Network coding with user equipment collaboration

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for a method of wireless communication by a target user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from a network entity, signaling that configures at least one set of parameters for a network coding scheme for the target UE; receiving a network coded sub-packet from the network entity when connected to a cooperating UE via a sidelink; receiving at least one of a network coded sub-packet or an original sub-packet from the cooperating UE via the sidelink; the network coded sub-packets received from at least one of the network entity or the cooperating UE are decoded based on the network coding scheme to recover one or more original packets.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17 / 832,450, filed on Jun. 3, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Background Art Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for using a network coding scheme with the assistance of a cooperating user equipment (UE).

[0004] Related technologies

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts or other similar types of services. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available wireless communication system resources with those users.

[0006] Although wireless communication systems have made tremendous technical progress over the years, challenges still exist. For example, complex and dynamic environments can still attenuate or block signals between wireless transmitters and wireless receivers. Therefore, there is a continuous desire to improve the technical performance of wireless communication systems, including, for example: improving the speed and data carrying capacity of communications, improving the efficiency of using shared communication media, reducing the power used by transmitters and receivers when performing communications, improving the reliability of wireless communications, avoiding redundant transmission and / or reception and related processing, improving the coverage area of ​​wireless communications, increasing the number and types of devices that can access wireless communication systems, increasing the ability of different types of devices to communicate with each other, increasing the number and types of wireless communication media available for use, etc. Therefore, there is a need to further improve wireless communication systems to overcome the above-mentioned technical challenges and other challenges. Summary of the invention

[0007] One aspect provides a method for wireless communication by a target user equipment (UE). The method includes: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for the target UE; receiving network-coded subpackets from the network entity when connected to a cooperative UE via a side link; receiving at least one of the network-coded subpackets or original subpackets from the cooperative UE via the side link; and decoding the network-coded subpackets received from at least one of the network entity or the cooperative UE based on the network decoding scheme to recover one or more original packets.

[0008] Another aspect provides a method for wireless communication by a cooperative UE. The method includes: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure resources of a side link for the cooperative UE to communicate with a target UE; when connected to the target UE via the side link, receiving a network-decoded subpacket from the network entity; and sending at least one of the network-decoded subpacket or the original subpacket to the target UE via the side link.

[0009] In another aspect, a method for wireless communication by a network entity is provided. The method includes: sending signaling to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for a target UE; encoding original subpackets based on the network decoding scheme to generate network-decoded subpackets; sending at least a first set of the network-decoded subpackets to the target UE; and sending at least a second set of the network-decoded subpackets to a cooperative UE connected to the target UE.

[0010] Other aspects provide: an apparatus operable to, configured to, or otherwise adapted to perform any one or more of the foregoing methods and / or those described elsewhere herein; a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the foregoing methods and those described elsewhere herein; a computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the foregoing methods and those described elsewhere herein; and / or an apparatus comprising components for performing the foregoing methods and those described elsewhere herein. By way of example, an apparatus may include a processing system, a device having a processing system, or a processing system cooperating through one or more networks.

[0011] For purposes of illustration, the following description and drawings set forth certain features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings depict certain features of the aspects described herein and should not be considered to limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0013] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network is depicted.

[0014] Figure 2 An example disaggregated base station architecture is depicted.

[0015] Figure 3 Aspects of an example base station and example user equipment are depicted.

[0016] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4DVarious example aspects of data structures for a wireless communication network are described.

[0017] Figure 5A and Figure 5B A network coding (NC) example is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 6 An example of encoding and decoding for the NC scheme is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 7 An example of wireless communication with the assistance of cooperating UEs is depicted.

[0020] Figure 8 An example of a NC scheme with the assistance of cooperative UEs is depicted.

[0021] Fig. 9 An example of providing feedback to an NC scheme with the assistance of a cooperating UE is depicted.

[0022] Fig.10 An example of a NC scheme with the assistance of cooperative UEs is depicted.

[0023] Fig.11 A method for wireless communication is described.

[0024] Fig.12 A method for wireless communication is described.

[0025] Fig.13 A method for wireless communication is described.

[0026] Fig.14 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted.

[0027] Fig.15 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted.

[0028] Fig.16 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for using a network coding scheme with the assistance of a cooperating user equipment (UE).

[0030] Network coding generally refers to techniques in which operations (e.g., algebraic algorithms) are performed on packets as they pass through nodes within a network. This is in contrast to traditional routing networks, where packets are simply cached and then forwarded to the next downstream node in the network. Network coding typically merges related messages using a given encoding at a node, then forwards the accumulated results to the destination / receiver for decoding.

[0031] Network coding can be used in wireless communication systems to improve system throughput, reduce latency, and reduce power consumption in communications between UEs and base stations. Unfortunately, sometimes the link quality between the UE and the base station may not be sufficient to reliably deliver network coded (NC) packets.

[0032] However, aspects of the present disclosure may utilize cooperative UEs to assist in delivering NC packets from a base station to a UE. The cooperative UEs essentially provide multiple paths for delivering NC packets from a base station, which may help increase the likelihood of successfully receiving NC packets using existing network infrastructure. As described herein, using cooperative UEs to assist in delivering network-decoded packets may help improve reliability, reduce latency, balance system load, and reduce power consumption.

[0033] Introduction to wireless communication networks

[0034] The techniques and methods described herein can be used in various wireless communication networks. Although various aspects may be described herein using terms commonly associated with 3G, 4G and / or 5G wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be applicable to other communication systems and standards not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0035] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication network 100 is depicted in which various aspects described herein may be implemented.

[0036] In general, the wireless communication network 100 includes various network entities (alternatively, network elements or network nodes). A network entity is typically a communication device and / or a communication function performed by a communication device (e.g., user equipment (UE), base station (BS), component of a BS, server, etc.). For example, various functions of a network and various devices associated with and interacting with the network may be considered network entities. In addition, the wireless communication network 100 includes ground aspects, such as ground-based network entities (e.g., BS 102), and non-ground aspects, such as satellites 140 and aircraft 145, which may include airborne network entities (e.g., one or more BSs) capable of communicating with other network elements (e.g., ground BSs) and user equipment.

[0037] In the depicted example, the wireless communication network 100 includes a BS 102, a UE 104, and one or more core networks (such as an evolved packet core (EPC) 160 and a 5G core (5GC) network 190) that interoperate to provide communication services over various communication links (including wired and wireless links).

[0038] Figure 1Various example UEs 104 are depicted, which may more generally include: a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player, a camera, a game console, a tablet computer, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Always-On (AON) device, an edge processing device, or other similar devices. UE 104 may also be more generally referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a remote device, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, and others.

[0039] BS 102 wirelessly communicates with (e.g., transmits signals to or receives signals from) UE 104 via communication link 120. Communication link 120 between BS 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmissions from UE 104 to BS 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmissions from BS 102 to UE 104. In various aspects, communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity.

[0040] BS 102 may generally include: a Node B, an enhanced Node B (eNB), a next generation enhanced Node B (ng-eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB or gNodeB), an access point, a base transceiver, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a transmission and reception point, and / or the like. Each of BS 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110, which may sometimes be referred to as a cell, and may overlap in some cases (e.g., a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with a coverage area 110 of a macro cell). For example, a BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell (covering a relatively large geographic area), a pico cell (covering a relatively small geographic area, such as a stadium), a femto cell (a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)), and / or other types of cells.

