The network node of Clause 25, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic wireless communication signal.

[0166] Clause 27. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 26, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: send the at least one wireless communication signal via the at least one transceiver based on the transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being the same as the transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0167] Clause 28. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 27, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: determine whether the network node is able to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal; send the at least one wireless communication signal via the at least one transceiver based on determining that the network node is able to maintain the phase coherence; and refrain from sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node cannot maintain the phase coherence.

[0168] Clause 29. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 28, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal includes multiple wireless communication signals, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: send a wireless communication signal that does not require radio frequency (RF) tuning among the multiple wireless communication signals via the at least one transceiver during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0169] Clause 30. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 29, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal is a high priority wireless communication signal, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: send the at least one wireless communication signal via the at least one transceiver during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal, regardless of whether RF tuning is required for the sending of the at least one wireless communication signal.

[0170] Clause 31. The network node of clause 30, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal comprises: a physical uplink control channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, or an ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) service.

[0171] Clause 32. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 31, wherein: a first set of resources allocated to the at least one wireless communication signal is orthogonal to a second set of resources allocated to the two or more bundled radar reference signals, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: send the at least one wireless communication signal via the at least one transceiver.

[0172] Clause 33. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 32, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for a single-station sensing operation, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: discard a sensing measurement report for the single-station sensing operation based on the network node failing to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0173] Clause 34. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 33, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for network-based radar sensing operations, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: indicate to a network entity that the network node failed to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0174] Clause 35. A network node as described in any of clauses 24 to 34, wherein: the network node is a user equipment (UE) and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one uplink wireless communication signal.

[0175] Clause 36. A network node as described in any of clauses 24 to 34, wherein: the network node is a base station and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0176] Clause 37. A network node according to any one of clauses 24 to 36, wherein: as part of a single-station sensing operation, the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node, or as part of a dual-station sensing operation, the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node.

[0177] Clause 38. A network node comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: detect a conflict between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and perform a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict.

[0178] Clause 39. A network node according to clause 38, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for high priority radar sensing operations, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: send the two or more bundled radar reference signals via the at least one transceiver and refrain from sending the at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0179] Clause 40. The network node of clause 39, wherein: the high priority radar sensing operation is an on-demand sensing operation and the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic downlink wireless communication signal.

[0180] Clause 41. A network node as described in any of clauses 39 to 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send an indication to the UE via the at least one transceiver that the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is not to be sent.

[0181] Clause 42. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 39 to 41, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted at a different transmit power level than the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0182] Clause 43. A network node according to clause 38, wherein: the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a high priority downlink wireless communication signal, and the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation including the at least one processor being configured to: send the at least one uplink wireless communication signal via the at least one transceiver and refrain from sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0183] Clause 44. The network node of clause 43, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send an indication to a radar receiver via the at least one transceiver that the two or more bundled radar reference signals are not to be transmitted.

[0184] Clause 45. The network node of clause 44, wherein: the radar receiver is the UE and the indication is sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, downlink control information (DCI), one or more medium access control control elements (MAC-CE), or a slot format indicator (SFI).

[0185] Clause 46. The network node of clause 44, wherein: the radar receiver is another network node and the indication is sent via an X1 interface or New Radiolocation Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling.

[0186] Clause 47. A network node comprising: a component for detecting a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; a component for performing a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; and a component for sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0187] Clause 48. A network node according to clause 47, wherein the means for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes means for refraining from transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being different from a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0188] Clause 49. The network node of Clause 48, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic wireless communication signal.

[0189] Clause 50. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 49, wherein the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for the following operation: sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on the transmission power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being the same as the transmission power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0190] Clause 51. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 50, wherein the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for: determining whether the network node is able to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal; a component for sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is able to maintain the phase coherence; and a component for refraining from sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is unable to maintain the phase coherence.

[0191] Clause 52. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 51, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal includes multiple wireless communication signals, and the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for the following operation: sending a wireless communication signal that does not require radio frequency (RF) tuning among the multiple wireless communication signals during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0192] Clause 53. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 52, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal is a high priority wireless communication signal, and the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for the following operations: sending the at least one wireless communication signal during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal, regardless of whether RF tuning is required for the sending of the at least one wireless communication signal.

[0193] Clause 54. The network node of clause 53, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal comprises: a physical uplink control channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, or an ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) service.

[0194] Clause 55. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 54, wherein: the first set of resources allocated to the at least one wireless communication signal is orthogonal to the second set of resources allocated to the two or more bundled radar reference signals, and the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for sending the at least one wireless communication signal.

[0195] Clause 56. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 55, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for a single-station sensing operation, and the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for discarding a sensing measurement report for the single-station sensing operation based on the network node failing to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0196] Clause 57. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 56, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for network-based radar sensing operations, and the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for the following operations: indicating to a network entity that the network node failed to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0197] Clause 58. A network node as described in any of clauses 47 to 57, wherein: the network node is a user equipment (UE) and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one uplink wireless communication signal.

