Coordination of crowd sensing using radio frequency sensing from multiple wireless nodes

Abstract

Techniques for coordinating radio frequency (RF) sensing of a plurality of wireless devices are provided. In one embodiment, a wireless device obtains RF sensing coordination information that includes orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving RF sensing signals to reduce or eliminate interference between RF sensing of different devices. The orthogonality information may be provided by a server, another wireless device, or a set of wireless devices. The wireless device uses the orthogonality information to transmit and receive RF sensing signals orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices. The orthogonality information may be directed to orthogonality in the spatial domain, time domain, frequency domain, code domain, or some combination of these. The wireless devices perform RF sensing operations and report RF sensing results based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 17 / 848,582, filed on June 24, 2022, entitled “COORDINATION OF CROWD SENSING USING RADIO FREQUENCY SENSING FROM MULTIPLE WIRELESS NODES,” which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high-speed data wireless service with Internet capabilities, fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), fifth generation (5G) service, etc. There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM) TDMA variants, etc.

[0004] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data delivery speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with a data rate of 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported.

[0005] Various mobile RF standards like 4G, 5G, and WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi) can be used not only for communication, but also for determining characteristics of the local environment or nearby objects via RF sensing. Such non-communication uses can increase the benefits provided by mobile wireless devices, and therefore enhancing these uses can be valuable. Summary of the invention

[0006] In a specific implementation, radio frequency (RF) sensing of multiple wireless devices is used (e.g., using crowdsourcing) to obtain environmental information. The wireless device obtains RF sensing coordination information, which includes orthogonality information for sending and receiving RF sensing signals to reduce or eliminate interference. The orthogonality information can be generated by a coordination device (such as a server, another wireless device, or a group of wireless devices). The wireless device uses the orthogonality information to send and receive RF sensing signals that are orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices. The orthogonality information can be for orthogonality in the spatial domain, orthogonality in the time domain, orthogonality in the frequency domain, orthogonality in the code domain, or any combination thereof. The wireless devices can then perform RF sensing operations and report RF sensing results based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information.

[0007] In one specific implementation, a method for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing at a wireless device includes: obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and reporting RF sensing results.

[0008] In one specific implementation, a wireless device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing includes: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity and to send and receive RF sensing signals; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: obtain RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices used for crowdsourced RF sensing; perform RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and report RF sensing results.

[0009] In one specific implementation, a wireless device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing includes: means for obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices used for crowdsourced RF sensing; means for performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and means for reporting RF sensing results.

[0010] In one specific implementation, a non-transitory storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a coordination device for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the program code including instructions for: obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by a wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and reporting RF sensing results.

[0011] In one specific implementation, a method for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing at a coordination device includes: determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and transmitting the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation.

[0012] In one specific implementation, a coordination device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing includes: a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generate RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and transmit the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation.

[0013] In one specific implementation, a coordination device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing includes: a component for determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; a component for generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and a component for transmitting the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation.

[0014] In one specific implementation, a non-transitory storage medium includes program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a coordination device for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the program code including instructions for: determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and transmitting the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0016] Figure 2 is a block diagram of components of an example user equipment.

[0017] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the components of an example send / receive point.

[0018] Figure 4 is a block diagram of the components of a server.

[0019] Figure 5A is a diagram of radio frequency sensing simultaneously transmitted and received by an example transceiver in an example wireless device.

[0020] Figure 5B yes Figure 5A A graph of an example received signal in a wireless device.

[0021] Figure 6 is a diagram of an example use case for detecting crowds using radio frequency sensing.

[0022] Fig. 7A is a diagram of an example use case for detecting a crowd using multiple wireless nodes configured for radio frequency sensing.

[0023] Figure 7B is a diagram of an example use case for improving detection of target objects using multiple wireless nodes configured for radio frequency sensing.

[0024] Fig. 8A is a diagram of an example use case for detecting stationary objects in a crowd using radio frequency sensing.

[0025] Figure 8B is a diagram of an example use case for tracking a moving object using radio frequency sensing.

[0026] Figure 8C is an example message flow for performing crowd sensing using multiple wireless nodes.

[0027] Fig. 9 is an example directional diagram including the boresight direction of an object detected using radio frequency sensing.

[0028] Fig.10 is a graph of example frequency-based components of radio frequency signal information.

[0029] Fig.11 is a graph of example time-based components of RF signal information.

[0030] Fig.12 is a graph of an example time and frequency response of a radio frequency sensing signal.

[0031] Fig.13 is an example data structure for crowdsourcing RF sensing reports.

[0032] Fig.14A and Fig. 14B is a graph of a composite map based on multiple RF sensing reports.

[0033] Fig.15A , Fig. 15B , Fig. 15C and Fig.15D is a diagram illustrating spatial orthogonality, frequency and decoding orthogonality, and temporal orthogonality of sensing signals.

[0034] Fig.16 is an example message flow for performing a sensing operation using coordinated orthogonal sensing signals.

[0035] Fig.17 is an example process flow of a method of crowdsourced RF sensing using coordinated orthogonal RF sensing signals performed by a wireless device.

[0036] Fig.18 is an example process flow for a method of crowdsourced RF sensing using coordinated orthogonal RF sensing signals performed by a coordinating device.

[0037] Similar reference symbols in the various drawings indicate similar elements according to certain example implementations. In addition, in some cases, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by adding a letter after the first digit of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110a, 110b, etc. When only numbers are used to refer to such elements, any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example will refer to elements 110a and 110b) should be understood. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Techniques for obtaining information about an environment or one or more objects in the environment by means of RF sensing performed by a plurality of wireless-enabled devices are discussed herein. RF sensing performed by a plurality of wireless-enabled devices is referred to herein as crowd sensing, and differs from traditional "crowd sourcing" in that information about a crowd or collection of objects can be provided without requiring any active support from the collection of objects or the crowd itself or from any device associated with the crowd or collection of objects.

[0039] An example of crowd sensing would be to obtain information about the crowd, such as the size of the crowd, the movement of the crowd, the rate at which the crowd increases or decreases. Other examples of crowd sensing would be to obtain information about the traffic flow on the road or at the scene of an accident, or to identify and possibly track individual people in the crowd or individual vehicles on the road. For example, law enforcement, municipal planners, event organizers, retailers, stadium managers, etc. can use crowd information to carry out emergency management, assist and regulate pedestrian or traffic flow, business processes, and improve customer interfaces. Current crowd monitoring solutions may utilize expensive imaging technology, artificial intelligence (AI), human observers, and additional sensors that may be too expensive. The technology provided herein utilizes existing wireless nodes and devices to obtain crowd and environmental information, and can therefore be implemented at a fraction of the cost of previous solutions.

[0040] In one example, multiple wireless nodes (e.g., UEs) may perform radio frequency (RF) sensing operations and provide sensor data to a server. RF sensing data may be obtained at a single location during a single time period, over a period of time, and / or at different locations. The sensor data may include RF sensor measurements obtained by sending RF signals (e.g., WiFi or 5G NR) and measuring reflected and / or scattered signals from surrounding objects. In one example, the sensor data may also include image data (e.g., images) from cameras and infrared (IR) cameras, which may be combined with RF measurements. Additional sensors may enable detection of people, animals, and / or vehicles under many conditions, including at night, in rainy days, and when there are objects (e.g., walls, buildings, trees, people) in the middle.

[0041] In operation, individual user equipment (UE) may be configured to report sensor measurements obtained in the vicinity of the UE (e.g., periodically or upon request). The report may include raw signal measurement data or inferences from signal measurements (e.g., a map of people or vehicles detected near the UE or a 3D map of the area around the UE). The report may also include applicable timestamp and location information, such as the current location of the UE or UE location-related measurements. Other UEs (e.g., near the UE) may be configured to obtain and report their sensor measurements. A crowdsourcing server may be configured to receive RF sensing reports from UEs and build a composite photo or map based on the reports (as well as the location of the UE and the time of the report). The crowdsourcing server or another network server may be configured to calculate environmental inferences based on aggregated RF sensor reports. For example, inferences about crowd size, crowd movement, traffic flow, or buildings may be obtained (e.g., to develop architectural plans for a building on fire). RF sensor signals may enable detection of attributes of an object, and aggregated RF sensor reports may enable the network to track objects based on the attributes. For example, it may be possible to determine individual characteristics of a person or vehicle in the UE reports (e.g., height, weight, clothing of a person, length, width, height of a vehicle), and then use the aggregated RF sensor reports to track an individual person or vehicle over a period of time based on these attributes. Compared to previous tracking solutions, the RF sensing technology described herein may enable monitoring of a target object without the target object sending a signal or being aware of the monitoring. Crowd sensing does not rely on each individual in the crowd having a UE to report their location.

[0042] One difficulty that may exist for both local sensing of an individual UE and crowd sensing of many UEs is when signals transmitted from one or more UEs interfere with sensing measurements made by other UEs. For example, a first sensing signal transmitted by a first UE (including reflections of the first signal from a sensed object) may be received by a second UE and may interfere with the second UE's measurement of a second sensing signal transmitted by the second UE and thereby interfere with the second UE's RF sensing.

[0043] As discussed herein, a solution to possible interference during sensing procedures is to coordinate the transmission of RF sensing signals (e.g., WiFi or 5G NR signals) by multiple UEs to reduce or eliminate interference between UEs. For example, coordinating the transmission of RF sensing signals to reduce interference may be based on the orthogonality of the sensing signals transmitted by the UEs. The orthogonality of the sensing signals may be extended to help ensure that the UE's sensing signal transmissions are also orthogonal to the transmissions of other RF signals (such as RF signals supporting voice and data transmissions) from nearby access points, base stations, and UEs. The orthogonality of the sensing signals may be supported in space, in time, in the frequency domain, using orthogonal codes, or any combination thereof.

[0044] Spatial orthogonality may be achieved, for example, using directional transmission of sensing signals by UEs. For example, where a particular target area needs to be sensed by multiple UEs, information about the location of the target area to be sensed by each UE (e.g., relative to the UE) may be provided to the UE, and each UE then only transmits a sensing signal toward the particular target area identified for the UE (and may further only measure sensing signals received from the direction of the particular target area). Additionally or alternatively, the desired direction of transmission of the sensing signal may be provided to the UE. The use of spatial orthogonality may not eliminate interference, but may avoid or reduce interference caused by one UE receiving a direct or reflected sensing signal transmitted by another UE.

[0045] Temporal orthogonality may be achieved, for example, by staggering the transmission of sensing signals by different UEs so that the UEs transmit sensing signals at different times. For example, staggered transmission may be similar to transmitting a signal only after first listening and verifying that there are no ongoing nearby transmissions in an expected frequency (e.g., a frequency used in an unlicensed spectrum). However, temporal orthogonality may be extended for sensing operations by assigning different UEs different times during which the UEs are to transmit and measure sensing signals.

[0046] Frequency orthogonality can be achieved by assigning a different frequency (e.g., for 5G NR, a different IEEE 802.11 channel, a different center frequency, or a different frequency band) to the sensing signal to be transmitted by each UE.

[0047] Coding orthogonality may be achieved by assigning each UE a code to be sent as part of the sensing signal, where the different codes are orthogonal (eg, Gold, Walsh, or Kasami codes).

[0048] Orthogonality may be coordinated so that the transmission of sensing signals from UEs near each other is orthogonal using any one or more of the above types of orthogonality. However, sensing signals transmitted from UEs that are farther apart may be less orthogonal or non-orthogonal. Coordination of the orthogonality of sensing signals transmitted by UEs may be managed, for example, using a central entity (e.g., a network server or a server associated with a UE vendor or an operating system vendor) that coordinates transmissions from multiple UEs, for example, to perform crowd sensing. For example, the central entity may transmit requests to the UEs to start and stop sensing, and may include information about when to send sensing signals or directions, frequencies, or decoding to be applied to the sensing signals to reduce interference. The coordination entity may be a single UE that manages the transmission of sensing signals from multiple nearby UEs to perform crowd sensing of the UE's local environment. Coordination may be via, for example, device-to-device (D2D) (sidelink) signaling. Coordination may be performed by a group of UEs that coordinate the transmission of sensing signals between them to sense some common environment of interest (e.g., at a concert, a sporting event, or users driving in the same area). Distributed or centralized algorithms may be used to ensure that the sensing signals are orthogonal to avoid interference, and peer-to-peer (P2P), server-to-client, or master-slave signaling and control may be used.

[0049] These techniques and configurations are examples, and other techniques and configurations may be used. The following description provides examples, but does not limit the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. The functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Each example may omit, replace, or add individual procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the described method may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to some examples may be combined in other examples.

[0050] This specification may refer to a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, an element of a computing device. Each action described herein can be performed by a dedicated circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. The sequence of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be implemented in a number of different forms, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0051] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. Generally speaking, such UEs may be any wireless communication devices (e.g., mobile phones, routers, tablet computers, laptop computers, consumer asset tracking devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc.) used by users to communicate on a wireless communication network. UEs may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal," "mobile station," "mobile device," or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to a core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as through a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0052] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station may operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with the UE. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), or new radio (NR) Node Bs (also known as gNodeBs or gNBs). In addition, in some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control functions and / or network management functions.

[0053] The UE may be implemented by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired phone, a smart phone, a tablet device, a consumer asset tracking device, an asset tag, etc. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the RAN is referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can transmit signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0054] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of the multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0055] As used herein, the term "wireless node" includes a device configured to communicate on a wireless network. UE and base station are examples of wireless nodes. Specifically, a wireless node includes at least a radio frequency transmitter and a receiver (or transceiver), and can be configured to perform radio frequency sensing operations as described herein.