[0041] Although BS102 is depicted as a single communication device in various aspects, BS102 can be implemented in various configurations. For example, one or more components of the base station may be decomposed, including, for example, a central unit (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more radio units (RU), a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC. In another example, various aspects of the base station may be virtualized. More generally, a base station (e.g., BS102) may include components located at a single physical location or components located at various physical locations. In an example in which the base station includes components located at various physical locations, the various components may each perform a function so that the various components together implement functionality similar to that of a base station located at a single physical location. In some aspects, a base station including components located at various physical locations may be referred to as a decomposed radio access network architecture (such as an open RAN (O-RAN) or virtualized RAN (VRAN) architecture). Figure 2 An example decomposed base station architecture is depicted and described.

[0042] Different BSs 102 within the wireless communication network 100 may also be configured to support different radio access technologies (such as 3G, 4G, and / or 5G). For example, a BS 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). A BS 102 configured for 5G (e.g., 5G NR or Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the 5GC 190 via a second backhaul link 184. The BSs 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC 160 or the 5GC 190) over a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface), which may be wired or wireless.

[0043] The wireless communication network 100 may subdivide the electromagnetic spectrum into various categories, frequency bands, channels, or other characteristics. In some aspects, the subdivision is provided based on wavelength and frequency, where frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, subcarrier, channel, tone, or subband. For example, 3GPP currently defines frequency range 1 (FR1) as including 410 MHz-7125 GHz, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as "below 6 GHz". Similarly, 3GPP currently defines frequency range 2 (FR2) as including 24,250 MHz-52,600 MHz, which is sometimes (interchangeably) referred to as "millimeter wave" ("mmW" or "mmWave"). A base station (e.g., a mmWave base station such as BS180) configured to communicate using mmWave / near mmWave radio bands may utilize beamforming (e.g., 182) with a UE (e.g., 104) to improve path loss and range.

[0044] The communication link 120 between the BS 102 and, for example, the UE 104 may be through one or more carriers, which may have different bandwidths (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, and / or other MHz) and may be aggregated in various aspects. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​compared to UL).

[0045] Communications using higher frequency bands may have higher path loss and shorter range than communications at lower frequencies. Therefore, some base stations (e.g. Figure 1 180) may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to improve path loss and range. For example, BS 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas (such as antenna elements, antenna panels and / or antenna arrays) to facilitate beamforming. In some cases, BS 180 may send beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from BS 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also send beamformed signals to BS 180 in one or more transmit directions 182". BS 180 may also receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions 182'. BS 180 and UE 104 may then perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of BS 180 and UE 104. It is noteworthy that the transmit direction and receive direction of BS 180 may be the same or different. Similarly, the transmission direction and the reception direction of the UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0046] Wireless communication network 100 also includes Wi-Fi AP 150 that communicates with Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via communication link 154 in, for example, the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum.

[0047] Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0048] The EPC 160 may include various functional components, including: a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and / or a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172, such as in the depicted example. The MME 162 may communicate with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management.

[0049] Generally speaking, user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176, which may include, for example, the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Packet Switched (PS) streaming media service, and / or other IP services.

[0050] The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service configuration and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS delivery, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and / or may be used to schedule MBMS delivery. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS services to BSs 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a specific service, and / or may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

[0051] 5GC 190 may include various functional components, including: access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, session management function (SMF) 194, and user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may communicate with unified data management (UDM) 196.

[0052] AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and 5GC 190. AMF 192 provides, for example, Quality of Service (QoS) flow and session management.

[0053] Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through UPF 195, which connects to IP Services 197 and provides IP address allocation for UEs and other functions for 5GC 190. IP Services 197 may include, for example, the Internet, Intranet, IMS, PS streaming services, and / or other IP services.

[0054] In various aspects, a network entity or network node may be implemented as a converged base station, a decomposed base station, a component of a base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, to name a few examples.

[0055] Figure 2 An example disaggregated base station 200 architecture is depicted. The disaggregated base station 200 architecture may include one or more central units (CUs) 210 that may communicate directly with a core network 220 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 220 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 225 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 215 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 205, or both. The CU 210 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 230 via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DU 230 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 240 via respective fronthaul links. The RU 240 may communicate with respective UEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 240.

[0056] Each of the units (e.g., CU 210, DU 230, RU 240, and near-RT RIC 225, non-RT RIC 215, and SMO framework 205) 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 the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, a unit 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 or alternatively, a unit may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a 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.

[0057] In some aspects, CU 210 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 can be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 210. CU210 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 210 may be logically split 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, CU 210 may be implemented to communicate with DU 230 for network control and signaling.

[0058] DU 230 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 240. In some aspects, DU 230 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) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) based at least in part on functional splits such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 230 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 230 or with control functions hosted by CU 210.

[0059] The lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 240. In some deployments, a RU 240 controlled by a DU 230 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 a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RU 240 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 104. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 240 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 230. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU 230 and the CU 210 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0060] The SMO framework 205 may be configured to support RAN deployment and configuration of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 205 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 205 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 290) 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 210, DU 230, RU 240, and near-RT RIC 225. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 205 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 211) via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 205 may communicate directly with one or more RU240 via an O1 interface. The SMO framework 205 may also include a non-RT RIC 215 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 205 .

[0061] The non-RT RIC 215 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 225. The non-RT RIC 215 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 225 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 225 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 210, one or more DUs 230, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 225.

[0062] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 225, the non-RT RIC 215 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 225 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 205 or the non-RT RIC 215. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 215 or the near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 215 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 205 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0063] Figure 3 Aspects of an example BS 102 and UE 104 are depicted.

[0064] In general, BS 102 includes various processors (e.g., 320, 330, 338, and 340), antennas 334a-334t (collectively 334), transceivers 332a-332t (collectively 332) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., data source 312) and wireless reception of data (e.g., data sink 339). For example, BS 102 can transmit and receive data between BS 102 and UE 104. BS 102 includes a controller / processor 340 that can be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communication.

[0065] In general, the UE 104 includes various processors (e.g., 358, 364, 366, and 380), antennas 352a-352r (collectively 352), transceivers 354a-354r (collectively 354) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., retrieved from a data source 362) and wireless reception of data (e.g., provided to a data sink 360). The UE 104 includes a controller / processor 380 that can be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communications.

[0066] Regarding example downlink transmissions, BS 102 includes a transmit processor 320 that can receive data from a data source 312 and control information from a controller / processor 340. The control information can be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), and / or others. In some examples, the data can be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0067] The transmit processor 320 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols, such as for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0068] The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-coding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide an output symbol stream to a modulator (MOD) in transceivers 332a to 332t. Each modulator in transceivers 332a-332t may process a corresponding output symbol stream to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from the modulators in transceivers 332a to 332t may be transmitted via antennas 334a to 334t, respectively.

[0069] To receive downlink transmissions, UE 104 includes antennas 352a-352r that can receive downlink signals from BS 102 and can provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 354a-354r, respectively. Each demodulator in transceivers 354a-354r can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator can further process the input samples to obtain received symbols.

[0070] A MIMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators in transceivers 354a-354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 104 to a data sink 360, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 380.

[0071] With respect to example uplink transmissions, the UE 104 also includes a transmit processor 364 that may receive and process data from a data source 362 (e.g., for a PUSCH) and control information from a controller / processor 380 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be pre-decoded by a TX MIMO processor 366, if applicable, further processed by a modulator in the transceivers 354a-354r (e.g., for SC-FDM), and transmitted to the BS 102.

[0072] At BS 102, uplink signals from UE 104 may be received by antennas 334 a-334 t, processed by demodulators in transceivers 332 a-332 t, detected by MIMO detector 336 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 104. Receive processor 338 may provide decoded data to data sink 339 and decoded control information to controller / processor 340.

