Resource pool configuration for sidelink positioning

Abstract

A computer readable storage medium stores instructions for configuring a UE for sidelink positioning communications in a 5G NR network, and causing the UE to perform the following operations, comprising decoding: an RRC signaling, an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling received from a base station for an in-coverage scene, a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling received from a second UE, or a pre-configuration for an out-of-coverage scene. The LPP, RRC, SLPP signaling or pre-configuration respectively comprises configuration information, and the configuration information configures a first resource pool associated with sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with SL PRS. And the first resource pool and the second resource pool are reused. The sidelink data is encoded using the first time-frequency resource from the first resource pool for sidelink transmission to the second UE. The first SL PRS is encoded using a second time-frequency resource from a second resource pool for transmission to a second UE.

Description

[0001] Priority claim

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority from the following patent applications:

[0003] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 390,391, filed on July 19, 2022, entitled “RESOURCE POOL CONFIGURATION FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING”; and

[0004] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 487,173, filed on February 27, 2023, entitled “RESOURCE POOL CONFIGURATION FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING”

[0005] Each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0006] Aspects pertain to wireless communications. Some aspects relate to wireless networks, including 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A (LTE Advanced) networks, (MulteFire, LTE-U) and fifth generation (5G) networks, 5G networks including 5G New Radio (NR) (or 5G-NR) networks, 5G-LTE networks (e.g., 5G NR Unlicensed Spectrum (NR-U) networks and other unlicensed networks (including Wi-Fi, CBRS (OnGo) etc.)). Other aspects relate to techniques for configuring a resource pool for sidelink positioning. Background Art

[0007] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communications platforms. As different types of devices communicating with various network devices increase, the use of 3GPP LTE systems has also increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UE) in modern society continues to drive the demand for various networked devices in many different environments. The fifth generation (5G) wireless system is about to be launched, and it is expected to achieve higher speeds, connectivity and availability. The next generation 5G network (or NR network) is expected to improve throughput, coverage and robustness, and reduce latency and operating and capital expenditures. 5G-NR networks will continue to evolve additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced to enrich people's lives through seamless wireless connection solutions, thereby providing fast and rich content and services. Since the current cellular network frequencies are saturated, higher frequencies (e.g., millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies) will be beneficial due to their high bandwidth.

[0008] Potential LTE operations in unlicensed spectrum include (but are not limited to) LTE operations in unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC) or DC-based LAA, and standalone LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum (according to which LTE-based technologies operate only in unlicensed spectrum without an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, referred to as MulteFire). It is expected that the operation of LTE and NR systems in licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum will be further enhanced in future releases and 5G systems. Such enhanced operations may include techniques for configuring resource pools for sidelink (SL) positioning. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In the drawings that are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numbers may describe similar components in different views. Like numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. These figures generally illustrate various aspects discussed in this document by way of example, and not by way of limitation.

[0010] Figure 1A A network architecture according to some aspects is shown.

[0011] Figure 1B and Figure 1C A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown according to some aspects.

[0012] Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 Various systems, devices, and components are shown in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0013] Figure 5

[0013] An example of sidelink positioning with an anchor UE and a target UE according to some aspects is shown.

[0014] Figure 6

[0046] Resource pools for SL communication and sidelink positioning reference signals (SL PRS) are multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner at different time slots according to some aspects.

[0015] Figure 7

[0066] Resource pools for SL communication and SL PRS are shown multiplexed in a TDM manner in one time slot according to some aspects.

[0016] Figure 8 Resource pools for SL communication and SL PRS are shown multiplexed in a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner according to some aspects.

[0017] Fig. 9 Multiplexing of multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools in TDM and FDM manners is shown according to some aspects.

[0018] Fig.10 SL PRS resources with different bandwidths in a SL PRS dedicated resource pool are shown according to some aspects.

[0019] Fig.11 SL PRS resources in a SL PRS resource pool configured according to a first option in accordance with some aspects are shown.

[0020] Fig.12 SL PRS resources in a SL PRS resource pool configured according to a second option in accordance with some aspects are shown.

[0021] Fig.13 SL PRS resources in a SL PRS resource pool configured according to a third option in accordance with some aspects are shown.

[0022] Fig.14 SL PRS resource determination within a SL PRS resource pool according to some aspects is shown.

[0023] Fig.15 Determining a set of time slots for a SL PRS resource pool according to a first option is shown in accordance with some aspects.

[0024] Fig.16 Determining a set of time slots for a SL PRS resource pool according to a first option is shown in accordance with some aspects.