[0056] refer to Figure 1 , an example of a communication system 100 includes UE 105, UE 106, a radio access network (RAN) 135 (here a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)), and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. UE 105 and / or UE 106 may be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, a vehicle (e.g., a car, truck, bus, boat, etc.), or other device. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). NG-RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN, a 4G long term evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 may be similarly configured and coupled to UE 105 to transmit and / or receive signals to and / or from similar other entities in the communication system 100, but for simplicity of the drawings, the 5GC 140 is shown in FIG. Figure 1105. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on the UE 105. The communication system 100 may utilize information from a cluster 185 of space vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 of a satellite positioning system (SPS), such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as a global positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), Galileo, or BeiDou or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0057] like Figure 1 As shown, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR Node Bs (gNBs) 110a, 110b and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, a session management function (SMF) 117, a user plane function (UPF) 119, a location management function (LMF) 120, and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNBs 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured for bidirectional wireless communication with the UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to the AMF 115 and configured for bidirectional communication with the AMF. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNBs 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). AMF 115 , SMF 117 , LMF 120 , and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to one another, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client or server 130 .

[0058] UPF 119 may support voice and data bearers for UE 105 and may enable UE 105 to have voice and data access to other networks, such as the Internet 121. UPF 119 may be connected to gNB 110 and ng-eNB 114. UPF 119 functions may include: external protocol data unit (PDU) session interconnection point to data networks, packet (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding, user plane portion of packet inspection and policy rule enforcement, quality of service (QoS) handling of the user plane, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering.

[0059] As illustrated, SMF 117 is connected to AMF 115 and UPF 119. SMF 117 may have the ability to control local and central UPFs within a PDU session. SMF 117 may manage the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions for UE 105, perform IP address allocation and management for UE 105, act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for UE 105, and select and control UPF 119 on behalf of UE 105.

[0060] The external client or server 130 may be connected to the 5GC 140 via the GMLC 125. The external client or server 130 may also be connected to the 5GC 140 via the Internet 121. The external client or server 130 may directly ( Figure 1 1) or connected to UPF 119 via the Internet 121. The external client or server 130 may be a server, a web server, or a user device such as a personal computer, UE, etc.

[0061] Base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) may each support a macro cell (e.g., a high-power cellular base station), or a small cell (e.g., a low-power cellular base station), or may be used as an access point (e.g., a short-range base station configured to communicate with short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® ,Bluetooth ® - Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, etc.) for communication). One or more BSs (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) may be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., a cell). Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors according to the base station antenna.

[0062] Figure 1A generalized illustration of various components is provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or less than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a, gNBs 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, UPFs 119, external clients or servers 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, the various components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0063] Although Figure 1 A 5G based network is shown, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, UPF 119, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced with or include various other location server functionality and / or base station functionality, respectively, in various embodiments.

[0064] The communication system 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of the communication system 100 can communicate with each other (at least sometimes using wireless connections), directly or indirectly, for example, via gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, and / or network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). For indirect communication, the communication may be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change header information of a data packet, change the format, etc. The UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly as well as via a wired connection. The UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are merely examples, as the UE 105 need not be any of these configurations, and other configurations of UEs may be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or head-mounted devices, etc.). Other UEs may also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the communication system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNBs 114, the core network 140, and / or external clients or servers 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The core network 140 may communicate with the external client or server 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow the external client or server 130 (e.g., via the GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about the UE 105.

[0065] The UE 105 or other device may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multi-frequency Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle to Vehicle, e.g., V2P (vehicle to pedestrian), V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), V2V (vehicle to vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communication can be cellular (cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (dedicated short range communication)). The communication system 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can simultaneously send modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilots, overhead information, data, etc. UE 105, 106 can communicate with each other through UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink (SL) channels such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0066] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a secure user plane location (SUPL) enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet device, a PDA, a consumer asset tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth ®(BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. UE 105 can use a wireless local area network (WLAN) to support wireless communications, and the wireless local area network (WLAN) can be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or a packet cable. The use of one or more of these RATs can allow UE 105 to communicate with an external client or server 130 (e.g., via UPF 119 or GMLC 125) and / or allow an external client or server 130 to receive location information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125) or receive RF sensing results from UE 105 (e.g., via UPF 119 and the Internet 121).

[0067] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where users may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices, and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. The estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geodetic, thereby providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) about UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above ground level, floor level, or basement level, or depth below). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or small area in a building (such as a specific room or floor)). The location of UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (geodetically or municipally defined) within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative position including, for example, a distance and direction relative to a known location. The relative position may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geodetically, in municipal form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term "location" may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved, and then (if necessary) the local coordinates are converted into absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0068] UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. UE 105 may be configured to be indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® Etc. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be located within a geographic coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP), such as one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from a base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be located within a geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from a base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving TRP.

[0069] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown include NR Node Bs (referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other directly or via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. Figure 1 , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may serve as the serving gNB if UE 105 moves to another location, or may serve as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0070] Figure 1The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 135 may include ng-eNB 114, also referred to as next generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connectable to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105.

[0071] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of a BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., a shared processor but with separate antennas). The communication system 100 may include only a macro TRP, or the communication system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as a macro TRP, a pico TRP, and / or a femto TRP, among others. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals associated with the femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a home).

[0072] As mentioned, although Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol) may also be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) that provides LTE wireless access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations including evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 The NG-RAN 135 in the figure and the EPC correspond to the 5GC 140 in the figure.

[0073] The gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115; for positioning functionality, the AMF communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections with the UE 105 and possible data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105, or directly with the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, for example, via wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135, and may support various positioning procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) (e.g., Downlink TDOA (DL-TDOA) or Uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA)), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 may process, for example, a location service request for the UE 105 received from the AMF 115 or the GMLC 125. A node / system implementing the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the position of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE 105 of signals transmitted by wireless nodes (such as gNB 110a, gNB110b and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or assistance data provided to the UE 105, for example, by the LMF 120). The AMF 115 may serve as a control node for handling signaling between the UE 105 and the core network 140, and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105 (including cell changes and handovers), and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105.

[0074] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from an external client or server 130, and may forward the location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., containing a location estimate of the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client or server 130. The GMLC 125 is shown as being connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but may not be connected to either the AMF 115 or the LMF 120 in some implementations.

[0075] like Figure 1 For further illustration, LMF 120 may communicate with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa), which may be defined in Technical Specification (TS) 38.455 defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NRPPa messages may be communicated between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120 and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120 via AMF 115. Figure 1By further example, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS37.355. Here, LPP messages may be passed between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or the serving ng-eNB 114 of the UE 105. For example, the LPP messages may be passed between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and may be passed between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, DL-TDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 105 using network-based positioning methods (such as UL-TDOA and E-CID) (e.g., when used in conjunction with measurements obtained by gNB 110a, gNB 110b, or ng-eNB 114), and / or may be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters that define downlink (DL) signals sent from gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114.

[0076] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, UE 105 may obtain location measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate for UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of received signal strength indication (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) of gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN APs. The location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudoranges, code phases, and / or carrier phases of SVs 190-193.

[0077] Using the UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain position measurements (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurements of the UE-assisted positioning method), and the position of UE 105 can be calculated (e.g., with the help of auxiliary data received from a location server (such as LMF120) or broadcast by gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base stations or APs).

[0078] Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time of arrival (ToA) of signals sent by UE 105) and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 105. One or more base stations or APs may transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate for UE 105.

[0079] The LPP message transmitted from LMF 120 to UE 105 may instruct UE 105 to perform any of a variety of operations, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP message may include instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or DL-TDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP message may command UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement parameters (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may transmit these measurement parameters back to the LMF 120 in an LPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0080] As noted, although the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) that are used to support mobile devices (such as UE 105) and interact with the mobile devices (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionality). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1The 5GC 140 may be connected to the WLAN (not shown). For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN and other elements in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in the EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN including an eNB, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC including a mobility management entity (MME) instead of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC instead of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125.

[0081] Also refer to Figure 2UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105, 106, and includes a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (which includes a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensor 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the positioning device 219 can be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which can be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., the camera 218, the positioning device 219, and / or one or more sensors in the sensor 213, etc.) can be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may include, for example, a processor for RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more (cellular) wireless signals and reflections sent are used to identify, map, and / or track objects) and / or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identity module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by a terminal user of the UE 200 to obtain connectivity. The memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a disk memory, and / or a read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause processor 210 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by processor 210, but may be configured to cause processor 210 to perform these functions, for example, when compiled and executed. This specification may refer to processor 210 performing a function, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations in which processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. This specification may refer to processor 210 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of processors 230-234 performing the function.This description may refer to UE 200 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of UE 200 performing that function. Processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in lieu of memory 211. The functionality of processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0082] Figure 2 The configuration of UE 200 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of UE includes one or more processors of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more processors of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of the following: sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0083] The UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and down-converted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of signals to be up-converted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, the baseband processing may be performed by the general processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform the baseband processing.

[0084] UE 200 may include sensors 213, which may include, for example, one or more sensors of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors, etc. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responsive to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensors 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes (e.g., to support one or more compass applications). Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, IR cameras, and / or one or more microphones, etc. Sensors 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals, indications of which may be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or general processor 230 to support one or more applications (such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations).

[0085] The sensor 213 may be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. The information detected by the sensor 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. The sensor 213 may be used to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or moving and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on the information obtained / measured by the sensor 213, the UE 200 may notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or that the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented by the sensor 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to the UE 200, etc.

[0086] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction of motion and / or speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect the linear acceleration and rotational speed of the UE 200, respectively. The linear acceleration measurements and rotational speed measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement may be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, a reference position of the UE 200 at a certain moment may be determined, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and measurements obtained from the accelerometers and gyroscopes after that moment may be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference position.

[0087] The magnetometer may determine magnetic field strengths in different directions, which may be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may provide a means for sensing a magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field, for example, to the processor 210.

[0088] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and converting signals from wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. The one or more antennas 246 may include, for example, two (dual) antennas, four (quad) antennas, or an antenna array to achieve directional transmission and / or directional reception of RF sensing signals. Thus, the wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® , Zigbee, etc. The new radio may use millimeter wave frequencies and / or frequencies below 6 GHz. The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that may be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to transmit communications to the NG-RAN 135 and receive communications from the NG-RAN. The wired transmitter 252 may include a plurality of transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include a plurality of receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, via an optical connection and / or an electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215.

[0089] The transceiver 215 may be configured to transmit and receive other types of signals. For example, the transceiver 215 may be configured to transmit and receive radio detection and ranging, sonar, ultrasonic, and / or light detection and ranging signals, for example, under the control of the sensor processor 234. The wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and / or the antenna 246 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas, respectively, for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0090] The user interface 216 may include one or more devices such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibration device, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 to be processed by the DSP 231 and / or the general processor 230 in response to actions from the user. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 to present output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device, which includes, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a digital-to-analog circuit, an analog-to-digital circuit, an amplifier, and / or a gain control circuit (including more than one of these devices). Other configurations of audio I / O devices may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on, for example, a keyboard and / or a touch screen of the user interface 216 .

[0091] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring the SPS signal 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The antenna 262 is configured to convert the wireless SPS signal 260 into a wired signal, such as an electrical signal or an optical signal, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 in whole or in part to estimate the position of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200 by performing trilateration using the SPS signal 260. The general processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be utilized in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217 to process the acquired SPS signal in whole or in part, and / or calculate the estimated position of the UE 200. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for performing positioning operations. The general purpose processor 230 , the DSP 231 , and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use in processing measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200 .

[0092] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. Camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a coupled device or a CMOS imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuits, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing captured images may be performed by general purpose processor 230 and / or DSP 231. Additionally or alternatively, video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing captured images. Video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (e.g., of user interface 216) (not shown).

[0093] The positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative position of the UE 200, and / or the time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with the SPS receiver 217, and / or include a portion or all of the SPS receiver. The PD 219 may work appropriately with the processor 210 and the memory 211 to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, although the description herein may only refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform or performing according to the positioning method. The PD 219 may be additionally or alternatively configured to: use ground-based signals (e.g., at least some signals 248) for trilateration, assist in obtaining and using SPS signals 260, or both to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)), and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.), which may sense the orientation and / or movement of the UE 200 and provide an indication of the orientation and / or movement, and the processor 210 (e.g., general processor 230 and / or DSP 231) may be configured to use the indication to determine the movement of the UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). The PD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in the determined positioning and / or movement. The functionality of PD 219 may be provided in a variety of ways and / or configurations, such as by general / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0094] Also refer to Figure 3 , an example of a TRP 300 for a gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 includes a computing platform including a processor 310, a memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to one another via a bus 320 (which may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include a plurality of processors (e.g., including a general / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, such as Figure 2 ). Memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 311 stores software 312, which may be a processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause processor 310 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by processor 310, but may be configured to cause processor 310 to perform these functions, for example, when compiled and executed.