[0073] Memories 342 and 382 may store data and program codes for BS 102 and UE 104, respectively.

[0074] Scheduler 344 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0075] In various aspects, BS 102 may be described as sending and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, "sending" may refer to various mechanisms for outputting data, such as outputting data from a data source 312, a scheduler 344, a memory 342, a transmit processor 320, a controller / processor 340, a TX MIMO processor 330, a transceiver 332a-332t, an antenna 334a-334t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, "receiving" may refer to various mechanisms for obtaining data, such as obtaining data from an antenna 334a-334t, a transceiver 332a-332t, a RX MIMO detector 336, a controller / processor 340, a receive processor 338, a scheduler 344, a memory 342, and / or other aspects described herein.

[0076] In various aspects, the UE 104 may also be described as sending and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, "sending" may refer to various mechanisms for outputting data, such as outputting data from a data source 362, a memory 382, ​​a transmit processor 364, a controller / processor 380, a TX MIMO processor 366, a transceiver 354a-354t, an antenna 352a-352t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, "receiving" may refer to various mechanisms for obtaining data, such as obtaining data from an antenna 352a-352t, a transceiver 354a-354t, a RX MIMO detector 356, a controller / processor 380, a receive processor 358, a memory 382, ​​and / or other aspects described herein.

[0077] In some aspects, the processor may be configured to perform various operations (such as those associated with the methods described herein) and send (output) data to or receive (obtain) data from another interface configured to send or receive data, respectively.

[0078] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D Describes a method for use in a wireless communication network such as Figure 1 Various aspects of the data structure of the wireless communication network 100).

[0079] Specifically, Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G (e.g., 5G NR) frame structure, Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of a DL channel within a 5G subframe, Figure 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G frame structure, and Figure 4D FIG480 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G subframe.

[0080] Wireless communication systems may utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on both the uplink and downlink. Such systems may also support half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). OFDM and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) can be used to maximize the system bandwidth (e.g., Figure 4B and Figure 4D The modulation symbols may be transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and / or in the time domain using SC-FDM.

[0081] The wireless communication frame structure may be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL. The wireless communication frame structure may also be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL.

[0082] exist Figure 4A and Figure 4C In the wireless communication frame structure, TDD is used, where D is DL, U is UL, and X is used flexibly between DL / UL. The UE can be configured with a time slot format (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received time slot format indicator (SFI). In the depicted example, the 10ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized 1ms subframes. Each subframe may include one or more time slots. In some examples, each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot format. The subframe may also include micro-time slots, which typically have fewer symbols than the entire time slot. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0083] In certain aspects, the number of slots within a subframe is based on the slot configuration and parameter set. For example, for slot configuration 0, different parameter sets (μ) 0 to 5 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter sets 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Thus, for slot configuration 0 and parameter set μ, there are 14 symbols / slot and 2μ slots / subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are a function of the parameter set. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2 μ × 15kHz, where μ is parameter set 0 to 5. Thus, parameter set μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and parameter set μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D An example is provided for slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter set μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs.

[0084] like Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4DAs depicted in , a resource grid can be used to represent a frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending, for example, 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0085] like Figure 4A As illustrated, some REs carry Figure 1 and Figure 3 The RS may include a demodulation RS (DMRS) and / or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a beam refinement RS (BRRS), and / or a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0086] Figure 4B Examples of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated.The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE comprising, for example, nine RE Groups (REGs), each REG comprising, for example, four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol.

[0087] The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be in symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is transmitted by a UE (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 3 104) is used to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification.

[0088] The Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing.

[0089] Based on the physical layer identifier and the physical layer cell identifier group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DMRS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information (such as system information blocks (SIBs)) that is not sent via the PBCH, and / or paging messages.

[0090] As in Figure 4CAs illustrated in , some REs carry DMRS for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for a specific configuration, but other DMRS configurations are possible). The UE may send DMRS for PUCCH and DMRS for PUSCH. The PUSCH DMRS may be sent, for example, in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DMRS may be sent in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is sent and depending on the specific PUCCH format used. UE 104 may send a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be sent, for example, in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may send the SRS on one of the teeth of the comb. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to achieve frequency-dependent scheduling of the UL.

[0091] Figure 4D Examples of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSRs), power headroom reports (PHRs), and / or UCI.

[0092] Overview of Network Decoding Schemes

[0093] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more specifically, to techniques for utilizing network coding for more efficient multicast transmissions. As will be described in more detail below, in some cases, a radio link layer (RLC) network coding sublayer may be used to improve efficiency and reliability while meeting latency requirements.

[0094] Network coding generally refers to techniques in which operations (e.g., algebraic algorithms) are performed on packets as they pass through nodes within a network. This is in contrast to traditional routing networks, where packets are simply cached and then forwarded to the next downstream node in the network. Network coding typically merges related messages using a given encoding at a node, then forwards the accumulated results to the destination / receiver for decoding.

[0095] Figure 5A and Figure 5B A simple single-hop scenario using NC is illustrated. Figure 5AAs shown in , a transmitter device (Tx) generates a network-decoded packet and transmits the network-decoded packet to a receiver device (Rx). The transmitter device Tx (also referred to as a transmitter node, a transmitter, an encoder node, or an encoder) and / or the receiver device Rx (also referred to as a receiver node, a receiver, a decoder node, or a decoder) can be any type of UE, base station, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) device, and / or the like.

[0096] like Figure 5B As shown in , a transmitter device Tx can generate a network decoding packet from a set of original (or source) packets (e.g., packet 1 (p1), packet 2 (p2), and packet 3 (p3)). As illustrated in the figure, the network decoding packet can be the same as the source packet or can include a certain combination of source packets (e.g., a linear combination of a subset of source packets). Network decoding can be performed using any type of network decoding scheme (such as fountain decoding, linear network decoding, random linear network decoding, Luby transform (LT) network decoding, Raptor network decoding, and / or similar decoding).

[0097] The number of encoded packets is usually larger than the number of source packets, which provides redundancy and improves reliability. Figure 3 In the example illustrated in B, the transmitter device Tx encodes K original packets (e.g., K=3) into N network-decoded packets (e.g., N=4). As shown, three source packets (p1, p2, and p3) are encoded into four network-decoded packets: p2, p1+p2, p1+p3, and p2+p3.

[0098] Even if not all of the network-decoded packets are successfully decoded, the redundant information carried in the encoded packets can help the receiver device Rx recover the source packets. For example, assuming that the receiver device Rx does not successfully decode the network-decoded packet p1+p2 (as indicated by X), the receiver device Rx may still be able to recover the source packet because there is enough information in the other network-decoded packets (p2, p1+p3, and p2+p3). For example, the receiver device Rx can first decode the network-decoded packet p2. Using the information of packet p2, the receiver can obtain packet p3 after decoding the network-decoded packet p2+p3 (for example, because the receiver has decoded p2 and can use the combination technique to obtain p3 from p2+p3). In a similar manner, the receiver device Rx can obtain packet p1 from the network-decoded packet p1+p3 (because the receiver device Rx has decoded packet p3 and can use the combination to obtain packet p1 from the network-decoded packet p1+p3).

[0099] As illustrated, in some cases, the receiver device Rx may provide feedback. In this example, the receiver device Rx indicates that three source packets (p1, p2, and p3) have been successfully decoded. As will be described in more detail below, such feedback can be used to update the network coding scheme.