[0198] Clause 59. A network node as described in any of clauses 47 to 57, wherein: the network node is a base station and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0199] Clause 60. A network node according to any one of clauses 47 to 59, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node as part of a single-station sensing operation, or the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node as part of a dual-station sensing operation.

[0200] Clause 61. A network node comprising: a component for detecting a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and a component for performing a collision avoidance operation based on detecting the collision.

[0201] Clause 62. A network node according to clause 61, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for high priority radar sensing operations, and the components for performing the conflict avoidance operation include components for the following operations: sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals and refraining from sending the at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0202] Clause 63. A network node as described in Clause 62, wherein: the high priority radar sensing operation is an on-demand sensing operation and the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic downlink wireless communication signal.

[0203] Clause 64. A network node as described in any of clauses 62 to 63, further comprising means for sending an indication to the UE that the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is not to be sent.

[0204] Clause 65. A network node as set forth in any of clauses 62 to 64, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted at a different transmit power level than the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0205] Clause 66. A network node according to clause 61, wherein: the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a high priority downlink wireless communication signal, and the component for performing the conflict avoidance operation includes a component for the following operations: sending the at least one uplink wireless communication signal and refraining from sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0206] Clause 67. The network node of Clause 66, further comprising means for sending an indication to a radar receiver that the two or more bundled radar reference signals are not to be sent.

[0207] Clause 68. The network node of clause 67, wherein: the radar receiver is the UE and the indication is sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, downlink control information (DCI), one or more medium access control control elements (MAC-CE), or a slot format indicator (SFI).

[0208] Clause 69. The network node of clause 67, wherein: the radar receiver is another network node and the indication is sent via an X1 interface or New Radiolocation Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling.

[0209] Clause 70. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: detect a conflict between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; perform a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; and send the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0210] Clause 71. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 70, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: refraining from sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being different from a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0211] Clause 72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 71, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic wireless communication signal.

[0212] Clause 73. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 72, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on the transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being the same as the transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0213] Clause 74. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 73, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: determining whether the network node is able to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal; sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is able to maintain the phase coherence; and refraining from sending the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is unable to maintain the phase coherence.

[0214] Clause 75. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 74, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal includes multiple wireless communication signals, and the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending a wireless communication signal that does not require radio frequency (RF) tuning among the multiple wireless communication signals during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0215] Clause 76. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 75, wherein: the at least one wireless communication signal is a high priority wireless communication signal, and the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending the at least one wireless communication signal during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal, regardless of whether the sending of the at least one wireless communication signal requires RF tuning.

[0216] Clause 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 76, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal comprises: a physical uplink control channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, or an ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service.

[0217] Clause 78. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 77, wherein: the first set of resources allocated to the at least one wireless communication signal is orthogonal to the second set of resources allocated to the two or more bundled radar reference signals, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending the at least one wireless communication signal.

[0218] Clause 79. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 78, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for a single-station sensing operation, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: discarding a sensing measurement report for the single-station sensing operation based on the network node failing to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0219] Clause 80. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 79, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for network-based radar sensing operations, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: indicate to a network entity that the network node failed to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

[0220] Clause 81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 70 to 80, wherein: the network node is a user equipment (UE) and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one uplink wireless communication signal.

[0221] Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 70 to 80, wherein: the network node is a base station and the at least one wireless communication signal is at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0222] Clause 83. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 70 to 82, wherein: as part of a single-station sensing operation, the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node, or as part of a dual-station sensing operation, the two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node.

[0223] Clause 84. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: detect a conflict between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; and perform a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict.

[0224] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 84, wherein: the two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for high priority radar sensing operations, and the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals and refraining from sending the at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

[0225] Clause 86. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 85, wherein: the high priority radar sensing operation is an on-demand sensing operation and the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic downlink wireless communication signal.

[0226] Clause 87. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 85 to 86, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending an indication to the UE that the at least one downlink wireless communication signal will not be sent.

[0227] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 85 to 87, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted at a different transmit power level than the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0228] Clause 89. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 84, wherein: the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a high priority downlink wireless communication signal, and the computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the conflict avoidance operation include computer executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: sending the at least one uplink wireless communication signal and refraining from sending the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

[0229] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 89, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: send an indication to a radar receiver that the two or more bundled radar reference signals are not to be sent.

[0230] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 90, wherein: the radar receiver is the UE and the indication is sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, downlink control information (DCI), one or more medium access control control elements (MAC-CE), or a slot format indicator (SFI).

[0231] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 90, wherein: the radar receiver is another network node and the indication is sent via an X1 interface or New Radiolocation Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling.