[0095] This description may refer to processor 310 performing a function, but this includes other specific implementations, such as a specific implementation in which processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. This description may refer to processor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 310 performing the function. This description may refer to TRP 300 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) of TRP 300 (and thereby one of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) performing the function. Processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in lieu of memory 311. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0096] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and converting signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate in accordance with a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® , Zigbee, etc.) to communicate signals (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices). The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to transmit communications to, for example, the LMF 120 and / or one or more other network entities and receive communications therefrom. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0097] Figure 3 The configuration of the TRP 300 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP 300 is configured to perform several functions or that the TRP performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0098] Also refer to Figure 4 , the server 400 (LMF 120 is an example of the server) includes a computing platform including a processor 410, a memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 420 (the bus may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may include a plurality of processors (e.g., including a general / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, such as Figure 2 ). Memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk storage, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 stores software 412, which may be a processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause processor 410 to perform various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executable by processor 410, but may be configured to cause processor 410 to perform these functions, for example, when compiled and executed. This specification may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations in which processor 410 executes software and / or firmware. This specification may refer to processor 410 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 410 performing the functions. This specification may refer to server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 performing the functions. Processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or replacement for memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0099] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and converting signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to operate in accordance with a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® , Zigbee, etc.) to communicate signals (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices). The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface that can be used to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to transmit communications to, for example, the TRP 300 and / or one or more other network entities and receive communications therefrom. The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, for example, for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0100] The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as implementations in which processor 410 executes software (stored in memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) performing that function.

[0101] Figure 4The configuration of the server 400 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses that the server 400 is configured to perform several functions or that the server performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0102] refer to Figure 5A , shows an example diagram 500 of radio frequency sensing for simultaneous transmission and reception of a wireless device. A wireless device such as UE 200, UE 105, UE 106, or TRP 300 includes a transceiver 240 or a transceiver 340 having multiple transmit chains and receive chains configured for simultaneous transmission and reception of RF signals. Figure 5A The number of transmit chains and receive chains in is an example and not a limitation, as other transceiver and antenna configurations may be used. For example, the transceiver 240 may be configured for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) with two transmit chains and two receive chains. Other array sizes and configurations may be used. In one example, the transceiver 240 may include a transmit chain including a transmit antenna 502 that is operably coupled to a transmit RF module 508. The transmit RF module 508 is configured to receive a signal from a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 506 and transmit a corresponding RF signal via the transmit antenna 502. The signal may be generated by a processor such as a modem processor 232 and / or a general processor 230. The transceiver 240 may include one or more receive chains including a receive antenna 504, a receive RF module 516, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 514. Additional receive modules such as a second receive chain 520 and a third receive chain 522 may also be used.

[0103] Generally speaking, RF sensing uses one or more RF signals (e.g., WiFi signals or NR signals) including one or more waveforms, sequences, or packets to determine the presence and / or movement of an object. This can be accomplished by using the RF signal for channel acquisition, performing channel estimation to obtain a channel impulse response (CIR), a channel frequency response (CFR), and / or other forms of channel state information (CSI) indicating the presence and / or movement of an object. CSI indicates various aspects of the RF signal, such as multipath, reflection, and signal strength of each path. More broadly, CSI can represent, for example, the combined effects of one or more of reflection, scattering, fading, refraction, attenuation, and / or power attenuation with distance on the RF signal. According to some embodiments, channel estimation used in various forms of wireless communication systems can be used to obtain CSI. (In wireless communications, CSI is used to correctly demodulate and decode received packets.) Therefore, embodiments can utilize existing channel estimation techniques to obtain CSI for RF sensing purposes.

[0104] In operation, the wireless device may transmit a radio frequency signal 512a to a target 518. The reflected signal 512b is the portion of the RF signal 512a that is reflected (and / or diffracted or scattered) by the target 518 and received by one or more receive antennas (such as the receive antenna 504). These additional receive chains may enable beamforming / directional detection to enable the wireless device to calculate the angle of arrival (AoA) of the received signal. The receive chain may also receive transmit leakage 510 while transmitting the RF signal 512a. The transmit leakage 510 may be conducted and / or radiated interference, depending on the configuration of the wireless device. For example, physical shielding may be used to reduce radiated interference between the transmit antenna and the receive antenna. In one embodiment, the radio frequency signal 512a may be a predefined sequence (also referred to simply as a "sequence") of length "L". The predefined sequence may be designed to have a cyclic autocorrelation characteristic, such as a single-carrier Zadoff-Chu sequence or a symbol similar to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM).

[0105] The predefined sequence may be different from another predefined sequence used by another (e.g., nearby) wireless device in order to avoid receiving a transmission from the other wireless device and mistaking it for a reflection of a predefined sequence transmitted by the wireless device. In an embodiment, the predefined sequence may be defined or encoded based on a unique characteristic of the wireless device, such as a global identification of the wireless device or a temporary identification of the wireless device provided by a service network, such as 5GC 140. In other embodiments, part or all of the predefined sequence may be defined and provided to the wireless device by a service network, such as 5GC 140, or by a server, such as an external client or server 130, which may provide or define a different predefined sequence for each of a plurality of wireless devices that are close to each other. The predefined sequence may be sent repeatedly and continuously "n" times so that the receiving chain of the wireless device may start listening for a length "L" at a later time to receive the predefined sequence without losing signal information. This relaxed time requirement for the receiving chain means that they do not have to start at the same time as the transmitter.

[0106] The receive RF module 516 (and the additional receive chains 520, 522) can listen to and receive "m" sequences instead of 1 sequence. For example, the receive RF module 516 can listen to the length m*L, where "m" is the number of sequences captured by the receive RF module 516, and m<=n. The wireless device (e.g., UE 200) can combine the received "m" sequences to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The received sequence can be used for RF sensing. For example, a channel estimate can be obtained based on a known transmit sequence based on a signal correlation technique. The channel estimate can be processed by an iterative elimination algorithm to detect leakage and reflections. The time difference between leakage and reflection can be used to estimate the distance to the target 518.

[0107] In one example, multiple Rx antennas (such as additional receive chains 520, 522) may be used to receive the sequence in the reflected signal 512b, determine the channel estimate, and obtain the angle estimate of the reflected signal 512b. The UE typically has 2 to 4 antennas. The CSI received via different Rx antennas may be used to determine the angle information (e.g., by using Rx beamforming, determining the angle information phase difference, etc.). In some specific implementations, for example, an implementation with two antennas may achieve an angle granularity of 10 degrees (10°) to 15°, and an implementation with four antennas may achieve a granularity of 2° to 3°. In addition, in some other implementations, the RF sensing system may have multiple Tx antennas (e.g., 2 to 4 antennas). The phase of the Tx antenna may be configured to send an RF signal in a beam pointing in a certain direction. In some specific implementations, for example, an implementation with two Tx antennas may achieve an angle granularity of 10° to 15°, and an implementation with four Tx antennas may achieve a granularity of 2° to 3°. Changes in CSI over time (e.g., from one scan to the next) indicate motion of target 518. Changes may include changes in the amplitude or phase of the CSI. Additionally or alternatively, changes may include changes in metrics extracted and / or estimated from the CSI (such as flight time and the angle of each reflection path, etc.). Thus, the RF signal can be used to determine properties of the target object, such as position, volume, and movement. In one example, a classification algorithm and / or machine learning of the channel estimation results can be used to identify the type and / or size of motion of target 518. In one example, channel estimation can be used to detect changes in the orientation, size, shape, and / or posture of target 518.

[0108] Figure 5A The number of transmit chains and receive chains on the wireless device is an example and not a limitation. Other wireless devices may have multiple arrays, and each array may be composed of different numbers and patterns of antenna elements. For example, the antenna array may include a matrix of elements in 1x2, 1x4, 1x5, 1x8, 2x2, 2x4, 2x5, 2x8, 3x4, 3x5, 3x8, etc. Other antenna array matrix dimensions may also be used.

[0109] In one embodiment, a wireless device having one or more multi-element antenna arrays may be configured to beamform the transmitted and received RF signals. For example, the transceiver 240 may include a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) including a phase shifter for modifying the transmit and receive beam gains. The wireless device may be configured to change the angle of departure (AoD) of the RF signal 512a. In one example, the RF signal 512a may sweep across different AoDs, and the gain of the corresponding reflected signal may be determined. Changing the AoD of the RF signal 512a may be used to determine the direct path to the target 518 (e.g., based on the highest reflected gain). In one example, beam scanning may be used to determine the changing orientation, size, shape, and / or posture of an object (e.g., based on a series of reflected signals that vary over time). In one embodiment, the transmitted RF signal 512a may be a polarized signal, and the polarization of the received signal 512b may be detected. The polarization change between the transmitted signal and the received signal may be used to determine characteristics and / or classify the target 518.

[0110] In one example, the general processor 230 and / or the DSP 231 may be configured to determine the distance, speed, and / or size of the target object. The distance may be measured based on the pulse delay associated with the transmission of the RF signal 512a and the reception of the receive signal 512b. The speed of the target object may be obtained based on the Doppler shift of the RF signal 512a when the reflection is received. The angular direction may be based on the AoD of the changing RF signal. Other properties of the target object may be detected using signature analysis and inverse scattering techniques as known in the art. For example, the size of the target object may be based on the amplitude of the receive signal 512b, and the presence of a moving part on the target object may be based on the modulation of the receive signal 512b.

[0111] refer to Figure 5B , and further reference Figure 5A, a graph 550 of an example received signal is shown. The graph 550 includes a relative power axis 552, a time axis 554, and a signal response function 556. The signal response function 556 represents the signal detected by the receiving antenna 504. The first peak 558 is based on the transmit leakage 510, and the second peak 560 is based on the reflected signal 512b. The RF module 516 (and other receiving chains 520, 522) can be configured to reduce the receive gain during the duration of the transmission of the RF signal 512a. For example, one or more amplifier components (e.g., a low noise amplifier (LNA)) in the receiver can be configured with an adjustable gain function. The receive gain can be reduced to mitigate the impact of leakage on the receive chain. Other iterative elimination algorithms can be used to reduce the impact of the first peak 558 and improve the detection of the second peak 560. The transmit gain of the RF transmit module 508 can be increased to improve the detection of the reflected signal 512b. For example, the transmit gain can be iteratively increased for each sequence in the sequence based on the value of one or more peaks associated with the reflected signal 512b.

[0112] In operation, the signal response function 556 includes the transmitted sequence, and the corresponding ADC capture in the ADC module 514 is equivalent to a channel capture, which can be used to enable channel capture based on the RF sensing use case. The time difference between the first peak 558 (ie, the transmission time) and the second peak 560 (ie, the reflected signal 512b) can be used to estimate the distance to the target 518. The AoA of the reflected signal 512b can be obtained based on ADC capture from multiple antennas (e.g., additional receiving chains 520, 522). The measured distance and direction information to the target 518 can be used for indoor mapping applications. The bandwidth of the transmitted RF signal 512a can vary and is not limited to the Wi-Fi packet bandwidth. For example, the wide bandwidth can be based on the DAC and ADC rates and the analog filter bandwidth that can be greater than the Wi-Fi packet bandwidth. The transmission and reception of the RF signal 512a can be performed in hundreds of microseconds, and therefore the impact on Wi-Fi communications can be minimal. Therefore, the RF sensing technology described herein can be used simultaneously with the Wi-Fi data exchange function.

[0113] The characteristics of the transmitted RF signal 512a may vary depending on the technology utilized. The RF sensing technology provided herein may be applied to WLAN technology, which typically operates at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, but may include frequencies ranging from 900 MHz to 60 GHz. Other frequency ranges may also be used. For example, the frequencies used by the 802.11ad Wi-Fi standard (operating at 60 GHz). Since WLAN sensing may be performed in the same frequency band as communication, hardware may be used for both communication and WLAN sensing. For example, one or more of the components of UE 200 may be included in a wireless modem (e.g., Wi-Fi or 5G modem) of a television. Other RF communication technologies and signals may also be used, such as ultra-wideband (UWB) transceivers and symbols of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) long training fields (LTFs) similar to those of the UE 200, to perform channel acquisition to determine the presence and / or movement of a target object. In one example, known channel estimation techniques may be used, such as the legacy long training field (L-LTF) and high throughput (HT) / very high throughput (VHT) / high efficiency long training field (HE-LTF) in the communication packet preamble. Embodiments may use similar methods, such as by using a known transmitted signal for channel estimation.

[0114] refer to Figure 6 , a diagram 600 is shown for an example use case for detecting a crowd using radio frequency sensing. Diagram 600 includes a first wireless node, such as a first UE 602, configured to perform RF sensing. The first UE 602 may be a smartphone or other mobile device (e.g., UE 200, 105, or 106) owned by a first user 602a. The first user 602a may approach a crowd including at least a first pedestrian 606 and a second pedestrian 608. The pedestrians 606, 608 may or may not have mobile devices, but in either case, the pedestrians 606, 608 are not required to have mobile devices to implement the crowd sensing techniques described herein. The first UE 602 may transmit an RF sensing signal 604a, such as Figure 5A and Figure 5B, and receives a reflected signal 604b returned from pedestrians 606, 608. In one example, the first UE 602 may be configured to determine range and orientation information based on the reflected signal 604b. For example, the orientation to the pedestrian may be determined using an AoA technique, and the range may be calculated using a time-of-flight technique. A first polar coordinate graph 610 depicts the results of the RF scan, wherein a first target indication 612 corresponds to the relative position of the first pedestrian 606, and a second target indication 614 corresponds to the relative position of the second pedestrian 608. The first UE 602 may be configured to report the target indications 612, 614 (e.g., range and orientation parameters) together with the state information of the UE 602 to a network server for crowdsourcing RF sensing results. The state information may include the current position of the UE 602 (e.g., based on satellite or other terrestrial technology), and other orientation information such as direction of motion, speed, magnetic heading, and other sensor information that enables network resources to convert the local coordinate system (e.g., relative orientation) of the UE 602 to a global coordinate system.