[0100] Figure 6 Details of the encoding and decoding of the NC scheme are illustrated. As shown, k sub-packets belonging to an original packet can be encoded to obtain N encoded sub-packets, where N > k and the values of N and k can be selected to achieve sufficient redundancy to enhance reliability. Among the N encoded sub-packets, a set of M sub-packets (where k < M < N) is expected to be decoded with a specific probability p. In other words, a receiver that decodes M encoded sub-packets should expect to successfully recover the original packet with probability p. For some NC schemes, when M = k, the probability p is 99% and increases as M increases (e.g., in the case of M = k + 1, it increases to 99.99%, or in the case of M = k + 2, it increases to 99.9999%).

[0101] Aspects related to network decoding with UE cooperation

[0102] However, aspects of the present disclosure can utilize cooperative UEs to assist in delivering NC packets from the base station to the UE. The cooperative UEs substantially provide multiple paths for delivering NC packets from the base station, which can help increase the likelihood of successfully receiving NC packets using the existing network infrastructure.

[0103] Figure 7 An example of a deployment with cooperative UEs that can be used to deliver NC packets in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. As shown, the target UE can be connected to a network entity via the Uu link (e.g., a remote unit connected to the gNB). The target UE can also be connected to a cooperative UE on a sidelink via the PC5 interface. As shown, the cooperative UE can be connected to the same gNB as the target UE.

[0104] As will be described in more detail below, network coding (NC) packets can be sent directly from the gNB to the target UR via the Uu link and / or can be relayed via the cooperative UE. By doing so, aspects of the present disclosure can incorporate the network coding framework into the cellular protocol stack to enable network coding operations with the assistance of cooperative UEs.

[0105] As proposed herein, a target UE may receive signaling from a network entity configuring at least one set of parameters for a network decoding scheme for the target UE. When connected to a cooperative UE via a side link, the target UE may receive network-decoded subpackets from the network entity. According to a specific option, the target UE may receive network-decoded subpackets or original subpackets from the cooperative UE. The target UE may then decode the network-decoded subpackets received from at least one of the network entity or the cooperative UE based on the network decoding scheme to recover one or more original packets.

[0106] Figure 8 An example is illustrated in which a collaborative UE delivers NC packets to a target UE. As shown in the figure, in this case, a network entity (e.g., a gNB) delivers a first set of NC packets to the target UE, and the collaborative UE receives a second set of NC packets from the network entity and forwards them to the target UE.

[0107] In this case, the gNB may configure network decoding related parameters for the target UE. These parameters may include, for example, the NC encoding / decoding algorithm and the size of the decodable set M. The configuration may be provided via RRC signaling. In some cases, multiple parameter sets may be configured and the configuration may be indicated via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information (DCI).

[0108] The gNB may also configure the target UE and the cooperating UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink. In some cases, the gNB may indicate a pair of target UE and cooperating UE, as well as the sidelink link communication resources, sidelink beam pair, and resource allocation for the pair. In some cases, multiple pairs of target UE-cooperating UE may be configured, and one of these pairs may be indicated via a MAC CE or DCI (e.g., to switch the UE pair on the sidelink).

[0109] The target UE may be configured to indicate when the transmission of the network decoding should be terminated. For example, when the target UE successfully receives and decodes the original packet, the target UE may signal the gNB to stop the transmission of the network decoding. There are various options for the target UE to indicate when the transmission of the network decoding should be terminated.

[0110] Fig. 9 An option is illustrated where the target UE may directly signal the gNB with an acknowledgement (ACK) feedback of successful decoding of the original packets, e.g., via a MAC CE or uplink control information (UCI). In some cases, this feedback may indicate the network decoded subpacket last received by the gNB for a particular ACK, thereby indicating that all original packets have been successfully recovered.

[0111] According to one option, the target UE may signal the cooperating UE (e.g., via a sidelink MAC CE) about successful decoding of all original packets. In this case, the cooperating UE may forward the successful decoding information to the gNB (e.g., via a MAC CE or UCI).

[0112] Fig.10 An example is illustrated in which a cooperative UE delivers a decoded NC packet to a target UE. As shown in the figure, in this case, the gNB encodes a portion of the original packet and transmits (a first set of) corresponding network-decoded encoded subpackets to the target UE. The gNB encodes the remaining original packet and transmits (a second set of) corresponding network-decoded encoded subpackets to the cooperative UE. The cooperative UE decodes and recovers the original packets and forwards them to the target UE.

[0113] In this case, the gNB may configure network decoding related parameters for both the target UE and the cooperative UE (so that both of them can decode the NC packets). These parameters may include, for example, the NC encoding / decoding algorithm and the size of the decodable set M. The configuration may be provided via RRC signaling. In some cases, multiple parameter sets may be configured and the configuration may be indicated via MAC CE or DCI.

[0114] In the case where the cooperative UE delivers the decoded NC packet to the target UE, the target UE may use the same Fig. 9 The same mechanism as described is used to directly signal the gNB ACK feedback regarding successful decoding of the original packet.

[0115] In some cases, the target UE may receive signaling to activate or deactivate network coding involving cooperative UEs. In some cases, such activation / deactivation signaling may be downlink-based. For example, the gNB may transmit signaling (e.g., via MAC CE or DCI) to activate / deactivate network coding with UE cooperation. In some cases, the activation / deactivation signaling may be uplink-based. For example, the UE may request activation / deactivation of network coding with UE cooperation (e.g., via MAC CE or UCI). In some cases, RRC signaling may configure multiple options for network coding with UE cooperation. In this case, the gNB or UE may signal which of the configured options is to be used in the activation signaling. In some cases, if multiple options are available, the gNB may also use MAC CE or DCI to switch the network coding transmission configuration.

[0116] As described herein, using cooperative UEs to assist in delivering network-coded packets may help improve reliability, reduce latency, balance system load, and reduce power consumption.

[0117] Example Operation of User Equipment

[0118] Fig.11 The method for receiving a signal from a target UE such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 An example of a method 1100 for performing wireless communications with a UE 104).

[0119] Method 1100 begins at step 1105: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for a target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following steps: Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0120] Then, the method 1100 proceeds to step 1110: when connected to the cooperative UE via the side link, receiving the network-decoded subpacket from the network entity. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0121] Then, the method 1100 proceeds to step 1115: receiving at least one of the network-decoded subpackets or the original subpackets from the cooperative UE via the side link. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0122] Then, the method 1100 proceeds to step 1120: decoding the network-decoded subpackets received from at least one of the network entity or the cooperative UE based on the network decoding scheme to recover one or more original packets. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.14 The described circuit for decoding and / or code for decoding may be performed by the circuit and / or the code.

[0123] In some aspects, these parameters for the network coding scheme include at least one of: parameters indicating encoding and decoding network coding algorithms; or the size of a decodable set of network coded subpackets associated with a given probability of successful decoding of an original packet.

[0124] In some aspects, the signaling comprises RRC signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

[0125] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes receiving, via a DCI or MAC-CE, signaling to select one of the plurality of parameter sets. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0126] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes receiving signaling from the network entity to configure the target UE for cooperative communication on the side link. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to as described in reference Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0127] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates at least one of: at least one pair of target UE and cooperative UE; resource allocation for sidelink communication; or a sidelink beam pair.

[0128] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperating UEs.

[0129] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes receiving, via a DCI or a MAC-CE, signaling for selecting a pair of target UEs and cooperative UEs from among the multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperative UEs. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following steps. Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0130] In some aspects, receiving the network-coded subpackets from the network entity includes receiving a first set of network-coded subpackets; and receiving at least one of the network-coded subpackets or the original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link includes receiving a second set of network-coded subpackets from the collaborative UE.