[0232] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0233] In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, frames, modules, circuits and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints proposed to the entire system. Those skilled in the art can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0234] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0235] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative solution, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In an alternative solution, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0236] In one or more example aspects, the function may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the function may be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the sending of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. Moreover, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included in the definition of the medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0237] Although the foregoing disclosure exemplifies the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural form may also be considered unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of wireless sensing performed by a network node, the method comprising: detecting a collision between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be transmitted by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be transmitted by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; performing a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; as well as The two or more bundled radar reference signals are transmitted.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the conflict avoidance operation comprises: Transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal is refrained based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being different than a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic wireless communication signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the conflict avoidance operation comprises: The at least one wireless communication signal is transmitted based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being the same as a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the conflict avoidance operation comprises: determining whether the network node is capable of maintaining phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal; transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is capable of maintaining the phase coherence; as well as The at least one wireless communication signal is refrained from being transmitted based on a determination that the network node is unable to maintain the phase coherence.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one wireless communication signal comprises a plurality of wireless communication signals, Performing the collision avoidance operation includes transmitting a wireless communication signal of the plurality of wireless communication signals that does not require radio frequency (RF) tuning during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one wireless communication signal is a high priority wireless communication signal, and Performing the collision avoidance operation includes transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal, regardless of whether transmission of the at least one wireless communication signal requires RF tuning.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal comprises: A physical uplink control channel carrying hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback, or Ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) service.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: A first set of resources allocated to the at least one wireless communication signal is orthogonal to a second set of resources allocated to the two or more bundled radar reference signals, and Performing the collision avoidance operation includes transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein: The two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for single-station sensing operations, and Performing the collision avoidance operation includes discarding a sensing measurement report for the single-station sensing operation based on a failure by the network node to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for network-based radar sensing operations, and Performing the collision avoidance operation includes indicating to a network entity that the network node failed to maintain phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein: The network node is a user equipment (UE), and The at least one wireless communication signal is at least one uplink wireless communication signal.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein: The network node is a base station, and The at least one wireless communication signal is at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein: The two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be transmitted by the network node as part of a single-station sensing operation, or The two or more bundled radar reference signals are scheduled to be sent by the network node as part of a bistatic sensing operation.

15. A method of wireless sensing performed by a network node, the method comprising: detecting a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; as well as A collision avoidance operation is performed based on detecting the collision.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: The two or more bundled radar reference signals are configured for high priority radar sensing operations, and Performing the collision avoidance operation includes transmitting the two or more bundled radar reference signals and refraining from transmitting the at least one downlink wireless communication signal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The high priority radar sensing operation is an on-demand sensing operation, and The at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a preconfigured or periodic downlink wireless communication signal.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: An indication is sent to the UE that the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is not to be sent.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted at a different transmit power level than the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein: The at least one downlink wireless communication signal is a high priority downlink wireless communication signal, and Performing the collision avoidance operation includes transmitting the at least one uplink wireless communication signal and refraining from transmitting the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: An indication is sent to a radar receiver that the two or more bundled radar reference signals are not to be sent.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein: The radar receiver is the UE, and The indication is sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, downlink control information (DCI), one or more medium access control elements (MAC-CE), or a slot format indicator (SFI).

23. The method of claim 21, wherein: The radar receiver is another network node, and The indication is sent via the X1 interface or New Radio Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling.

24. A network node, the network node comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: detecting a collision between at least one wireless communication signal scheduled to be transmitted by the network node and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be transmitted by the network node, wherein the at least one wireless communication signal is scheduled to be transmitted during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; performing a conflict avoidance operation based on detecting the conflict; as well as The two or more bundled radar reference signals are transmitted via the at least one transceiver.

25. The network node of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation comprises the at least one processor being configured to: Transmitting the at least one wireless communication signal is refrained based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being different than a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

26. The network node of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation comprises the at least one processor being configured to: The at least one wireless communication signal is transmitted via the at least one transceiver based on a transmit power level of the at least one wireless communication signal being the same as a transmit power level of the two or more bundled radar reference signals.

27. The network node of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform the conflict avoidance operation comprises the at least one processor being configured to: determining whether the network node is capable of maintaining phase coherence during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal; transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, the at least one wireless communication signal based on determining that the network node is capable of maintaining the phase coherence; as well as The at least one wireless communication signal is refrained from being transmitted based on a determination that the network node is unable to maintain the phase coherence.

28. The network node of claim 24, wherein: The at least one wireless communication signal comprises a plurality of wireless communication signals, The at least one processor being configured to perform the collision avoidance operation includes the at least one processor being configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a wireless communication signal of the plurality of wireless communication signals that does not require radio frequency (RF) tuning during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal.

29. The network node of claim 24, wherein: The at least one wireless communication signal is a high priority wireless communication signal, and The at least one processor being configured to perform the collision avoidance operation includes the at least one processor being configured to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, the at least one wireless communication signal during the interval between the first radar reference signal and the second radar reference signal, regardless of whether transmission of the at least one wireless communication signal requires RF tuning.

30. A network node, the network node comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: detecting a collision between at least one downlink wireless communication signal scheduled to be sent by the network node to a user equipment (UE) and two or more bundled radar reference signals scheduled to be sent by the network node, wherein the at least one downlink wireless communication signal is scheduled to be sent during an interval between a first radar reference signal and a second radar reference signal of the two or more bundled radar reference signals; as well as A collision avoidance operation is performed based on detecting the collision.

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