[0115] refer to Fig. 7A , and further reference Figure 6, a diagram 700 is shown for an example use case of detecting a crowd using multiple wireless nodes configured for radio frequency sensing. In addition to a second user 702a having a second wireless node, such as a second UE 702 (e.g., which can be UE 200, 105, or 106), the diagram 700 also includes a first user 602a having a first UE 602 and pedestrians 606, 608. The second UE 702 is configured to perform RF sensing operations and can send an RF sensing signal 704a and receive a reflected signal 704b based on the location of the pedestrians 606, 608 and the first user 602a. Similarly, the first UE 602 can receive the reflected signal 604b based on the location of the second user 702a, and can determine a third target indication 706 based on the range and bearing to the second user 702a. In one example, the network server 400 can be configured as an RF sensing crowdsourcing server and can provide RF sensing assistance data to the first UE 602 and the second UE 702 to configure the RF sensing signals 604a, 704a. For example, the RF sensing assistance data may include beam configuration information, such as frequency, bandwidth, and timing information, so that the RF sensing signals 604a, 704a may not interfere with each other. In one example, the RF sensing signals 604a, 704a may be based on orthogonal components in an OFDM mode. In some specific implementations, the transmitted RF sensing signals 604a and 704a may be orthogonal, for example, in space, in time, in the frequency domain, and / or using orthogonal codes or any combination thereof. The second UE 702 may determine a first target indication 712 based on the relative position of the first pedestrian 606, a second target indication 714 based on the relative position of the second pedestrian 608, and a third target indication 708 based on the relative position of the first user 602a. The target indications 708, 712, 714 are depicted on a second example polar coordinate diagram 710. The first UE 602 and the second UE 702 may provide UE status information and their corresponding target indications to the RF sensing crowdsourcing server to achieve aggregation of RF sensing reports and analysis of sensor data. In one example, the UE 602, 702 can be configured to perform RF sensing and provide sensing reports on a periodic basis and / or as directed by a network or RF sensing crowdsourcing server.

[0116] In one example, UE 602, 702 may be configured to determine attributes associated with a target object. These attributes may be based on the characteristics of reflected RF signals 604b, 704b. For example, a motion vector associated with a target object may be estimated using Doppler shift, distance change, and / or AoA drift. For example, a first pedestrian 606 may be associated with a first motion 606a, and a second pedestrian 608 may be associated with a second motion 608a. UE 602, 702 may be configured to determine other attributes associated with a target object, such as size, posture / orientation, and composition, based on RF signal characteristics. In one example, UE 602, 702 may be configured to determine the attributes of a target object and provide the attribute information and target indication information to server 400. The attributes of a target object may be used to identify and / or track an object. The attributes of a target object as a person may include height, width, posture (e.g., sitting, standing, walking, running), orientation (e.g., facing sideways, facing frontally, or facing backwards), clothing type, whether a bag or other object is carried. Attributes of target objects that are vehicles may include length, width, height, speed, and / or a pattern or signature of reflected RF signals that indicates a particular type, make, and / or model of the vehicle (e.g., truck, SUV, compact car, midsize car, Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Lexus, Dodge Ram, Toyota Highlander, Audi A4, etc.). Attributes of target objects that are unmanned aerial vehicles may include length, width, height, cross-sectional area, horizontal position, altitude, speed, direction of motion, and / or a pattern or signature of reflected RF signals that indicates a particular type, make, or model of the unmanned aerial vehicle (e.g., multi-rotor, fixed wing, single rotor, number of rotors, DJI Matrice 300 RTK, Skydio 2+, Autel Robotics Evo Lite+, etc.).

[0117] In these examples, each of the UEs 602, 702 may analyze the reflected RF signals 604b, 704b, respectively, to determine properties and may provide the properties to the server, rather than providing the original signal information of the reflected RF signals 604b, 704b to the server.

[0118] In another example, the UE 602, 702 may be configured to provide the server 400 with RF sensing signal information (e.g., RF signal characteristics that the UE 602, 702 may not be able to analyze and interpret). The server 400 may then be configured to detect the target object and determine the properties of the target object. For example, the UE 602, 702 may provide state information (e.g., UE location, UE transmit power, UE orientation, etc.) and time domain and / or frequency domain components of the reflected signal. In one example, the UE 602, 702 may be configured to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the received RF sensing signal and provide a digital representation of the RF sensing signal to the server 400. For example, the server 400 may be configured to analyze the frequency of the reflected RF sensing signal 604b, 704b to detect an offset (e.g., Doppler) associated with the pedestrian 606, 608, and estimate the motion of the pedestrian 606, 608 based on the corresponding frequency offset and the state / position of the UE 602, 702. The server 400 may also be configured to determine other properties associated with the target object.

[0119] The server 400 may aggregate the attribute and / or RF sensing signal information provided by and received from the UEs 602 and 702. In the example diagram 700, both the UEs 602 and 702 may provide attribute and / or RF sensing signal information for pedestrians 606 and 608. By aggregating (i.e., combining) this information, the server 400 may be able to obtain or infer more information about the pedestrians 606 and 608 than may be obtained or inferred from the attribute and / or RF sensing signal information provided by only one UE (e.g., by the UE 602 or the UE 702 alone). For example, by aggregating the information, the server may be able to obtain or infer a more accurate position, speed and / or direction of movement, size, weight, posture, gait, type of clothing, bags or packages carried by either or both of the pedestrians 606 and 608. This may be due in part to the fact that UEs 602 and 702 are located at different locations and transmit RF sensing signals 604a and 704a, respectively, and receive reflected signals 604b and 704b, respectively, which strike pedestrians 606 and 608, respectively, and are reflected or scattered by pedestrians 606 and 608, respectively, at different angles and directions. The different ranges, different AoAs, and / or different Doppler shifts of each pedestrian 606 and 608 obtained (e.g., by UE 602, UE 702, and / or server 400) may then be used to triangulate or trilaterate a more accurate position, velocity, and / or direction of motion of each pedestrian 606 and 608. Similarly, the signal characteristics of reflected signals 604b and 704b may both indicate a certain type of clothing (e.g., based on certain types of clothing reflecting signals more strongly than other types of clothing), or may both indicate carrying a package or bag (e.g., based on the greater strength of the reflected signal).

[0120] refer to Figure 7B , and further reference Fig. 7A , a diagram 750 is shown of an example use case for improving detection of a single target object using multiple wireless nodes configured for radio frequency sensing. The diagram 750 includes a first user 602a having a first UE 602, a second user 702a having a second UE 702, and a pedestrian 608. Also shown are a first polar plot 610 showing a target indication 614 result of an RF scan of the pedestrian 608 by the UE 602 and a second polar plot 710 showing a target indication 714 result of an RF scan of the pedestrian 608 by the UE 702. The target indication 614 result may include an orientation 652 (e.g., an orientation relative to true north), a range 654, and a velocity component 656 (which may be obtained from a Doppler shift) of the pedestrian 608 as sensed at the location of the first UE 602. Similarly, the target indication 714 result may include an orientation 752, a range 754, and a velocity component 756 (which may be obtained from a Doppler shift) of the pedestrian 608 as sensed at the location of the second UE 702. If the positions of the two UEs 602 and 702 are known, the position of the pedestrian 608 can be uniquely obtained from any of the following: bearing 652 and range 654; bearing 752 and range 754 or bearing 652 and bearing 752. That is, only two of the four variables are needed to locate the pedestrian 608. The additional two variables can then be used to improve the accuracy of the position of the pedestrian 608. For example, if there is a measurement error in any one or all of the bearing 652, range 654, bearing 752, and range 754, all four variables can be combined to calculate a position with a smaller expected error than a position calculated using only two (or three) of the four variables (e.g., using the least squares method). If the bearing and range results of the pedestrian 608 are combined with the results from the additional UE ( Figure 7B 602 and 702). As for the position calculation, if the velocity component of the pedestrian 608 is provided by the RF sensing result from the additional UE, the accuracy of the velocity calculation can be further improved. Similarly, the motion 608a of the pedestrian 608 (e.g., the speed and direction of walking or running) can be calculated based on simple vector algebra according to the velocity components 656 and 756 determined by the two UEs 602 and 702. As for the position calculation, if the velocity component of the pedestrian 608 is provided by the RF sensing result from the additional UE, the accuracy of the velocity calculation can be further improved.

[0121] As discussed with respect to Figures 700 and 750, one problem of aggregating RF sensing results for a common target object from multiple UEs may be to ensure that the RF sensing results from multiple UEs are applied to the same target object and not to different target objects. One way to achieve this may be to obtain RF sensing results for multiple target objects from each UE at approximately the same time, wherein the multiple target objects may include both stationary target objects and mobile target objects. The RF sensing results for stationary target objects may be used to compare RF sensing results between different UEs. For example, if the RF sensing results obtained by two UEs indicate that there are multiple stationary target objects (e.g., buildings, walls, trees, lamp posts, traffic lights) at approximately the same location, the indication of the mobile target object may become easier to associate. For example, if two UEs sense a first mobile target object located in the middle of two stationary target objects, the location of each stationary target object is approximately the same according to the RF sensing results from the two UEs, and if neither UE senses another mobile target object near the first mobile target object, it can be assumed that the two UEs sense the same first mobile target object.

[0122] This observation can be generalized to RF sensing results provided by multiple UEs, where the RF sensing results from each UE indicate multiple stationary and mobile target objects. The server can combine the indications of stationary and mobile target objects, for example, by calculating a geographical map of the stationary and mobile target objects indicated by the RF sensing results provided by each UE. If the stationary target object sensed by each UE is roughly aligned with the stationary target objects sensed by other UEs, the server can use the position of the stationary target object as a reference point to define and evaluate the position of the mobile target object. If the position of the mobile target object is roughly the same relative to the stationary target object of each UE, the server can assume that the mobile target objects sensed by different UEs are the same mobile target object. The sensing results from a small number of UEs that are not aligned can be ignored as errors, and the position and movement inferred from the RF sensing results from other UEs can be further statistically averaged to further improve accuracy.

[0123] Although example diagrams 700 and 750 show only two sensing UEs 602 and 702, there may be many other UEs ( Fig. 7A and Figure 7B), these other UEs may be able to send attributes and / or RF sensing signal information of pedestrians 606 and 608 to server 400 based on the transmission of RF sensing signals and the reception of reflected or scattered signals similar to those described for UEs 602 and 702. In this case, server 400 can access information related to attributes (such as the position, speed and / or direction of movement, size, weight, posture, gait, clothing type, bags or packages carried by either or both of pedestrians 606 and 608) obtained by UEs at many different directions and distances to pedestrians 606 and 608, which can greatly improve the accuracy and reliability of the determination of these attributes by server 400.

[0124] refer to Fig. 8A, a diagram 800 is shown of an example use case of utilizing radio frequency sensing to detect stationary objects in a crowd. Diagram 800 includes multiple wireless nodes (also referred to as wireless devices) (e.g., UEs 200, 105, 106) configured for RF sensing, such as a first UE 802, a second UE 804, a third UE 806, and a fourth UE 808. In some implementations, the RF sensing performed by the first UE 802, the second UE 804, the third UE 806, and the fourth UE 808 may employ orthogonal RF sensing signal transmission (e.g., orthogonal in space, in time, in the frequency domain, and / or using orthogonal codes, or any combination thereof) to reduce, minimize, or eliminate interference between RF sensing signal transmissions of different UEs. UEs 802, 804, 806, 808 are oriented so that the RF sensing operation of each of the UEs covers a limited area, such as a first area 802a of a first UE 802, a second area 804a of a second UE 804, a third area 806a of a third UE 806, and a fourth area 808a of a fourth UE 808. The locations of the UEs and the corresponding coverage areas are examples and not limitations, as the UEs may be located at other locations and may have different coverage areas. Diagram 800 includes a crowd of moving pedestrians 830a-i in an example of stationary inanimate objects such as a first lamp post 820, a tree 822, and a second lamp post 824. UEs 802, 804, 806, 808 or an RF sensing crowdsourcing server may be configured to detect stationary inanimate objects to improve crowd estimation (e.g., exclude inanimate objects from crowd counting). In one embodiment, the UE 802, 804, 806, 808 may be configured to calculate relative range, orientation, and motion information based on RF sensing operations such as depicted in the corresponding polar plots 812, 814, 816, 818. For example, the UE 802, 804, 806, 808 may be configured to detect motion using Doppler shifts and / or range changes and / or AoA in RF signal reflections. Multiple measurements obtained over a period of time may also be used to detect whether a target object is moving or stationary. Other RF signal parameters may also be used to classify the target object.

[0125] Diagram 800 illustrates how a server (e.g., server 400) can obtain RF sensing results from many wireless devices (in this case, UEs 802, 804, 806, 808), which can enable RF sensing of a larger area or volume than any one wireless device can sense by itself. In this example, UEs 802, 804, 806, 808 can provide RF sensing results for an area including a first area 802a, a second area 804a, a third area 806a, and a fourth area 808a. When some of the first area 802a, the second area 804a, the third area 806a, and the fourth area 808a partially (or even completely) overlap, RF sensing results may be provided by two or more of the UEs 802, 804, 806, 808 for the same target object (e.g., a person, a vehicle, an animal, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or some other object), which may improve the accuracy and reliability of inferring the properties of the target object, as discussed above with respect to diagrams 700 and 750. Thus, by using multiple sensing wireless devices, the server may be able to obtain or infer the properties of the target object over a larger area or volume, and with greater accuracy and reliability.