[0131] In some aspects, receiving the network-decoded subpackets from the network entity includes receiving a first set of network-decoded subpackets corresponding to a first set of original subpackets from the network entity; and receiving at least one of the network-decoded subpackets or the original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link includes receiving the first set of original subpackets.

[0132] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes providing feedback to the network entity regarding successful decoding of the original packet. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the Fig.14 The described circuits for providing and / or codes for providing, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0133] In some aspects, the feedback is provided via at least one of UCI or MAC-CE.

[0134] In some aspects, the feedback indicates: a network-coded subpacket last received from the network entity; or a successful recovery of the original packet from the network-coded subpacket.

[0135] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes providing feedback to the cooperating UE regarding successful decoding of the original packet. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.14 The described circuits for providing and / or codes for providing, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0136] In some aspects, the feedback is provided via a sidelink MAC-CE.

[0137] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes receiving a signaling to activate or deactivate network decoding involving the cooperating UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.14 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0138] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling activating or deactivating network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

[0139] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes sending a signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the cooperative UE to the network entity. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following steps. Fig.14 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0140] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

[0141] In some aspects, the method 1100 further includes sending signaling to the network entity indicating the target UE's ability to support the network decoding scheme. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following Fig.14The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0142] In some aspects, the signaling sent to the network entity also indicates one or more triggers for activating or deactivating at least one of the network coding schemes.

[0143] In one aspect, method 1100 or any aspect related thereto may be performed by an apparatus such as Fig.14 The method 1100 is performed by a communication device 1400 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1100. The communication device 1400 is described in more detail below.

[0144] It should be noted that Fig.11 This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps may also be consistent with the present disclosure.

[0145] Fig.12 The method for cooperating UEs such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 An example of a method 1200 for performing wireless communications with a UE 104).

[0146] Method 1200 begins at step 1205: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure resources for a side link for a cooperative UE to communicate with a target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following. Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0147] Then, the method 1200 proceeds to step 1210: when connected to the target UE via the side link, receiving the network-decoded subpacket from the network entity. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0148] Then, the method 1200 proceeds to step 1215: sending at least one of the network-decoded subpackets or the original subpackets to the target UE via the side link. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.15 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0149] In some aspects, receiving the network-coded subpackets from the network entity includes receiving a first set of network-coded subpackets; and receiving at least one of the network-coded subpackets or the original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link includes receiving a second set of network-coded subpackets from the collaborative UE.

[0150] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes receiving signaling for configuring at least one parameter set for the network decoding scheme for the cooperating UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0151] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes decoding the network-coded subpacket received from the network entity based on the parameter of the network coding scheme to recover the original subpacket. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.15 The described circuit for decoding and / or code for decoding may be performed by the circuit and / or the code.

[0152] In some aspects, sending at least one of the network-decoded subpacket or the original subpacket to the target UE via the sidelink includes sending the recovered original subpacket to the target UE via the sidelink.

[0153] In some aspects, these parameters for the network coding scheme include at least one of: parameters indicating encoding and decoding network coding algorithms; or the size of a decodable set of network coded subpackets associated with a given probability of successful decoding of an original packet.

[0154] In some aspects, the signaling comprises RRC signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

[0155] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes receiving, via a DCI or MAC-CE, signaling selecting one of the plurality of parameter sets. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0156] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the cooperating UE with resources for a sidelink for communicating with a target UE indicates at least one of: at least one pair of a target UE and a cooperating UE; a resource allocation for sidelink communications; or a sidelink beam pair.

[0157] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperating UEs.

[0158] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes receiving, via a DCI or a MAC-CE, signaling for selecting a pair of target UEs and cooperative UEs from among the multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperative UEs. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following steps. Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0159] In some aspects, the method 1200 also includes receiving feedback from the target UE regarding the target UE successfully decoding the original packet. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0160] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes sending the feedback to the network entity. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.15 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0161] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes receiving a signaling to activate or deactivate network decoding involving the target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following Fig.15 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0162] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling activating or deactivating network decoding involving the target UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

[0163] In some aspects, the method 1200 further includes sending signaling to the network entity indicating the ability of the cooperating UE to support the network decoding scheme. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to as described in reference Fig.15 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0164] In one aspect, method 1200 or any aspect related thereto may be performed by an apparatus such as Fig.15 The method 1200 is performed by a communication device 1500 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1200. The communication device 1500 is described in more detail below.

[0165] It should be noted that Fig.12This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps may also be consistent with the present disclosure.

[0166] Example Operations of Network Entities

[0167] Fig.13 shows a method for use by a network entity such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 BS102 or as for Figure 2 An example of a method 1300 for performing wireless communications using a decomposed base station) as discussed.

[0168] Method 1300 begins at step 1305: sending a signaling to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for a target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following steps: Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0169] Then, the method 1300 proceeds to step 1310: encoding the original subpacket based on the network decoding scheme to generate a network-decoded subpacket. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for encoding and / or codes for encoding may be performed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0170] Then, method 1300 proceeds to step 1315: sending at least the first set of subpackets decoded by the network to the target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0171] Then, the method 1300 proceeds to step 1320: sending at least a second set of the network-decoded subpackets to a cooperative UE connected to the target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0172] In some aspects, these parameters for the network coding scheme include at least one of: parameters indicating encoding and decoding network coding algorithms; or the size of a decodable set of network coded subpackets associated with a given probability of successful decoding of an original packet.

[0173] In some aspects, the signaling comprises RRC signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

[0174] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending signaling, via a DCI or MAC-CE, to select one of the plurality of parameter sets. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0175] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending signaling to configure the target UE for cooperative communication on the side link. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0176] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates at least one of: at least one pair of target UE and cooperative UE; resource allocation for sidelink communication; or a sidelink beam pair.

[0177] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperating UEs.

[0178] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending signaling for selecting a pair of target UEs and cooperative UEs from the plurality of pairs of target UEs and cooperative UEs via DCI or MAC-CE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0179] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending signaling to configure the cooperating UE to forward the second set of network-decoded subpackets to the target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following steps. Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0180] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending signaling to configure the cooperating UE to decode the second set of network-decoded subpackets to recover the original subpackets and forward the recovered original subpackets to the target UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to as described in reference Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0181] In some aspects, the method 1300 also includes receiving feedback regarding successful decoding of the original packet. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0182] In some aspects, the feedback is received via at least one of UCI or MAC-CE.

[0183] In some aspects, the feedback indicates: a network-coded subpacket last received from the network entity; or a successful recovery of the original packet from the network-coded subpacket.

[0184] In some aspects, the method 1300 also includes receiving feedback regarding successful decoding of the original packet via the cooperating UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0185] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes sending a signaling to activate or deactivate network decoding involving the cooperating UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the operation of Fig.16 The described circuits for transmitting and / or codes for transmitting, or may be executed by the circuits and / or the codes.

[0186] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling activating or deactivating network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

[0187] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes receiving a signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the cooperating UE. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following Fig.16 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0188] In some aspects, the signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

[0189] In some aspects, the method 1300 further includes receiving signaling indicating the target UE's ability to support the network decoding scheme. In some cases, the operation of this step refers to the following Fig.16 The described circuits for receiving and / or codes for receiving may be or may be executed by the circuits and / or codes.

[0190] In some aspects, the signaling also indicates one or more triggers for activating or deactivating at least one of the network coding schemes.

[0191] In one aspect, method 1300 or any aspect related thereto may be performed by an apparatus such as Fig.16 The method 1300 is performed by a communication device 1600 that includes various components operable, configured, or adapted to perform the method 1300. The communication device 1600 is described in more detail below.