[0025] Fig.17 A block diagram of a communication device (e.g., an evolved Node B (eNB), a new generation Node B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an NCR, an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE)) according to some aspects is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following description and accompanying drawings sufficiently illustrate the various aspects to enable those skilled in the art to implement them. Other aspects may incorporate structural changes, logical changes, electrical changes, process changes, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in or replaced with portions and features of other aspects. Aspects outlined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0027] Figure 1AAn architecture of a network according to some aspects is shown. Communication network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but can also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptops, desktop computers, wireless phones, drones, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UE 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to as UE 101 herein, and UE 101 may be used to perform one or more techniques disclosed herein.

[0028] Any radio links described herein (eg, as used in network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary radio communication technology and / or standard.

[0029] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for wireless communications of high-speed data for UEs such as mobile phones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technique by which multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies can be used to carry communications for a single UE, thereby increasing the bandwidth available for use by a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation can be used where one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

[0030] The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (e.g., Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and further frequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz and further frequencies).

[0031] The aspects described herein may also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank based multi-carrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), in particular to 3GPP NR (New Radio) by assigning OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0032] In some aspects, any one of UE 101 and 102 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE or a cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. In some aspects, any one of UE 101 and 102 may include a narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., such as an enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and a further enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE). The IoT UE may exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network using technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC). The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network includes interconnected IoT UEs (which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure)) with short-term connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0033] In some aspects, either of UEs 101 and 102 may include an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0034] UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect (e.g., be communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, for example, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a next generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces that implement the communicatively coupled, and may comply with cellular communication protocols, such as a global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocol, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a push-to-talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over cellular (POC) protocol, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, etc.

[0035] In an aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may also exchange communication data directly via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface, which includes one or more logical channels including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0036] UE 102 is shown as being configured to access access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which AP 106 may include wireless fidelity. In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet, but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0037] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that implement connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN network nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmit / receive points (TRPs). In the case where the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., macro RAN nodes 111) for providing macro cells, and one or more RAN nodes (e.g., low power (LP) RAN nodes 112 or auxiliary RAN nodes 112 based on unlicensed spectrum) for providing femto cells or pico cells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells).

[0038] Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may implement various logical functions for the RAN 110, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In an example, any of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a new generation NodeB (gNB), an evolved NodeB (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0039] RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In some aspects, CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., such as a Figure 1B-1C In this regard, the S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries user traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122; and an S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0040] In this regard, CN 120 includes MME 121, S-GW 122, Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123 and Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. MME 121 can be similar in function to the control plane of the legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). MME 121 can manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 124 can include a database for network users (including subscription-related information) to support network entities in handling communication sessions. CN 120 can include one or several HSS 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc. For example, HSS 124 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0041] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor for handovers between RAN nodes and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0042] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 120 and an external network (e.g., a network including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF))) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also deliver data to other external networks 131A (which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks). Typically, the application server 184 may be an element that provides an application (e.g., a UMTS packet service (PS) domain, a LTE PS data service, etc.) that uses IP bearer resources with a core network. In this regard, the P-GW 123 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0043] The P-GW 123 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is a policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connection Access Network (IP-CAN) session in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN). In a roaming scenario where the service is out of local, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: the Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and the Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0044] In some aspects, the communication network 140A may be an IoT network or a 5G network, including a 5G New Radio network that uses communications in both licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current implementers of IoT is Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

[0045] The NG system architecture may include a RAN 110 and a 5G core network 120. The RAN 110 in the NG system may be referred to as NG-RAN 110. NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The core network 120 (also referred to as a 5G core network or 5GC) may include an access and mobility function (AMF) and / or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNB and NG-eNB via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNB and NG-eNB may be connected to the AMF via an NG-C interface and to the UPF via an NG-U interface. The gNB and NG-eNB may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0046] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may use reference points between various nodes as provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, December 2018). In some aspects, each of the gNB and NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, a RAN network node, etc. In some aspects, the gNB may be a master node (MN) in the 5G architecture, and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN). In some aspects, the primary / master node may operate in a licensed band, and the secondary node may operate in an unlicensed band.

[0047] Figure 1B A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown according to some aspects. Figure 1B, a 5G system architecture 140B is shown with reference point representation. More specifically, the UE 102 can communicate with the RAN 110 and one or more other 5G core (5GC) network entities. The 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, location management function (LMF) 133, session management function (SMF) 136, policy control function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, user plane function (UPF) 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide a connection to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility, and can also include a network slice selection function. SMF 136 may be configured to establish and manage various sessions according to network policies. UPF 134 may be deployed in one or more configurations depending on the desired service type. PCF 148 may be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRF in 4G communication systems). UDM may be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to HSS in 4G communication systems).