[0126] refer to Figure 8B , diagram 840 showing an example use case of tracking a mobile object using radio frequency sensing. Diagram 840 shows some of the UEs and mobile pedestrians 830 previously shown and described with respect to diagram 800. In an embodiment where a mobile target object is being tracked, the LMF 120 or the server 400 may determine that the mobile target object is present in a first area that can be sensed by a first group of UEs, and may obtain or infer attributes of the target object (e.g., location, speed, direction of movement), which means that the target object will enter a second area at some time in the future. The LMF 120 or the server 400 may then transmit sensing assistance data to a second group of UEs that are capable of performing RF sensing in the second area, and may include information in the sensing assistance data to enable the second group of UEs to obtain RF sensing results for the target object. In this way, tracking of the target object may be switched from the first group of UEs to the second group of UEs without losing the RF sensing results for the target object for any significant time (e.g., more than 3 seconds). In Figure 8BIn the example shown in , the first area may be area 802a, the second area may be area 806a, the first group of UEs may be UE 802, the second group of UEs may be UE 806, and the moving target object is pedestrian 830c. At time T1, pedestrian 830c is located in area 802a and is being tracked by UE 802. At time T2, pedestrian 830c has moved into area 806a and is being tracked by UE 806. At or shortly after time T1, the LMF 120 or server 400 that has received the RF sensing result from UE 802 may transmit to UE 806 auxiliary data indicating that pedestrian 830c will soon be visible in area 806a, and may provide the expected location, expected time (e.g., time T2), and expected speed or velocity of pedestrian 830c and other attributes of pedestrian 830c, such as approximate height, size, clothing type, etc. This may enable the UE 806 to detect the pedestrian 830 c from the RF sensing results obtained by the UE 806 , and specifically track the pedestrian 830 c and provide the associated RF sensing results to the LMF 120 or the server 400 .

[0127] In operation, refer to Figure 8C , an example message flow 850 for performing crowd sensing operations is shown. Message flow 850 is an example and not a limitation, as other messages may be used within communication system 100 to obtain RF sensing information from network nodes. Flow 850 includes an RF sensing crowd sensing server (such as LMF 120 or another server 400), a base station (such as gNB110a), and multiple wireless nodes (such as UE 852 (e.g., which may be an instance of UE 105 or UE 106)). UE 852 may include some or all of the components of UE 200, and UE 200 is an example of one of UEs in UE 852. In Figure 8C808. In the use case depicted in FIG. 1 , UE 852 may include UE 802, 804, 806, 808. In one example, LMF 120 (or other crowdsourcing server) may be configured to transmit an RF sensing request message 854 to one or more of UE 852, for example, via LPP or TCP / IP messaging. UE 852 may respond with an RF sensing capability message 856 to indicate the UE's respective ability to participate in RF sensing operations. For example, a UE actively participating in a communication application (e.g., voice, video, data, etc.) or other processor and / or bandwidth intensive operations may not be able to participate in the requested RF sensing operation. The RF sensing capability message 856 may also include parameter information (e.g., location, orientation, bandwidth, power, frequency range, beam width, etc.) regarding the ability of UE 852 to perform RF sensing operations. The LMF 120 may determine a UE 852 that is capable of performing RF sensing operations (e.g., based on the RF sensing capability message 856) and generate and provide an RF sensing assistance data message 858 including RF sensing configuration information to enable the UE 852 to jointly perform RF sensing operations. The RF sensing assistance data message 858 may be provided via LPP messaging, IP messaging, or TCP / IP messaging. In one example, the RF sensing assistance data message 858 may include sector information (e.g., Fig. 8A The RF sensing assistance data message 858 may include resource portion information (e.g., timing and frequency) of the RF sensing operation. In one example, the assistance data may include RF characteristics and / or attribute information associated with the intended target object. The information may include an expected location (e.g., range / orientation), an expected movement (e.g., speed / direction), size, and / or other frequency domain characteristics to help the UE 852 identify the target object (e.g., such as a target object). Figure 8B Other information elements may also be included in the assistance data.

[0128] In one specific implementation, the LMF 120 may generate RF sensing coordination information for each of the UEs 852 and include the RF sensing coordination information in the RF sensing assistance data message 858. The RF sensing coordination information included in each of the RF sensing assistance data messages 858 transmitted to one of the UEs 858 may include orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by one of the UEs 852, which are orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby UEs 852. For example, the orthogonality information may be for at least one of orthogonality in the spatial domain, orthogonality in the time domain, orthogonality in the frequency domain, orthogonality in the coding domain, or a combination thereof. The RF sensing coordination information may also include orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each of the UEs 852, which are orthogonal to other RF transmissions in the local vicinity of each of the UEs 852.

[0129] At stage 860, UE 852 may perform RF sensing operations based at least in part on the assistance data. For example, UE 802, 804, 806, 808 may be configured to jointly perform a single static RF sensing operation based on an assigned geographic area (e.g., area 802a, 804a, 806a, 808a), time division, frequency division, and / or a combination of area, time, and frequency. In one example, UE 802, 804, 806, 808 may be configured for bistatic RF sensing, such that an RF signal transmitted by one UE that is reflected, scattered, diffracted, and / or absorbed by a target object may be received and utilized by other UEs to detect the target object. The RF sensing signals sent by the first UE 802, the second UE 804, the third UE 806 and the fourth UE 808 can be orthogonal, for example, in space, in time, in the frequency domain, and / or using orthogonal codes or any combination thereof, so as to reduce, minimize or eliminate interference between the RF sensing signals of UEs 802, 804, 806 and 808.

[0130] At stage 860, the UE 852 may be configured to provide an RF sensing report message 862 to the LMF 120 based on the RF sensing operation. In one example, each of the UEs 852 may be configured to determine attributes associated with the target object, such as size, motion, range, orientation (e.g., boresight direction), elevation (e.g., in a 3D implementation), or other attributes, based on the received RF signals. The RF sensing report message 862 may include attribute information. In one example, the UE 852 may provide raw RF signal information in the RF sensing report message 862, and a network server (such as the LMF 120 or other server 400) may be configured to determine the attribute based on the RF signal information. The crowdsourcing server may be configured to analyze and aggregate the content of the RF sensing report message 862 across multiple UEs 852 at stage 864, and provide crowd sensing information back to the UE 852 or provide the crowd sensing information to another entity, such as an external client or server 130.

[0131] The crowdsourcing server may determine one or more environmental inferences at stage 864 based at least in part on the analysis and aggregation of the RF sensing report messages 862. The one or more environmental inferences may include at least one of the following: tracking the movement or position of a person, vehicle, animal, unmanned aerial vehicle, or other object, or both; determining one or more attributes of a person, vehicle, animal, unmanned aerial vehicle, or other object; and determining one or more attributes of a crowd, multiple vehicles, a group of animals, a group of unmanned aerial vehicles, or a group of other objects. The one or more attributes of a person, vehicle, animal, unmanned aerial vehicle, or other object may include horizontal position, altitude, speed, orientation, size, height, width, length, weight, type, brand, model, kind, orientation, posture, gait, clothing type, bags or packages carried, or some combination of these. The one or more attributes of a crowd, multiple vehicles, a group of animals, a group of unmanned aerial vehicles, or a group of other objects may include location, location area, density, quantity, rate of increase in value, rate of decrease in value, average speed, statistical direction of movement, or some combination of these. The crowdsourcing server may include information related to at least one of the movement, location, or one or more attributes of a person, vehicle, animal, unmanned aerial vehicle, or other object in the RF sensing assistance data message 858. The crowdsourcing server may additionally or alternatively include information related to at least one of the one or more attributes of a group of people, multiple vehicles, a group of animals, a group of unmanned aerial vehicles, or a group of other objects in the RF sensing assistance data message 858.

[0132] Although the messages in message flow 850 may utilize LPP as described, other messaging and control techniques may also be used. For example, RF sensing assistance data and reports may utilize radio resource control (RRC) techniques or may employ messages (e.g., HTTP messages) delivered over a user plane (e.g., using TCP / IP protocols). Other techniques such as a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) may be used to trigger RF sensing operations. For example, the gNB 110a may be configured to provide a MAC-CE message to activate RF sensing in the UE, and the UE may be configured to provide an RF sensing report in response to receiving the MAC-CE message. Other signaling techniques may also be used.

[0133] refer to Fig. 9 , shows an example directional diagram 900 including the boresight direction of an object detected using radio frequency sensing. Diagram 900 is an example of RF sensing information that may be determined by a UE (e.g., UE 852) and included in an RF sensing report message 862 and utilized by an RF sensing crowdsourcing server (e.g., LMF 120 or server 400) to aggregate the RF sensing information. In one example, the RF sensing information may include an array of boresight angles and gain information, such as depicted in diagram 900. Diagram 900 includes a coordinate plane 902 (e.g., polar angles from 0 degrees to 360 degrees, which may be related to or aligned with a global coordinate plane (e.g., a coordinate plane with a north-south or east-west polar axis)) and signal gain values ​​904 so that the relative strength of the received RF signal (e.g., the gain of the reflected signal 512b) may be plotted from a center location 906. A set of measurements extending at various angles from the center location 906 indicates the strength of the RF signal received at the corresponding boresight angles. For example, the first measurement result 908a has a relatively higher gain (e.g., signal strength) than the surrounding measurement results, and can indicate that the object is located at the sight axis angle. The gain value (e.g., the measured length) can also be used to indicate the size of the object. In contrast, the second measurement result 908b has a relatively small gain (e.g., at the noise level), and therefore can indicate that there is no target object. The sight axis angle and gain value are examples and can vary based on the capabilities of the UE. In one example, the angular resolution can be in the range of 2 degrees to 5 degrees.

[0134] refer to Fig.10, a graph 1000 of example frequency-based components in radio frequency signal information is shown. Graph 1000 represents a generalized frequency domain analysis of a reflected RF signal. In general, an RF signal can be represented as an array of variables and can be plotted in the frequency domain with a gain axis 1002 and a frequency axis 1004. A frequency response 1006 may include an array of frequencies and gain values ​​that can be used to characterize a target. For example, a target signal region 1008 may be based on an RF pulse and used to distinguish and / or identify a specific target. Signal region 1008 is an example of signal information (e.g., frequency-based components) that may be included in one or more RF sensing report messages 862 and used by a crowdsourcing server to identify a target. In operation, frequency response 1006 may represent other spectral functions such as Doppler frequency or other spectral processing such as power spectral density (PSD). In one example, a machine learning application may be trained with the frequency response and used to characterize signal region 1008. Frequency response 1006 may be applied to a specific boresight direction in a pattern (such as pattern 900), and thus measurements in the pattern (e.g., Fig. 9 Each of the measurements 908a , 908b ) in the graph 1000 may have its own unique frequency response, such as the frequency response 1006 shown in the graph 1000 .

[0135] refer to Fig.11 , a graph 1100 of an example time-based component of radio frequency signal information is shown. Graph 1100 represents a generalized time domain analysis of a reflected RF signal. Generally speaking, an RF signal can be represented as an array of variables and can be plotted in the time domain with a gain axis 1102 and a time axis 1104. A time response 1106 may include an array of time and gain values ​​that can be used to characterize a target. For example, a target signal area 1110 may be based on an RF pulse 1108 and used to distinguish and / or identify a specific target. Signal area 1110 is an example of signal information (e.g., a time-based component) that may be included in one or more RF sensing report messages 862 and used by a crowdsourcing server to identify a target. In operation, time response 1106 may represent other time domain functions, such as scattering characteristics, pulse profiles, and time-frequency characteristics. In one example, a machine learning application may be trained with a time domain response and used to characterize signal area 1110. Time response 1106 may apply to a particular boresight direction in a pattern, such as pattern 900 , and / or to a particular frequency response, such as frequency response 1006 shown in graph 1000 .

[0136] refer to Fig.12, an example time and frequency response graph 1200 of a radio frequency sensing signal is shown. Graph 1200 represents a generalized time and frequency response of a reflected RF signal. In one example, UE 1202 can be configured to perform RF sensing operations including transmitting an RF signal 1204a and receiving a reflected RF signal 1204b based on a nearside object 1206. UE 1202 can be configured to determine the time and frequency response of the reflected signal 1204b as a multivariate array, such as a response function 1216. The multivariate array can include gain, frequency, and time parameters, which can be plotted on a gain axis 1210, a frequency axis 1212, and a time axis 1214, such as Fig.12 . A multivariate array (e.g., response function 1216) is an example of signal information that may be included in one or more RF sensing report messages 862 and used by a crowdsourcing server to identify a target. In operation, a machine learning application may be trained using the response function 1216 for an associated target and used to characterize the reflected signal 1204b. The multivariate response function 1216 may be applied to a specific boresight direction in a pattern (such as pattern 900), in which case a four-dimensional multivariate array may be plotted to include gain, frequency, time, and boresight direction parameters. The information in this four-dimensional plot may be an example of signal information that may be included in one or more RF sensing report messages 862 and used by a crowdsourcing server to identify a target or set of targets.