[0192] It should be noted that Fig.13 This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps may also be consistent with the present disclosure.

[0193] Example Communication Device

[0194] Fig.14 Depicted are aspects of an example communication device 1400. In some aspects, the communication device 1400 is user equipment, such as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 3 UE 104 is described.

[0195] The communication device 1400 includes a processing system 1405 coupled to a transceiver 1465 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1465 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1400, such as various signals as described herein, via an antenna 1470. The processing system 1405 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1400, including processing signals received by the communication device 1400 and / or to be transmitted.

[0196] The processing system 1405 includes one or more processors 1410. In various aspects, such as for Figure 3 As described, the one or more processors 1410 may represent one or more of the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, the TX MIMO processor 366, and / or the controller / processor 380. The one or more processors 1410 are coupled to the computer-readable medium / memory 1435 via the bus 1460. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1435 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1410, cause the one or more processors 1410 to perform operations for the Fig.11 The described method 1100 or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that references to a processor performing a function of the communication device 1400 may include one or more processors 1410 performing that function of the communication device 1400 .

[0197] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1435 stores code (e.g., executable instructions), such as code for receiving 1440, code for decoding 1445, code for providing 1450, and code for sending 1455. Processing of code for receiving 1440, code for decoding 1445, code for providing 1450, and code for sending 1455 may cause communication device 1400 to perform operations for receiving, decoding, providing, and transmitting. Fig.11 The described method 1100 or any aspect related thereto.

[0198] The one or more processors 1410 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1435, including circuits such as circuits for receiving 1415, circuits for decoding 1420, circuits for providing 1425, and circuits for transmitting 1430. The processing of the circuits for receiving 1415, decoding 1420, providing 1425, and transmitting 1430 may cause the communication device 1400 to perform the communication for the communication. Fig.11 The described method 1100 or any aspect related thereto.

[0199] The various components of the communication device 1400 may be provided for performing Fig.11 The described means of method 1100 or any aspect thereof. For example, means for sending, transmitting, or outputting for sending may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 and / or Fig.14 The transceiver 1465 and antenna 1470 of the communication device 1400 in FIG. 1464 may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 and / or Fig.14 The transceiver 1465 and antenna 1470 of the communication device 1400.

[0200] Fig.15 Depicted are aspects of an example communications device 1500. In some aspects, communications device 1500 is user equipment, such as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 3 UE 104 is described.

[0201] The communication device 1500 includes a processing system 1505 coupled to a transceiver 1555 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1555 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1500, such as various signals as described herein, via an antenna 1560. The processing system 1505 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1500, including processing signals received by the communication device 1500 and / or to be transmitted.

[0202] The processing system 1505 includes one or more processors 1510. In various aspects, such as for Figure 3 As described, the one or more processors 1510 may represent one or more of the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, the TX MIMO processor 366, and / or the controller / processor 380. The one or more processors 1510 are coupled to the computer-readable medium / memory 1530 via the bus 1550. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1530 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1510, cause the one or more processors 1510 to perform operations for the Fig.12 The described method 1200 or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that references to a processor performing a function of the communication device 1500 may include one or more processors 1510 performing that function of the communication device 1500.

[0203] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1530 stores code (e.g., executable instructions), such as code for receiving 1535, code for transmitting 1540, and code for decoding 1545. Processing of code for receiving 1535, code for transmitting 1540, and code for decoding 1545 may cause communication device 1500 to perform operations for receiving a message. Fig.12 The described method 1200 or any aspect related thereto.

[0204] The one or more processors 1510 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1530, including circuits such as circuits for receiving 1515, circuits for transmitting 1520, and circuits for decoding 1525. The processing of the circuits for receiving 1515, the circuits for transmitting 1520, and the circuits for decoding 1525 may cause the communication device 1500 to perform the communication with respect to the communication device 1500. Fig.12 The described method 1200 or any aspect related thereto.

[0205] The various components of the communication device 1500 may be provided for performing Fig.12The described means of method 1200 or any aspect thereof. For example, means for sending, transmitting, or outputting for sending may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 and / or Fig.15 The transceiver 1555 and antenna 1560 of the communication device 1500 in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 and / or Fig.15 The transceiver 1555 and antenna 1560 of the communication device 1500.

[0206] Fig.16 Aspects of an example communications device 1600 are depicted. In some aspects, communications device 1600 is a network entity such as Figure 1 and Figure 3 BS102 or as for Figure 2 The decomposed base station in question.

[0207] The communication device 1600 includes a processing system 1605 coupled to a transceiver 1655 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver) and / or a network interface 1665. The transceiver 1655 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1600 via an antenna 1660, such as various signals as described herein. The network interface 1665 is configured to transmit and receive signals for the communication device 1600 via a communication link (such as various signals as described herein). Figure 2 The processing system 1605 may be configured to perform processing functions for the communication device 1600, including processing signals received by the communication device 1600 and / or to be transmitted.

[0208] The processing system 1605 includes one or more processors 1610. In various aspects, such as for Figure 3 As described, the one or more processors 1610 may represent one or more of the receive processor 338, the transmit processor 320, the TX MIMO processor 330, and / or the controller / processor 340. The one or more processors 1610 are coupled to the computer-readable medium / memory 1630 via the bus 1650. In some aspects, the computer-readable medium / memory 1630 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1610, cause the one or more processors 1610 to perform operations for Fig.13 The described method 1300 or any aspect related thereto. It should be noted that reference to a processor of the communication device 1600 performing a function may include one or more processors 1610 of the communication device 1600 performing that function.

[0209] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1630 stores code (e.g., executable instructions), such as code for transmitting 1635, code for encoding 1640, and code for receiving 1645. Processing of code for transmitting 1635, code for encoding 1640, and code for receiving 1645 may cause communication device 1600 to perform operations for transmitting. Fig.13 The described method 1300 or any aspect related thereto.

[0210] The one or more processors 1610 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 1630, including circuits such as circuits for transmitting 1615, circuits for encoding 1620, and circuits for receiving 1625. The processing of the circuits for transmitting 1615, the circuits for encoding 1620, and the circuits for receiving 1625 may cause the communication device 1600 to perform the communication for the communication. Fig.13 The described method 1300 or any aspect related thereto.

[0211] The various components of the communication device 1600 may be provided for performing Fig.13 Means for sending, transmitting, or outputting for sending may include: Figure 3 The transceiver 332 and / or antenna 334 and / or Fig.16 The transceiver 1655 and antenna 1660 of the communication device 1600 in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3 The transceiver 332 and / or antenna 334 and / or Fig.16 The transceiver 1655 and antenna 1660 of the communication device 1600.

[0212] Sample Clauses

[0213] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0214] Clause 1: A method for wireless communication by a target UE, the method comprising: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for the target UE; receiving network-coded subpackets from the network entity when connected to a collaborative UE via a side link; receiving at least one of the network-coded subpackets or original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link; and decoding the network-coded subpackets received from at least one of the network entity or the collaborative UE based on the network decoding scheme to recover one or more original packets.

[0215] Clause 2: A method according to clause 1, wherein the parameters used for the network decoding scheme include at least one of the following: parameters indicating the encoding and decoding network decoding algorithms; or the size of the decodable set of subpackets of the network decoding associated with a given probability of successful decoding of the original packet.

[0216] Clause 3: A method as described in any of clauses 1 and 2, wherein the signaling comprises RRC signaling, the RRC signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

[0217] Clause 4: The method of clause 3, further comprising: receiving signaling selecting one of the plurality of parameter sets via DCI or MAC-CE.