[0048] LMF 133 can be used in conjunction with 5G positioning functionality. In some aspects, LMF 133 receives measurement and assistance information from the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 110 and a mobile device (e.g., UE 101) via AMF 132 over the NLs interface to calculate the location of UE 101. In some aspects, NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) can be used to carry positioning information between NG-RAN and LMF 133 over the next generation control plane interface (NG-C). In some aspects, LMF 133 configures the UE using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) via AMF 132. NG-RAN 110 configures UE 101 using the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol over the LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces.

[0049] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B configures different reference signals to enable positioning measurements. Example reference signals that can be used for positioning measurements include a positioning reference signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. The downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) is a reference signal configured to support downlink-based positioning methods.

[0050] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B and multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities (e.g., call session control functions (CSCFs)). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162B, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) ( Figure 1B 166B. The P-CSCF 162B may be configured as the first contact point for UE 102 within the IMS 168B. The S-CSCF 164B may be configured to handle the session state in the network, and the E-CSCF may be configured to handle certain aspects of emergency sessions, such as routing emergency requests to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B may be configured to be used as the contact point for all IMS connections within the operator's network for subscribers whose destination is the network operator or roaming subscribers currently located within the service area of ​​the network operator. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B may be connected to another IP multimedia network 170, such as an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0051] In some aspects, UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server (AS) 160B, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another AS. AS 160B may be coupled to IMS 168B via S-CSCF 164B or I-CSCF 166B.

[0052] Reference point representation indicates that there can be interactions between corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1B132), N2 (between RAN 110 and AMF 132), N3 (between RAN 110 and UPF 134), N4 (between SMF 136 and UPF 134), N5 (between PCF 148 and AF 150), N6 (between UPF 134 and DN 152), N7 (between SMF 136 and PCF 148), N8 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132), N9 (between two UPFs 134), N10 (between UDM 146 and SMF 136), N11 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132), N13 (between AUSF 144 and UDM 148). 146), N14 (between two AMFs 132), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in the case of non-roaming scenario, or between PCF 148 and visited network and AMF 132 in the case of roaming scenario), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142). Figure 1B Other reference points not shown are indicated.

[0053] Figure 1C A 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation are shown. Figure 1B In addition to the network entities shown in , the system architecture 140C may also include a network open function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and the interactions between network functions may be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni, or as service-based interfaces.

[0054] In some aspects, such as Figure 1CAs shown, a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access its services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C may include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (a service-based interface presented by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (a service-based interface presented by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-based interface presented by NEF 154), Npcf158D (a service-based interface presented by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (a service-based interface presented by UDM 146), Naf 158F (a service-based interface presented by AF150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface presented by NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (a service-based interface presented by NSSF 142), and Nausf 158G (a service-based interface presented by AUSF 144). Figure 1C Other service-based interfaces not shown (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf).

[0055] Figure 2-13 Various systems, devices, and components are shown that can implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments in different communication systems (e.g., 5G-NR networks, including 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTNs)). The UEs, base stations (e.g., gNBs), and / or other nodes (e.g., satellites or other NTN nodes) discussed herein can be configured to perform the disclosed techniques.

[0056] Figure 2 A network 200 according to various embodiments is shown. The network 200 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems, etc.

[0057] The network 200 may include a UE 202, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate via an over-the-air connection with the RAN 204. The UE 202 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment, an in-vehicle entertainment device, an instrument cluster, a head-mounted display device, an on-board diagnostic device, a dashboard mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic / engine control unit, an electronic / engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a connected appliance, a machine type communication device, an M2M or D2D device, an IoT device, etc.

[0058] In some embodiments, the network 200 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UE may be an M2M / D2D device that communicates using a physical sidelink channel (e.g., but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.).

[0059] In some embodiments, UE 202 may additionally communicate with AP 206 via an over-the-air connection. AP 206 may manage WLAN connections, which may be used to offload some / all network traffic from RAN 204. The connection between UE 202 and AP 206 may conform to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 206 may be a Wireless Fidelity Router. In some embodiments, UE 202, RAN 204, and AP 206 may utilize cellular-WLAN aggregation (eg, LWA / LWIP). Cellular-WLAN aggregation may involve UE 202 being configured by RAN 204 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0060] RAN 204 may include one or more access nodes, such as access node (AN) 208. AN 208 may terminate the air interface protocol for UE 202 by providing access layer protocols, including RRC, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), MAC and L1 protocols. In this way, AN 208 may implement data / voice connection between core network (CN) 220 and UE 202. In some embodiments, AN 208 may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network (which may be referred to as CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool), for example. AN 208 may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. AN 208 may be a macro cell base station, or a low power base station for providing a femto cell, pico cell or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity or higher bandwidth than a macro cell.