[0137] refer to Fig.13, an example data structure 1300 for crowdsourcing RF sensing signal information is shown. The data structure 1300 may be stored (e.g., may be persistently stored) in an external client or server 130 (such as a crowdsourcing server), or stored on another networked server 400 (such as LMF 120). In one embodiment, the data structure 1300 may be stored (e.g., may be persistently stored) in the UE 200. The data structure 1300 may be provided on a memory device 1302 (such as a solid state or mechanical hard drive), and may include a plurality of data records stored in a relational database application (e.g., Amazon Aurora, Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, DB2, etc.) or in one or more flat files (e.g., JSON, XML, CSV, etc.). The table structures and fields in the data structure 1300 are examples and not limitations, as other data fields, tables, stored procedures, and index patterns may be used to construct the data structure 1300. In one example, the report table 1304 may be configured to capture parameters associated with an instance of an RF sensing operation. One or more datetime fields (e.g., start / stop time, duration, etc.) may be used to record the time at which the RF sensing operation occurred, and the location information field may indicate the location at which the RF sensing operation occurred (e.g., latitude / longitude / altitude, grid coordinates, etc.). The UEID field may uniquely identify the wireless node that obtained the RF sensing measurement (e.g., using a global identifier of the wireless node or some other unique identifier assigned to or assigned by the wireless node that hides the global identifier and provides privacy to the wireless node). One or more UEstateparams fields may capture UE state information during the RF sensing operation. For example, the state information may include orientation and inertial measurements (e.g., based on IMU 270), user presence detection, battery charge, software state / version, and other UE-specific parameters used to characterize the state of the wireless node during the RF sensing operation. The ChannelParams field may be used to capture channel information during the RF sensing operation, such as channel state (e.g., CIR, CFR, CSI) and channel gain (e.g., SNR).

[0138] Records in report table 1304 may be related to other tables such as signal table 1306 and object table 1308. Signal table 1306 may include fields associated with RF sensing signals measured by the wireless node. In one example, these fields may include time, date, and location information associated with the signal measurement (e.g., based on the location of the wireless node during the RF sensing operation). The signal information may include one or more boresight fields indicating the angle of arrival (AoA) of the RF signal and the corresponding signal strength. For example, the boresight fields may be based on the information depicted in diagram 900. Parameters associated with time domain and frequency domain measurements may also be stored in arrays associated with signal table 1306. For example, the frequency domain array may include Fig.10 The frequency components described in , and the time domain array can include Fig.11 Other fields and data structures may be used to store other signal parameters, such as Fig.12 The time and frequency response information described in , and other signal identification parameters (e.g., such as can be applied to radio detection and ranging) and parameters known in the art. Various aspects of the orthogonality parameters of the signals can be included in the signal table 1306, including spatial information (e.g., the target area or directionality of the signal), time (e.g., the start and stop time of the signal), frequency (e.g., the frequency assigned to the signal), and / or code (e.g., the code assigned to the signal).

[0139] The object table 1308 may include parameters associated with the target object detected by the wireless node and reported to the crowdsourcing server. In one example, these fields may include time, date, and location information associated with the signal measurement (e.g., based on the location of the wireless node during the RF sensing operation). The object range and orientation information determined by the wireless node may be included in one or more fields in the object table 1308. Other attribute fields may be included to record the attributes of the wireless node determined by the target object, such as size, posture / orientation, speed, and direction of motion. Other fields may be used for additional attributes. One or more classification fields may be used to store classification information provided by the reporting wireless node. For example, the reporting wireless node may be configured to classify the target object based on the RF signals sent and received. The classification may be based on local processing of the RF signal to provide a general description of the target (e.g., a person, dog, car, truck, tree, wall, building, etc.). In one example, the wireless node may be configured to use other sensors (e.g., cameras, microphones, light detection and ranging, ultrasound, etc.) to classify the target object and provide the classification through the RF sensing report. In one example, a wireless node may be configured to include sensor information (e.g., images, audio recordings) with an RF sensing report message (e.g., RF sensing report message 862). Similar fields and data structures may be used to store object-based parameters to enable a crowdsourcing server to store and aggregate results of RF sensing operations obtained by multiple wireless nodes.

[0140] refer to Fig.14A and Fig. 14B , a diagram of a composite map based on multiple radio frequency sensing reports is shown. The first diagram 1400 includes an RF sensing data structure 1402 that is operably coupled to a communication network 1401 including a base station 1404. The communication network 1401 is an example of the communication system 100, and the RF sensing data structure 1402 may be included in a crowdsourcing server, such as an external client or server 130, LMF 120, or another server 400. The RF sensing data structure 1402 may include Fig.13 The table described in, for example, may include a table for each of a plurality of wireless nodes (e.g., UEs 105 and 106) for providing RF sensing report messages (e.g., RF sensing report message 862) to a crowdsourcing server. Base station 1404 may include components of TRP 300, and TRP 300 may be an example of base station 1404. Although Fig.14A and Fig. 14B1401, but additional base stations may be used to transmit and receive RF sensing information to UEs within the communication network 1401. The communication network 1401 may utilize message flow 850 to transmit and receive RF sensing information to multiple wireless nodes (e.g., UEs such as UEs 105 and 106) in the network. For example, the first UE 1406 may be configured to obtain RF sensing measurements within a first area 1406a, the second UE 1408 may be configured to obtain RF sensing measurements within a second area 1408a, and the third UE 1410 may be configured to obtain RF sensing measurements within a third area 1410a. In some implementations, the RF sensing performed by the first UE 1406, the second UE 1408, and the third UE 1410 may employ orthogonal sensing signaling (e.g., orthogonal in space, in time, in the frequency domain, and / or using orthogonal codes, or any combination thereof) to reduce, minimize, or eliminate interference. The first UE 1408 may detect the first object 1412a and the second object 1412b and provide one or more RF sensing measurement report messages to be stored in the RF sensing data structure 1402. The second UE 1408 may detect the third object 1412c, and the third UE 1410 may detect the second object 1412b and the fourth object 1412d. The second UE 1408 and the third UE 1410 may also provide corresponding RF sensing report messages to the crowdsourcing server. The RF sensing report message may include a line of sight angle, time, frequency, and / or gain component (such as Figures 9 to 12 ) and / or object information (such as Figures 6 to 8A 1402). For example, the RF sensing report message may include the current location of each of the corresponding UEs and the range and orientation to the detected object. The server 400 may be configured to store the RF sensing information in the RF sensing report message in one or more tables in the RF sensing data structure 1402.

[0141] refer to Fig. 14B, the second figure 1450 illustrates a composite map 1454 based on RF sensing reports provided by UEs 1406, 1408, 1410. In one example, the server 400 within the communication network 1401 or an external server 1452 can access the RF sensing data structure 1402 to calculate the composite map 1454 and determine one or more environmental inferences based on the RF signals and / or attributes associated with each of the target objects. In one example, the external server 1452 can access the RF sensing data structure 1402 via a wired connection 1452a or via a wireless connection 1452b. Environmental inferences can be based on the location of objects, the density of objects, the movement of objects, or other attributes of individual objects when viewed as a group. For example, in a crowd sensing use case, objects 1412a-d can be associated with people moving around in a building or other pedestrian area, and environmental inferences can be based on the density of objects 1412a, 1412b, 1412d near the first user 1406 and the third user 1408. Crowd density can infer higher pedestrian traffic (e.g., if the object is moving), or a preferred location for viewing an event, or any other inference associated with increasing (or decreasing) crowd size. In one example, the external server 1452 can be configured to track the object over a period of time. For example, the near-side location of the object (e.g., based on the range and orientation from the UE) and the motion of the object (e.g., based on multiple measurements from the UE) can be used to identify and track the object through different coverage areas. In one example, the server 400 can be configured to provide RF sensing assistance data with an estimated location of the object to enable the UE to capture and track the object.

[0142] refer to Fig.15A , Fig. 15B , Fig. 15C and Fig.15D , illustrates the orthogonality of various types of sensing signals, e.g. Fig.15A This illustrates spatial orthogonality, Fig. 15B illustrates frequency domain and code based orthogonality, and Fig. 15C and Fig.15D Orthogonality in time is illustrated. FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D 1502, a second UE 1504, a third UE 1506, and a fourth UE 1506 are illustrated as performing sensing operations on object 1 1512, object 2 1514, object 3 1516, and object 4 1518. UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 may be Figure 1 UEs 105 and 106, Figure 2 UE 200 in Figures 6 to 7B UE 602 in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B UE 702 in Fig. 8AUEs 802, 804, 806, and 808 in Figure 8B UE 802 and 806 in Figure 8C 852 in FIG. UE 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 may optionally communicate with a server 1526 (e.g., LMF 120, server 400, or an external client or server 130) via a base station 1522 (e.g., gNB 110 or TRP 300) and a core network 1524 (e.g., 5GC 140 or other network). For example, server 1526 may be a coordination device that generates and provides RF sensing coordination information for UE 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508, which may include orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each UE that are orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other UEs. In another specific implementation, one of the UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 (e.g., UE 1502) may be a coordination device that generates and provides RF sensing coordination information (including orthogonality information) to the UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508, for example, using D2D (sidelink) signaling. FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D In another specific implementation, coordination of the orthogonality of the RF sensing signals may be performed by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 as a group, for example using P2P, server-to-client, or master-slave signaling, such as FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D 1505. Additionally, in some implementations, the RF sensing coordination information for UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 may also include orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each UE that are orthogonal to other RF transmissions (e.g., for voice and data) in the local vicinity of the UE (e.g., in an area where RF sensing signals transmitted by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 may be received by other wireless devices or nodes and RF transmissions of other wireless devices or nodes may be received by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508).

[0143] refer to Fig.15A, a diagram 1500 showing an example of orthogonality in the spatial domain of RF sensing signals transmitted and received by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508. As illustrated, spatial orthogonality can be achieved using directional transmission and reception of sensing signals by each of UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508, such that the transmissions are directed away from the locations of other UEs and in divergent directions, as illustrated by the RF sensing signals transmitted by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508, which are directed toward each object 1512, 1514, 1516, and 1518, respectively. For example, transmissions directed away from the locations of other UEs can prevent a UE from directly receiving a sensing signal transmitted by another UE. For example, when a first UE's reception of an RF sensing signal reflection is directed in an opposite direction to the first UE's transmission of the RF sensing signal, transmissions directed in a divergent direction can prevent the first UE from receiving a direct reflection of a sensing signal transmitted by a second UE. Each of UEs 1512, 1514, 1516, and 1518 may, for example, employ dual antennas, quad antennas, other multiple antennas, or an antenna array (which may be an example of antenna 246 of UE 200, for example) to enable directional transmission and reception of RF sensing signals.

[0144] For example, the spatial orthogonality of the sensing signal can be configured in each UE as one or more transmission directions and one or more corresponding opposite reception directions, wherein the one or more transmission directions diverge from the transmission directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices in other nearby wireless devices. For example, each UE 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 can be provided with information about the location (or relative location) of the target area to be sensed by each UE, and each UE only transmits the sensing signal to the specific target area identified for the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the required direction of transmission and reception of the sensing signal can be provided to the UE. Then, each of the UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 can transmit and receive RF sensing signals, for example, if each of the UEs knows its current orientation, and thereby can determine the appropriate signal mode for multiple antennas (e.g., antenna 246) on each UE to achieve one or more required directions of RF sensing signal transmission and reception. Using spatial orthogonality with divergent transmission directions can avoid or reduce interference caused by one UE receiving a direct sensing signal transmitted by another UE. It is worth noting that receiving the RF sensing signal in the opposite direction to the transmission of the RF sensing signal means that if the UE transmits the RF sensing signal in the direction β° (e.g., measured clockwise from due north), the UE will be tuned to receive the RF sensing signal arriving from the direction β° and therefore moving in the direction (β+180)° (e.g., measured clockwise from due north).

[0145] refer to Fig. 15B , a diagram 1540 is shown of an example of orthogonality in the frequency domain and orthogonality in the decoding domain of RF sensing signals transmitted and received by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508. The frequency orthogonality of the sensing signals may be configured, for example, in each UE by assigning a frequency to the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received by each UE, where the assigned frequency of the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received by the UE is different from the assigned frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by other UEs. For example, the orthogonality in the frequency domain may be configured in the decoding domain. Fig. 15B RF sensing signals transmitted by UE 1502 and UE 1504 to objects 1512 and 1514 are shown as having different frequencies, illustrated by waveforms having different frequencies.

[0146] Fig. 15B Also illustrated is the orthogonality in the decoding domain, which is configured in each UE by assigning an orthogonal code for encoding the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received by each UE, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received by the UE is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by other UEs. For example, the orthogonality in the decoding domain is Fig. 15B 1506 and 1508 to objects 1516 and 1518 having orthogonal differential codes C1 and C2, respectively. For example, codes C1 and C2 may both be Gold codes, Walsh codes, Kasami codes, or other types of orthogonal codes.

[0147] refer to Fig. 15C and Fig.15D , diagrams 1560 and 1580 showing examples of orthogonality in the time domain of RF sensing signals transmitted and received by UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508. The time orthogonality of the RF sensing signals may be, for example, configured in each UE with a scheduled time for the RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by each UE, wherein the scheduled time for the RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by the UE is different from the scheduled time for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by other UEs. For example, the orthogonality in the time domain may be Fig. 15C In the example, the RF sensing signals transmitted by UE 1502 and UE 1504 to objects 1512, 1514, 1516, and 1518 at time T1 and at Fig.15D1504, 1506, and 1508 to objects 1512, 1514, 1516, and 1518 at time T2. The scheduled time for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received by each UE may be an absolute time (e.g., based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or GNSS time) or a regional time (e.g., Central European Time), which may be accurate if each of the UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, and 1508 knows the absolute time or the regional time (e.g., by receiving the absolute time or the regional time using GNSS from SVs 190-193 or by broadcast from a serving PLMN such as NG-RAN 112). The scheduled time for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received by each UE may be provided to each UE (e.g., by server 1526 or by another coordination entity) as a time relative to a local transmit timing visible from a serving base station (such as gNB 110) of each UE.