[0218] Clause 5: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 4, the method further comprising receiving signaling from the network entity configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink.

[0219] Clause 6: A method according to clause 5, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for collaborative communication on the sidelink indicates at least one of: at least one pair of target UE and collaborative UE; resource allocation for sidelink communication; or a sidelink beam pair.

[0220] Clause 7: A method according to clause 6, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperating UEs.

[0221] Clause 8: The method of clause 7, further comprising receiving signaling selecting a pair of target UE and cooperating UE among the plurality of pairs of target UE and cooperating UE via DCI or MAC-CE.

[0222] Clause 9: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein: receiving the network-decoded subpackets from the network entity includes receiving a first set of network-decoded subpackets; and receiving at least one of the network-decoded subpackets or original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link includes receiving a second set of network-decoded subpackets from the collaborative UE.

[0223] Clause 10: A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 9, wherein: receiving the network-decoded subpackets from the network entity includes receiving a first set of network-decoded subpackets corresponding to a first set of original subpackets from the network entity; and receiving at least one of the network-decoded subpackets or original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link includes receiving a first set of original subpackets.

[0224] Clause 11: The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, further comprising providing feedback to the network entity regarding successful decoding of the original packet.

[0225] Clause 12: The method of clause 11, wherein the feedback is provided via at least one of UCI or MAC-CE.

[0226] Clause 13: The method of clause 11, wherein the feedback indicates: a network-decoded subpacket last received from the network entity; or a successful recovery of an original packet from the network-decoded subpacket.

[0227] Clause 14: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 13, the method further comprising: providing feedback to the cooperating UE regarding successful decoding of the original packet.

[0228] Clause 15: The method of clause 14, wherein the feedback is provided via a sidelink MAC-CE.

[0229] Clause 16: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 15, the method further comprising: receiving signaling to activate or deactivate network decoding involving the cooperating UE.

[0230] Clause 17: A method according to clause 16, wherein: the signaling for configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling for activating or deactivating network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets used for the network decoding scheme for activation or deactivation.

[0231] Clause 18: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 17, the method further comprising: sending signaling to the network entity requesting activation or deactivation of network coding involving the cooperating UE.

[0232] Clause 19: A method according to clause 18, wherein: the signaling for configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set E for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for activation or deactivation of the network decoding scheme.

[0233] Clause 20: A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 19, the method further comprising: sending signaling to the network entity indicating the target UE's ability to support the network decoding scheme.

[0234] Clause 21: The method of clause 20, wherein the signaling sent to the network entity further indicates one or more triggers for activating or deactivating at least one of the network coding schemes.

[0235] Clause 22: A method for wireless communication by a collaborative UE, the method comprising: receiving signaling from a network entity for configuring resources for a side link for the collaborative UE to communicate with a target UE; when connected to the target UE via the side link, receiving a network-decoded subpacket from the network entity; and sending at least one of the network-decoded subpacket or the original subpacket to the target UE via the side link.

[0236] Clause 23: A method according to clause 22, wherein: receiving the network-decoded subpackets from the network entity includes receiving a first set of network-decoded subpackets; and receiving at least one of the network-decoded subpackets or original subpackets from the collaborative UE via the side link includes receiving a second set of network-decoded subpackets from the collaborative UE.

[0237] Clause 24: A method according to any of clauses 22 and 23, the method further comprising: receiving signaling to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for the cooperative UE. Some examples also include decoding the network-coded subpacket received from the network entity based on the parameters for the network decoding scheme to recover the original subpacket.

[0238] Clause 25: The method of clause 24, wherein sending at least one of the network-coded subpackets or the original subpackets to the target UE via the sidelink comprises sending the recovered original subpackets to the target UE via the sidelink.

[0239] Clause 26: A method according to clause 24, wherein the parameters used for the network decoding scheme include at least one of the following: parameters indicating the encoding and decoding network decoding algorithms; or the size of the decodable set of subpackets for network decoding associated with a given probability of successful decoding of the original packet.

[0240] Clause 27: A method as described in any of clauses 22 to 26, wherein the signaling comprises RRC signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

[0241] Clause 28: The method of clause 27, further comprising: receiving signaling selecting one of the plurality of parameter sets via DCI or MAC-CE.

[0242] Clause 29: A method according to any one of clauses 22 to 28, wherein the signaling for configuring the collaborative UE with resources for a sidelink for communicating with a target UE indicates at least one of: at least one pair of a target UE and a collaborative UE; resource allocation for sidelink communication; or a sidelink beam pair.

[0243] Clause 30: A method as described in clause 29, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperative UEs.

[0244] Clause 31: The method of clause 30, further comprising receiving signaling selecting a pair of target UE and cooperating UE among the plurality of pairs of target UE and cooperating UE via DCI or MAC-CE.

[0245] Clause 32: The method of any of clauses 22 to 31, further comprising: receiving feedback from the target UE regarding the target UE successfully decoding the original packet. Some examples further comprise sending the feedback to the network entity.

[0246] Clause 33: A method as described in any of clauses 22 to 32, the method further comprising: receiving signaling to activate or deactivate network decoding involving the target UE.

[0247] Clause 34: A method according to clause 33, wherein: the signaling for configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling for activating or deactivating network decoding involving the target UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets used for the network decoding scheme for activation or deactivation.

[0248] Clause 35: A method as described in any of clauses 22 to 34, the method further comprising: sending signaling to the network entity indicating the capability of the cooperating UE to support the network decoding scheme.

[0249] Clause 36: A method for wireless communication by a network entity, the method comprising: sending signaling to configure at least one set of parameters for a network decoding scheme for a target UE; encoding original subpackets based on the network decoding scheme to generate network-decoded subpackets; sending at least a first set of the network-decoded subpackets to the target UE; and sending at least a second set of the network-decoded subpackets to a collaborative UE connected to the target UE.

[0250] Clause 37: A method according to clause 36, wherein the parameters used for the network decoding scheme include at least one of the following: parameters indicating the encoding and decoding network decoding algorithms; or the size of the decodable set of subpackets for network decoding associated with a given probability of successful decoding of the original packet.

[0251] Clause 38: A method as set forth in any one of clauses 36 and 37, wherein the signaling comprises RRC signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

[0252] Clause 39: The method of clause 38, further comprising: sending signaling selecting one of the plurality of parameter sets via DCI or MAC-CE.

[0253] Clause 40: A method according to any one of clauses 36 to 39, the method further comprising: sending signalling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink.

[0254] Clause 41: A method according to clause 40, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for collaborative communication on the sidelink indicates at least one of the following: at least one pair of target UE and collaborative UE; resource allocation for sidelink communication; or a sidelink beam pair.

[0255] Clause 42: A method according to clause 41, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates multiple pairs of target UEs and cooperative UEs.

[0256] Clause 43: The method of clause 42, further comprising sending signaling selecting a pair of target UE and cooperating UE among the plurality of pairs of target UE and cooperating UE via DCI or MAC-CE.

[0257] Clause 44: A method as described in any of clauses 36 to 43, the method further comprising: sending signaling configuring the cooperating UE to forward the second set of network-coded subpackets to the target UE.

[0258] Clause 45: A method as described in any of clauses 36 to 44, the method further comprising: sending signaling configuring the cooperating UE to decode the second set of network-coded subpackets to recover original subpackets and forward the recovered original subpackets to the target UE.

[0259] Clause 46: The method of any of clauses 36 to 45, further comprising: receiving feedback regarding successful decoding of the original packet.