[0061] In an embodiment where the RAN 204 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 204 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 204 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface (which may be separated into a control / user plane interface in some embodiments) may allow the ANs to transfer information related to handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

[0062] The ANs of the RAN 204 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc., to provide an air interface for network access to the UE 202. The UE 202 may be simultaneously connected to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 204. For example, the UE 202 and the RAN 204 may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE 202 to connect to multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or an Scell. In a dual-connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a primary node providing an MCG, and the second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first / second AN may be any combination of eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc.

[0063] RAN 204 may provide an air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in an unlicensed spectrum, a node may use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA techniques with PCell / SCell. Before accessing the unlicensed spectrum, a node may perform a medium / carrier sensing operation based on, for example, a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0064] In the V2X scenario, the UE 202 or AN 208 may be or act as a roadside unit (RSU), which may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a fixed (or relatively fixed) UE. An RSU implemented in or by the following items: for a UE, it may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU"; for an eNB, it may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU"; for a gNB, it may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU"; etc. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the roadside that provides connection support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuits for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for listening to and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications required for high-speed events (e.g., collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The components of the RSU may be housed in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller for providing a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

[0065] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an LTE RAN 210 with an eNB (e.g., eNB 212). The LTE RAN 210 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz; a CP-OFDM waveform for the downlink (DL) and an SC-FDMA waveform for the uplink (UL); Turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on: CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH / PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurement, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate on a sub-6 GHz frequency band.

[0066] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be a NG-RAN 214 having a gNB (e.g., gNB 216) or an ng-eNB (e.g., ng-eNB 218). The gNB 216 may be connected to a 5G-enabled UE using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 216 may be connected to the 5G core via an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 218 may also be connected to the 5G core via an NG interface, but may be connected to the UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 216 and the ng-eNB 218 may be connected via an Xn interface.

[0067] In some embodiments, the NG interface can be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries service data between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the UPF 248 (e.g., the N3 interface); and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the AMF 244 (e.g., the N2 interface).

[0068] NG-RAN 214 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polarization codes, Repetition codes, Simplex codes and Reed-Muller codes for control, and LDPC for data. Similar to the LTE air interface, the 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS, but may use PBCHDMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for phase tracking for PDSCH; and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate on a FR1 band including sub-6 GHz bands or a FR2 band including bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block (SSB), which is a region of the downlink resource grid that includes the PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0069] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWP (fractional bandwidth) for various purposes. For example, BWP may be used for dynamic adaptation of SCS. For example, UE 202 may be configured with multiple BWPs, each of which is configured with a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to UE 202, the SCS of the transmission also changes. Another use case example of BWP is related to power saving. Specifically, multiple BWPs with different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) may be configured for UE 202 to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. A BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs may be used for data transmission with a small traffic load while allowing power saving at UE 202 and in some cases at gNB 216. A BWP containing a larger number of PRBs may be used in scenarios with higher traffic loads.

[0070] RAN 204 is communicatively coupled to CN 220, which includes network elements for providing various functions to support data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 202). The components of CN 220 may be implemented in one physical node, or in separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all functions provided by the network elements of CN 220 onto physical computing / storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of CN 220 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of CN 220 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0071] In some embodiments, CN 220 may be connected to an LTE radio network as part of an enhanced packet system (EPS) 222, which may also be referred to as an EPC (or enhanced packet core). EPC 222 may include MME 224, SGW 226, SGSN 228, HSS 230, PGW 232, and PCRF 234, which are coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functions of the elements of EPC 222 may be briefly described as follows.

[0072] The MME 224 may implement mobility management functions to track the current location of the UE 202 to facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, and the like.

[0073] The SGW 226 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the EPC 222. The SGW 226 may be a local mobility anchor for handovers between RAN nodes and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0074] SGSN 228 can track the location of UE 202 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, SGSN 228 can perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection specified by MME 224; MME selection for handover; etc. The S3 reference point between MME 224 and SGSN 228 can realize user and bearer information exchange for 3GPP indirect access mobility in idle / active state.

[0075] HSS230 may include a database for network users (including subscription related information) to support network entities in handling communication sessions. HSS230 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc. The S6a reference point between HSS230 and MME 224 may enable the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing users to access LTE CN 220.

[0076] The PGW 232 may terminate the SGi interface towards a data network (DN) 236, which may include an application / content server 238. The PGW 232 may route data packets between the LTE CN 220 and the data network 236. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the SGW 226 via an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunnels and tunnel management. The PGW 232 may also include a node (e.g., PCEF) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. In addition, the SGi reference point between the PGW 232 and the data network 236 may be an operator external public network, a private PDN network, or an intra-operator packet data network, for example, for provisioning IMS services. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the PCRF 234 via a Gx reference point.