[0148] In operation, refer to Fig.16 , an example message flow 1600 for performing sensing operations using coordinated orthogonal RF sensing signals is shown. Message flow 1600 is an example and not a limitation, as other messages may be used within communication system 100 to obtain RF sensing information with reduced interference between UEs. Flow 1600 is illustrated as including multiple wireless nodes, such as UE 1605 (e.g., which may be an instance of UE 105, UE 106) and coordination entity 1602 illustrated as separate from UE 1605. UE 1605 may include some or all of the components of UE 200, and UE 200 is an example of one of UEs in UE 1605. In the Figures 15A to 15DIn the use case depicted in FIG. 1 , the plurality of UEs 1605 may include UEs 1502, 1504, 1506, 1508. The coordination entity 1602 may be, for example, a server (e.g., server 400), and then may also be an RF sensing crowd sensing server, such as LMF 120 or an external client or server 130, and may communicate with each of the plurality of UEs 1605, for example, via LPP or TCP / IP messaging. However, in some implementations, the coordination entity 1602 may not be separate from the UEs 1605. For example, the coordination entity 1602 may be one of the plurality of UEs 1605, such as UE 1502, which may communicate with the other UEs 1504, 1506, 1508 using, for example, D2D (sidelink) signaling. In another example, the plurality of UEs 1605 may function together as the coordination entity 1602, and may communicate using P2P, server-to-client, or master-slave signaling. Flow 1600 also illustrates a plurality of target objects 1604 to be sensed by a wireless device (e.g., a plurality of UEs 1605). It should be understood that a target object is not necessarily one that receives or transmits a wireless signal, but rather is one that reflects (and / or scatters or refracts) an RF sensing signal that is transmitted and received by each of the plurality of UEs 1605. In addition, one or more additional components of a wireless network may be present, such as a base station (such as gNBs 110 or core network 140), but not in the flow. Fig.16 In addition, the message flow 1600 may include additional, fewer, or alternative messages for performing a sensing operation using orthogonal RF sensing signals, including Figure 8C One or more messages or functions illustrated in the message flow 850 shown in .

[0149] At stage 1610a, the coordination entity 1602 may determine which UEs are included in the plurality of UEs 1605 for RF sensing operations separately from the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605. For example, the UEs 1605 may be pre-configured in the coordination entity 1602, or may be discovered by the coordination entity 1602 (e.g., by receiving information identifying the UEs served by the serving AMF 115 or the serving gNB 110 from the serving AMF 115 or the serving gNB 110). In one specific implementation, the UEs 1605 may be configured to each transmit a message to the coordination entity 1602 identifying its willingness and ability to support RF sensing operations, for example, when in an area supported by the coordination entity 1602 or when entering the area, which may enable the coordination entity 1602 to determine the plurality of UEs 1605. For example, participation of UE 1605 in RF sensing operations and / or transmission of messages to coordination entity 1602 may enable the user of UE 1605 to receive some service in return (e.g., such as being provided with environmental inferences determined by coordination entity 1602 or other crowdsourcing server based on RF sensing results), or in some cases may be a regulatory mandate—for example, where the RF sensing operations are being used for legitimate purposes such as tracking suspicious persons or vehicles.

[0150] At stage 1610a, the coordination entity 1602 may generate RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of UEs 1605. The RF sensing coordination information may include, for example, orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each UE that are orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby UEs. The orthogonality information may, for example, be orthogonality in the spatial domain (e.g., Fig.15A ), orthogonality in the time domain (e.g., Fig. 15C and Fig.15D ), orthogonality in the frequency domain (e.g., Fig. 15B ), orthogonality in the decoding domain (e.g., as illustrated and discussed in Fig. 15B) or any combination thereof. In addition, the RF sensing coordination information may also include orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each of the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605, which RF sensing signals are orthogonal to other RF transmissions (e.g., non-sensing signals, such as signals for voice and data) in a local vicinity of the plurality of UEs 1605 (e.g., an area in which RF sensing signals transmitted by the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605 can be received by other wireless devices or nodes (not shown) and / or RF transmissions of other wireless devices or nodes can be received by the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605). Generating the RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of UEs 1605 may be based on an approximate location of each UE, an approximate location of the target object 1604, capabilities of the UE, etc., which may be communicated between the UE and the coordination entity 1602, for example, via LPP or TCP / IP messaging. The RF sensing coordination information is transmitted by the coordination entity 1602 to each of the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605.

[0151] At stage 1610b, in one implementation where stage 1610a may not be performed, similar to the description in stage 1610a, RF sensing coordination information may be generated by one UE (e.g., UE 1502) in the plurality of UEs 1605 and transmitted to the other UEs. In another implementation where stage 1610a may not be performed, similar to the description in stage 1610a, RF sensing coordination information may be generated by a group of UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605, i.e., the group of UEs may coordinate with each other to generate RF sensing coordination information for each UE in the plurality of UEs 1605. For example, the group coordination may use a distributed or centralized algorithm (e.g., using P2P, server-to-client, or master-slave interaction) to generate orthogonality information for each UE in the plurality of UEs 1605.

[0152] When stage 1610b is performed but stage 1610a is not performed, the coordination entity may be one of the plurality of UEs 1605 or a group of UEs within the plurality of UEs 1605. Then, which UEs are included in the plurality of UEs 1605 for RF sensing operations may be determined by the coordination entity (e.g., one of the plurality of UEs 1605 or a group of UEs within the plurality of UEs 1605) by detecting the first group of UEs using D2D (sidelink) signaling and / or using proximity-based services (e.g., ProSe defined by 3GPP). For example, the coordination entity may discover the first group of UEs using direct ProSe or D2D signaling, and the second group of UEs may be notified by the UEs in the first group of UEs that the second group of UEs has been discovered by the UEs in the first group of UEs (or notified to the first group of UEs). Then, the coordination entity may determine a plurality of UEs 1605 that are capable and willing to perform RF sensing from the UEs in the first group and the second group.

[0153] At stage 1612, UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605 perform orthogonal RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information obtained in stage 1610a or 1610b. For example, the UEs may be configured to jointly perform a single static RF sensing operation based on an assigned geographic area, a time division, a frequency division, and / or a combination of area, time, and frequency. In one example, the UEs 1605 may be configured for RF sensing such that the transmitted orthogonal RF sensing signals are reflected, scattered, diffracted, and / or absorbed by the target object 1604 and received to detect the target object 1604. The RF sensing operations performed by each of the plurality of UEs 1605 use one or more RF sensing signals that are orthogonal to the RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605. For example, the orthogonality may be in one or more of a spatial domain, a time domain, a frequency domain, and a decoding domain, as described in reference to FIG. FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D discussed.

[0154] At stage 1614, a UE in the plurality of UEs 1605 may be configured to send a signal to a server (eg, Fig.16In some implementations, the coordination entity 1602 and the server to which the RF sensing report is transmitted in stage 1614 may be the same entity, while in other implementations, the coordination entity 1602 and the server to which the RF sensing report is transmitted in stage 1614 may be different entities. In one example, each of the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605 may be configured to determine attributes associated with the target object 1604, such as size, motion, range, orientation (e.g., line of sight direction), elevation (e.g., in a 3D implementation), or other attributes, based on the received RF signals. The RF sensing report message in stage 1614 may then include attribute information. In another example, the UEs in the plurality of UEs 1605 may provide raw RF signal information in the RF sensing report message in stage 1614, and the server to which the RF sensing report is transmitted in stage 1614 (such as the coordination entity 1602, the LMF 120, or the server 400) may be configured to determine the attributes based on the raw RF signal information.

[0155] At stage 1616, a server, such as illustrated as coordination entity 1602, may be configured to evaluate, analyze, and / or aggregate the contents of the RF sensing report messages from stage 1614 across multiple UEs in multiple UEs 1605, and may obtain environmental inferences such as information and attributes about target object 1604. The server that analyzes and aggregates the contents of the RF sensing report messages may be a different entity than coordination entity 1602. The server may return crowd sensing information to UEs in multiple UEs 1605 and / or provide crowd sensing information to another entity, such as an external client or server 130. The evaluation and aggregation at stage 1616 may be similar to the evaluation and aggregation for UEs in multiple UEs 1605. Figure 8C Evaluation and aggregation as described in stage 864.

[0156] refer to Fig.17 , and further reference Figures 1 to 16 , a method 1700 for crowdsourcing RF sensing using orthogonal radio frequency (RF) sensing signals is shown. However, the method 1700 is an example and not a limitation. The method 1700 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing concurrently, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages. The method 1700 can be performed by a wireless device (e.g., UE 105, UE 106, UE 200, or TRP 300).

[0157] At block 1702, the wireless device obtains RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by the wireless device that are orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing, e.g., as described in reference to Figure 8C Message 858, FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 In one implementation, the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in the spatial domain, orthogonality in the time domain, orthogonality in the frequency domain, orthogonality in the decoding domain, or a combination thereof, for example, as described in reference to Figure 8C Message 858, FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 In one implementation, the RF sensing coordination information may also include orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving RF sensing signals that are orthogonal to other RF transmissions in the local vicinity of the wireless device, such as, for example, as described in reference to Figure 8C Message 858, FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for obtaining RF sensing coordination information may be, for example, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311, the RF sensing coordination information includes orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, which RF sensing signals are orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing.

[0158] At block 1704, the wireless device performs RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information, e.g., as described with reference to Figure 8C Stage 860 FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information may be, for example, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0159] At block 1706, the wireless device reports the RF sensing results (eg, obtained at block 1704), for example, as described in reference Figure 8C Message 862, FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 For example, the RF sensing results may be reported to a server, such as an external client or server 130, LMF 120, server 400, or another edge server configured to communicate with one or more wireless nodes in the network. The component for reporting the RF sensing results may be, for example, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0160] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain may include one or more transmit directions and one or more corresponding opposite receive directions, wherein the one or more transmit directions diverge from transmit directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference to Fig.15A For example, divergent transmission directions may be directions from wireless devices that are disjoint and progressively further away from each other.

[0161] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduled time for RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received, wherein the scheduled time for the RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received is different from the scheduled time for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference Fig. 15C and Fig.15D discussed.

[0162] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes an allocated frequency for RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received, wherein the allocated frequency for the RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received is different from the allocated frequency for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by one or more of the other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference to Fig. 15B discussed.

[0163] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes an assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference Fig. 15B discussed.

[0164] In one specific implementation, the wireless device obtains the RF sensing coordination information by receiving a message including the RF sensing coordination information from the coordination entity, for example, as described in reference Figure 8C Message 858, FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The coordination entity may be, for example, a server (such as an external client or server 130, LMF 120, server 400, or another edge server configured to communicate with one or more wireless nodes in the network), another wireless device (such as UE 105, UE 106, UE 200, or TRP 300), or one of the other nearby wireless devices. The means for receiving a message including RF sensing coordination information from the coordination entity may be, for example, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0165] In one implementation, the wireless device obtains the RF sensing coordination information by coordinating with other nearby wireless devices to determine the RF sensing coordination information, for example, as described in reference FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for coordinating with other nearby wireless devices to determine RF sensing coordination information may be, for example, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0166] refer to Fig.18 , and further reference Figures 1 to 16, a method 1800 for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing using orthogonal radio frequency (RF) sensing signals is shown. However, the method 1800 is an example and not a limitation. The method 1800 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing concurrently, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages. The method 1800 may be performed by a coordinating device for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, such as a server (e.g., LMF 120, server 400, or external client or server 130), a TRP (e.g., TRP 300 or gNB 110), or by a wireless device (e.g., UE 105).

[0167] At block 1802, a coordination entity determines a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourcing RF sensing, for example, as described in reference Figure 8C Message 856 and Fig.16 The means for determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourcing RF sensing may be, for example, Figure 4 The transceiver 415 in the server 400 and one or more processors 410 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 412 in the memory 411, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0168] At block 1804, the coordination entity generates RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by each wireless device that are orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices, e.g., as described with reference to Figure 8C Message 858 and FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 In one implementation, the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in the spatial domain, orthogonality in the time domain, orthogonality in the frequency domain, orthogonality in the decoding domain, or a combination thereof, for example, as described in reference to Figure 8C Message 858 and FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16In one implementation, the RF sensing coordination information may also include orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving RF sensing signals that are orthogonal to other RF transmissions in the local vicinity of the plurality of wireless devices, for example, as described in reference to Figure 8C Message 858 and FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices may be, for example, Figure 4 The transceiver 415 in the server 400 and one or more processors 410 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 412 in the memory 411, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311, the RF sensing coordination information includes orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each wireless device, which RF sensing signals are orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices among the multiple wireless devices.

[0169] At block 1806, the coordination entity transmits RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform RF sensing operations, for example, as described in reference Figure 8C Message 858, FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for transmitting RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform RF sensing operations may be, for example, Figure 4 The transceiver 415 in the server 400 and one or more processors 410 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 412 in the memory 411, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0170] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain may include one or more transmit directions and one or more corresponding opposite receive directions, wherein the one or more transmit directions diverge from transmit directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference to Fig.15A For example, divergent transmission directions are directions from wireless devices that are disjoint and progressively further away from each other.

[0171] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduled time for RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received, wherein the scheduled time for the RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received is different from the scheduled time for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference Fig. 15C and Fig.15D discussed.

[0172] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes an allocated frequency for RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received, wherein the allocated frequency for the RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received is different from the allocated frequency for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by one or more of the other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference to Fig. 15B discussed.

[0173] In one specific implementation, the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes an assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be transmitted and received is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be transmitted and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices, for example, as described in reference Fig. 15B discussed.