[0260] Clause 47: The method of clause 46, wherein the feedback is received via at least one of UCI or MAC-CE.

[0261] Clause 48: The method of clause 46, wherein the feedback indicates: a network-decoded subpacket last received from the network entity; or a successful recovery of an original packet from the network-decoded subpacket.

[0262] Clause 49: A method as described in any of clauses 36 to 48, the method further comprising: receiving feedback regarding successful decoding of the original packet via the cooperating UE.

[0263] Clause 50: A method as described in any of clauses 36 to 49, the method further comprising: sending signaling to activate or deactivate network decoding involving the cooperating UE.

[0264] Clause 51: A method according to clause 50, wherein: the signaling for configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling for activating or deactivating network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets used for the network decoding scheme for activation or deactivation.

[0265] Clause 52: A method as described in any of clauses 36 to 51, the method further comprising: receiving signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the cooperating UE.

[0266] Clause 53: A method according to clause 52, wherein: the signaling for configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme includes the UE having multiple parameter sets for the network decoding scheme; and the signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network decoding involving the collaborative UE indicates at least one parameter set among the multiple parameter sets for activation or deactivation of the network decoding scheme.

[0267] Clause 54: A method as described in any of clauses 36 to 53, the method further comprising: receiving signaling indicating the target UE's ability to support the network decoding scheme.

[0268] Clause 55: The method of clause 54, wherein the signaling further indicates one or more triggers for activating or deactivating at least one of the network coding schemes.

[0269] Clause 56: An apparatus comprising: a memory including executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 55.

[0270] Clause 57: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 55.

[0271] Clause 58: A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 55.

[0272] Clause 59: A computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium comprising code for performing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 55.

[0273] Additional considerations

[0274] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. The examples discussed herein do not limit the scope, applicability or aspects set forth in the claims. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed. Each example may ignore, replace or add each procedure or component as appropriate. For example, the described method may be performed in a different order than the described order, and various actions may be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described for some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality that are supplementary or alternative to the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0275] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), 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 commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a system on a chip (SoC), or any other such configuration.

[0276] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items (including single members). As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiple identical elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0277] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Additionally, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0278] The method disclosed herein includes one or more actions for implementing the method. The method actions can be interchangeable with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific actions can be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. In addition, the various operations of the method described above can be performed by any appropriate component that can perform the corresponding function. The component may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors.

[0279] The following claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. Within the claims, unless otherwise specified, reference to an element in the singular form is not intended to mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Unless otherwise specified, the term "some" refers to one or more. Any claim element is not interpreted according to the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f) unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "member for...". All structural and functional equivalents of the elements throughout the various aspects described in this disclosure that are known or will be known later to a person of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims, anything disclosed herein is not intended to be disclosed to the public.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a target user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for the target UE; receiving network-decoded subpackets from the network entity while connected to a cooperating UE via a sidelink; receiving at least one of a network-decoded subpacket or an original subpacket from the cooperating UE via the sidelink; as well as The network-coded subpackets received from at least one of the network entity or the cooperating UE are decoded based on the network coding scheme to recover one or more original packets.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters for the network coding scheme include at least one of the following: Parameters indicating the encoding and decoding network coding algorithms; or The size of the decodable set of subpackets for network decoding associated with a given probability of successful decoding of the original packet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving signaling to select one of the plurality of parameter sets via downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving signaling from the network entity to configure the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates at least one of the following: At least one pair of target UE and coordinating UE; resource allocation for sidelink communications; or Sidelink beam pair.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the signaling configuring the target UE for cooperative communication on the sidelink indicates a plurality of pairs of target UEs and cooperative UEs.

8. The method according to claim 7 also includes receiving signaling for selecting a pair of target UE and cooperative UE among the multiple pairs of target UE and cooperative UE via downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Receiving the network-coded subpackets from the network entity comprises receiving a first set of network-coded subpackets; and Receiving at least one of network-coded subpackets or original subpackets from the cooperating UE via the sidelink includes receiving a second set of network-coded subpackets from the cooperating UE.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein: Receiving the network-coded subpackets from the network entity comprises receiving a first set of network-coded subpackets corresponding to a first set of original subpackets from the network entity; as well as Receiving at least one of network-coded subpackets or original subpackets from the cooperating UE via the sidelink includes receiving a first set of original subpackets.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing feedback to the network entity regarding successful decoding of the original packet.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the feedback is provided via at least one of uplink control information (UCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the feedback indicates: a network-decoded subpacket last received from said network entity; or The original packet is successfully recovered from the network-decoded subpacket.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing feedback to the cooperating UE regarding successful decoding of the original packet.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the feedback is provided via a sidelink medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving signaling to activate or deactivate network coding involving the cooperative UE.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network coding scheme includes the UE having a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme; and The signaling of activating or deactivating network coding involving the cooperating UE indicates at least one parameter set of the plurality of parameter sets used for the network coding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending signaling to the network entity requesting activation or deactivation of network coding involving the cooperative UE.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The signaling configuring the target UE with at least one parameter set for a network coding scheme includes the UE having a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme; and The signaling requesting activation or deactivation of network coding involving the cooperating UE indicates at least one parameter set of the plurality of parameter sets used for the network coding scheme to be activated or deactivated.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending signaling to the network entity indicating a capability of the target UE to support the network coding scheme.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the signaling sent to the network entity further indicates one or more triggers for activating or deactivating at least one of the network coding schemes.

22. A method of wireless communication by a cooperating user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving signaling from a network entity for configuring resources of a side link for the cooperative UE to communicate with a target UE; receiving network-decoded subpackets from the network entity while connected to a target UE via the sidelink; as well as At least one of the network-coded subpackets or original subpackets is sent to the target UE via the sidelink.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein: Receiving the network-coded subpackets from the network entity comprises receiving a first set of network-coded subpackets; and Receiving at least one of network-coded subpackets or original subpackets from the cooperating UE via the sidelink includes receiving a second set of network-coded subpackets from the cooperating UE.

24. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: receiving signaling for configuring at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for the cooperative UE; as well as The network coded subpackets received from the network entity are decoded based on the parameters for the network coding scheme to recover original subpackets.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein sending at least one of the network-coded subpackets or original subpackets to the target UE via the sidelink comprises: The recovered original subpacket is sent to the target UE via the side link.

26. A method for wireless communication by a network entity, the method comprising: sending signaling to configure at least one set of parameters for a network decoding scheme for a target user equipment (UE); encoding the original subpackets based on the network decoding scheme to generate network-decoded subpackets; sending at least a first set of the network-decoded subpackets to the target UE; as well as At least a second set of the network-coded subpackets is sent to a cooperating UE connected to the target UE.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein parameters for a network coding scheme include at least one of: Parameters indicating the encoding and decoding network coding algorithms; or The size of the decodable set of subpackets for network decoding associated with a given probability of successful decoding of the original packet.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating a plurality of parameter sets for the network coding scheme.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising sending signaling selecting one of the plurality of parameter sets via downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

30. A target user equipment (UE) configured for wireless communication, the target user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory including computer executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the computer executable instructions and cause the target UE to: receiving signaling from a network entity to configure at least one parameter set for a network decoding scheme for the target UE; receiving network-decoded subpackets from the network entity while connected to a cooperating UE via a sidelink; receiving at least one of a network-decoded subpacket or an original subpacket from the cooperating UE via the sidelink; as well as The network-coded subpackets received from at least one of the network entity or the cooperating UE are decoded based on the network coding scheme to recover one or more original packets.

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