[0174] In one implementation, the coordination device is a server, such as an external client or server 130, LMF 120, server 400, or another edge server configured to communicate with one or more wireless nodes in the network, and the coordination device receives RF sensing results from multiple wireless devices, for example, as described in reference FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for receiving RF sensing results from a plurality of wireless devices may be, for example, Figure 4 A transceiver 415 in the server 400 and one or more processors 410 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 412 in a memory 411.

[0175] In one implementation, the coordination device is a wireless device, such as UE 105, UE 106, UE 200, or TRP 300, and the wireless device may then perform RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information, for example, as described in reference FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 The means for performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information may be, for example, Figure 2 The wireless device may also report the RF sensing results to the server, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 15A to FIG. 15D as well as Fig.16 For example, the server may be an external client or server 130, LMF 120, server 400, or another edge server configured to communicate with one or more wireless nodes in the network. The component for reporting the RF sensing results to the server may be, for example, Figure 2 The transceiver 215 in the UE 200 and one or more processors 210 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 212 in the memory 211, or the transceiver 340 in the TRP 300 and one or more processors 310 having dedicated hardware or implementing executable code or software instructions 312 in the memory 311.

[0176] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the above functions can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. Features that implement functions can also be physically located at different locations, including being distributed so that various parts of functions are implemented at different physical locations. Unless otherwise stated, components (functional or otherwise) shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled. That is, these components can be directly or indirectly connected to achieve communication between them.

[0177] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, "a processor" may include one processor or a plurality of processors. As used herein, the terms "comprises", "includes" specify the presence of recited features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0178] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the stated item or condition.

[0179] Likewise, as used herein, "or" used in a list of items (possibly followed by "at least one of" or followed by "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list, so that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C," or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C," or a list of "A or B or C" means A or B or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B means that the item can be configured to perform the function with respect to A, or can be configured to perform the function with respect to B, or can be configured to perform the functions with respect to both A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select which of A and B to measure or both). Similarly, the recitation of a component for measuring at least one of A or B includes: a component for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or a component for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or a component for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which of A and B to measure or both). As another example, the recitation of an item (e.g., a processor) being configured to perform at least one of function X or to perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and perform function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of X or Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to select which or both of X and Y to measure). Substantial changes may be made depending on specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, in software executed by a processor (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or in both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0180] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may appropriately omit, replace, or add various procedures or components. For example, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of a configuration may be combined in a similar manner. In addition, technology is constantly evolving, and therefore many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure or claims.

[0181] A wireless communication system is a system in which communications are transmitted wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than by wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not cause all communications to be sent wirelessly, but may be configured to cause at least some communications to be sent wirelessly. In addition, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively or uniformly primarily used for communication, or that the device is a mobile device, but rather indicates that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (unidirectional or bidirectional), for example, including at least one radio component (each radio component is part of a transmitter, receiver or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0182] Specific details are given in this specification to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary configurations (including specific implementations). However, the configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary details to avoid confusing these configurations. This specification provides exemplary configurations without limiting the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. On the contrary, the previous description of the configuration provides a description for implementing the described technology. Various changes can be made to the functions and arrangements of the elements without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure.

[0183] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable medium," "machine-readable medium," and "computer-readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code to a processor for execution, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many specific implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0184] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or above) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is one value higher than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or within or below) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly less than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is one value lower than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system.

[0185] In view of this description, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0186] Item 1. A method for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing at a wireless device, the method comprising: obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices used for the crowdsourced RF sensing; performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and reporting RF sensing results.

[0187] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a coding domain, or a combination thereof.

[0188] Item 3. A method according to 2, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain includes one or more transmitting directions and one or more corresponding opposite receiving directions, wherein the one or more transmitting directions diverge from the transmitting directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0189] Clause 4. A method according to any one of clauses 2-3, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0190] Clause 5. A method according to any one of clauses 2-4, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the allocated frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0191] Clause 6. A method according to any one of clauses 2-5, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the assigned orthogonal codes for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0192] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, wherein obtaining the RF sensing coordination information comprises receiving a message including the RF sensing coordination information from a coordination entity.

[0193] Clause 8. The method of clause 7, wherein the coordination entity comprises a server, another wireless device, or one of the other nearby wireless devices.

[0194] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1-6, wherein obtaining the RF sensing coordination information comprises coordinating with the other nearby wireless devices to determine the RF sensing coordination information.

[0195] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein the RF sensing coordination information further comprises orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving the RF sensing signals, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to other RF transmissions in a local vicinity of the wireless device.

[0196] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1-10, wherein the RF sensing results are reported to a server.

[0197] Clause 12. A wireless device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the wireless device comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity and to send and receive RF sensing signals; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: obtain RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices used for the crowdsourced RF sensing; perform RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and report RF sensing results.

[0198] Clause 13. The wireless device of clause 12, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a coding domain, or a combination thereof.

[0199] Clause 14. A wireless device according to clause 13, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain includes one or more transmission directions and one or more corresponding opposite reception directions, wherein the one or more transmission directions diverge from transmission directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0200] Clause 15. A wireless device according to any one of clauses 13-14, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices.

[0201] Clause 16. A wireless device according to any one of clauses 13-15, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the allocated frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices.

[0202] Clause 17. A wireless device according to any one of clauses 13-16, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the assigned orthogonal codes for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices.

[0203] Clause 18. A wireless device as recited in any of Clauses 12-17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the RF sensing coordination information by being configured to receive a message including the RF sensing coordination information from a coordination entity.

[0204] Clause 19. The wireless device of clause 18, wherein the coordination entity comprises a server, another wireless device, or one of the other nearby wireless devices.

[0205] Clause 20. The wireless device of any of clauses 12-17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the RF sensing coordination information by being configured to coordinate with the other nearby wireless devices to determine the RF sensing coordination information.

[0206] Clause 21. A wireless device as described in any of clauses 12-20, wherein the RF sensing coordination information also includes orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving the RF sensing signals, the RF sensing signals are orthogonal to other RF transmissions in a local vicinity of the wireless device.

[0207] Clause 22. The wireless device of any of clauses 12-21, wherein the RF sensing results are reported to a server.

[0208] Clause 23. A wireless device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the wireless device comprising: a component for obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information including orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices used for the crowdsourced RF sensing; a component for performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and a component for reporting RF sensing results.

[0209] Clause 24. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a wireless device for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the program code comprising instructions for: obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices for the crowdsourced RF sensing; performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and reporting RF sensing results.

[0210] Clause 25. A method for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing at a coordinating device, the method comprising: determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each of the wireless devices, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and transmitting the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation.

[0211] Clause 26. The method of clause 25, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a code domain, or a combination thereof.

[0212] Clause 27. A method according to clause 26, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain includes one or more transmitting directions and one or more corresponding opposite receiving directions, wherein the one or more transmitting directions diverge from the transmitting directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0213] Clause 28. A method according to any one of clauses 26-27, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0214] Clause 29. A method according to any one of clauses 26-28, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the allocated frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0215] Clause 30. A method according to any one of clauses 26-29, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the assigned orthogonal codes for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0216] Clause 31. The method of any one of clauses 25-30, wherein the coordinating device is a server, the method further comprising receiving RF sensing results from the plurality of wireless devices.

[0217] Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 25-30, wherein the coordinating device is a wireless device, the method further comprising: performing an RF sensing operation based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information.

[0218] Clause 33. The method of clause 32, further comprising reporting the RF sensing results to a server.

[0219] Clause 34. The method of any of clauses 25-33, wherein the RF sensing coordination information further comprises orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving the RF sensing signals, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to other RF transmissions in a local vicinity of the plurality of wireless devices.

[0220] Clause 35. A coordination device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the coordination device comprising:

[0221] A transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generate RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each of the wireless devices, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and transmit the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform RF sensing operations.

[0222] Clause 36. The coordination device of clause 35, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a code domain, or a combination thereof.

[0223] Clause 37. A coordination device according to clause 36, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain includes one or more transmitting directions and one or more corresponding opposite receiving directions, wherein the one or more transmitting directions diverge from the transmitting directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0224] Clause 38. A coordinating device according to any one of clauses 36-37, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0225] Clause 39. A coordinating device according to any one of clauses 36-38, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the allocated frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices.

[0226] Clause 40. A coordinating device according to any one of clauses 36-39, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal codes for the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from the assigned orthogonal codes for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

[0227] Clause 41. The coordination device of any of clauses 35-40, wherein the coordination device is a server, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive RF sensing results from the plurality of wireless devices.

[0228] Clause 42. The coordination device of any of clauses 35-40, wherein the coordination device is a wireless device, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: perform an RF sensing operation based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information.

[0229] Clause 43. The coordination device of clause 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to report the RF sensing results to a server.

[0230] Clause 44. A coordination device according to any of clauses 35-43, wherein the RF sensing coordination information also includes orthogonality information for transmitting and receiving the RF sensing signals, wherein the RF sensing signals are orthogonal to other RF transmissions in the local vicinity of the multiple wireless devices.

[0231] Clause 45. A coordination device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the coordination device comprising: a component for determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; a component for generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each of the wireless devices, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and a component for transmitting the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation.

[0232] Clause 46. A non-transitory storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, the program code being operable to configure at least one processor in a coordination device for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the program code comprising instructions for: determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals sent and received by each of the wireless devices, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals sent and received by other nearby wireless devices in the plurality of wireless devices; and transmitting the RF sensing coordination information to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform an RF sensing operation.

[0233] Although specific embodiments have been disclosed in detail herein, this is given by way of example only for the purpose of illustration and is not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the appended claims. In particular, it is contemplated that various substitutions, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Other aspects, advantages and modifications are considered to be within the scope of the appended claims. The claims presented represent the embodiments and features disclosed herein. Other embodiments and features that are not claimed are also contemplated. Therefore, other embodiments fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for crowdsourcing radio frequency (RF) sensing at a wireless device, the method comprising: obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices for the crowdsourced RF sensing; performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and Reports RF sensing results. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a coding domain, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain comprises one or more transmission directions and one or more corresponding opposite reception directions, wherein the one or more transmission directions diverge from transmission directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain comprises a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from a scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain comprises allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from allocated frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more of the other nearby wireless devices.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain comprises an assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the RF sensing coordination information comprises receiving a message including the RF sensing coordination information from a coordination entity.

8. A wireless device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the wireless device comprising: a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a network entity and to send and receive RF sensing signals; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: obtaining RF sensing coordination information, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by the wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices for the crowdsourced RF sensing; performing RF sensing operations based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information; and Reports RF sensing results.

9. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a coding domain, or a combination thereof.

10. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain comprises one or more transmit directions and one or more corresponding opposite receive directions, wherein the one or more transmit directions diverge from transmit directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices.

11. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain comprises a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from a scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

12. A wireless device according to claim 9, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes an allocated frequency of the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequency of the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the allocated frequency of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices.

13. The wireless device of claim 9, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain comprises an assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

14. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the RF sensing coordination information by being configured to receive a message including the RF sensing coordination information from a coordination entity.

15. The wireless device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the RF sensing coordination information by being configured to coordinate with the other nearby wireless devices to determine the RF sensing coordination information.

16. A method for crowdsourcing radio frequency (RF) sensing at a coordinating device, the method comprising: determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by the each wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices; as well as The RF sensing coordination information is transmitted to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform RF sensing operations.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in a spatial domain, orthogonality in a time domain, orthogonality in a frequency domain, orthogonality in a code domain, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain comprises one or more transmit directions and one or more corresponding opposite receive directions, wherein the one or more transmit directions diverge from transmit directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

19. A method according to claim 17, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the scheduling time of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain comprises allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequencies of the RF sensing signals to be sent and received are different from allocated frequencies of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more of the other nearby wireless devices.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in a decoding domain comprises an assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the coordinating device is a server, the method further comprising receiving RF sensing results from the plurality of wireless devices.

23. A coordination device configured for crowdsourced radio frequency (RF) sensing, the coordination device comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network entity; at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the transceiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determining a plurality of wireless devices for crowdsourced RF sensing; generating RF sensing coordination information for each of the plurality of wireless devices, the RF sensing coordination information comprising orthogonality information for RF sensing signals transmitted and received by the each wireless device, the RF sensing signals being orthogonal to RF sensing signals transmitted and received by other nearby wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices; as well as The RF sensing coordination information is transmitted to each wireless device for each wireless device to perform RF sensing operations.

24. The coordination device according to claim 23, wherein the orthogonality information is for at least one of orthogonality in the spatial domain, orthogonality in the time domain, orthogonality in the frequency domain, orthogonality in the code domain, or a combination thereof.

25. A coordination device according to claim 24, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the spatial domain includes one or more transmitting directions and one or more corresponding opposite receiving directions, wherein the one or more transmitting directions diverge from the transmitting directions of one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

26. A coordination device according to claim 24, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the time domain includes a scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the scheduling time for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the scheduling time for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

27. A coordination device according to claim 24, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the frequency domain includes an allocated frequency of the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the allocated frequency of the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the allocated frequency of other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

28. A coordination device according to claim 24, wherein the orthogonality information for orthogonality in the decoding domain includes an assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received, wherein the assigned orthogonal code for the RF sensing signal to be sent and received is different from the assigned orthogonal code for other RF sensing signals to be sent and received by one or more other nearby wireless devices among the other nearby wireless devices.

29. The coordination device of claim 23, wherein the coordination device is a server, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive RF sensing results from the plurality of wireless devices.

30. The coordination device of claim 23, wherein the coordination device is a wireless device, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: An RF sensing operation is performed based at least in part on the RF sensing coordination information.

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