[0077] PCRF 234 is the policy and charging control element of LTE CN 220. PCRF 234 may be communicatively coupled to app / content server 238 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. PCRF 234 may distribute the associated rules to PCEF with appropriate TFT and QCI (via Gx reference point).

[0078] In some embodiments, CN 220 may be 5GC 240. 5GC 240 may include AUSF 242, AMF 244, SMF 246, UPF 248, NSSF 250, NEF 252, NRF 254, PCF 256, UDM 258, and AF 260, which are coupled to each other through interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The functions of the elements of 5GC 240 may be briefly described as follows.

[0079] AUSF 242 can store data for authentication of UE 202 and handle authentication related functions. AUSF 242 can facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of 5GC 240 through reference points as shown, AUSF 242 can also expose interfaces based on Nausf services.

[0080] AMF 244 can allow other functions of 5GC 240 to communicate with UE 202 and RAN 204, and subscribe to notifications about mobility events for UE 202. AMF 244 can be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 202), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, legal interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 244 can provide transmission for SM messages between UE 202 and SMF 246, and act as a transparent agent for routing SM messages. AMF244 can also provide transmission for SMS messages between UE 202 and SMSF. AMF 244 can interact with AUSF 242 and UE 202 to perform various security anchoring and context management functions. In addition, AMF 244 can be a termination point for the RAN-CP interface, which can include or can be an N2 reference point between RAN 204 and AMF 244; and AMF 244 can be a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection. AMF 244 can also support NAS signaling with UE 202 through the N3IWF interface.

[0081] SMF 246 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between UPF 248 and AN 208); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering at UPF 248 to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating interfaces toward policy control functions; controlling a portion of policy enforcement, billing, and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to LI systems); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to AN 208 via AMF 244 over N2; and determining the SSC mode for a session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between UE 202 and data network 236.

[0082] The UPF 248 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network 236, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 248 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, implement the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform service usage reporting, perform QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink service validation (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 248 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of service flows to the data network.

[0083] The NSSF 250 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 202. The NSSF 250 may also determine the allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI (if necessary). The NSSF 250 may also determine the AMF set or list of candidate AMFs to be used to serve the UE 202 based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 254. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 202 may be triggered by the AMF 244 registered by the UE 202 through interaction with the NSSF 250, which may result in a change in the AMF. The NSSF 250 may interact with the AMF 244 via the N22 reference point and may communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). In addition, the NSSF 250 may expose an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0084] NEF 252 can securely open the services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to third parties, internal opening / reopening, AF (e.g., AF260), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such an embodiment, NEF 252 can authenticate, authorize or restrict AF. NEF 252 can also convert information exchanged with AF 260 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 252 can convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 252 can also receive information from other NFs based on the capabilities opened by other NFs. The information can be stored at NEF 252 as structured data, or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information can then be reopened by NEF 252 to other NFs and AFs, or used for other purposes (e.g., analysis). In addition, NEF 252 can display interfaces based on Nnef services.

[0085] NRF 254 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 254 also maintains information about available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiation," and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, while "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. In addition, NRF 254 may expose an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0086] PCF 256 can provide policy rules to the control plane functions to implement them, and can also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. PCF 256 can also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 258. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, PCF 256 also exposes an interface based on Npcf services.

[0087] UDM 258 can process subscription-related information to support the processing of communication sessions by network entities, and can store subscription data of UE 202. For example, subscription data can be transferred via the N8 reference point between UDM 258 and AMF 244. UDM 258 can include two parts: application front end and UDR. UDR can store subscription data and policy data for UDM 258 and PCF 256, and / or open structured data and application data for NEF 252 (including PFD for application detection and application request information for multiple UE 202). Nudr service-based interfaces can be displayed by UDR to allow UDM 258, PCF 256 and NEF 252 to access a specific set of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete and subscribe to notifications of changes in relevant data in UDR. UDM may include UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different front ends can serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identity processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs through reference points as shown, the UDM 258 can also expose Nudm service-based interfaces.

[0088] AF 260 may provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to the NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0089] In some embodiments, 5GC 240 can enable edge computing by selecting an operator / third-party service to be geographically close to the point where UE 202 attaches to the network. This can reduce latency and load on the network. In order to provide edge computing implementation, 5GC 240 can select UPF 248 close to UE 202 and perform service guidance from UPF 248 to data network 236 via the N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by AF 260. In this way, AF 260 can affect UPF (re)selection and service routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 260 is regarded as a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 260 to interact directly with relevant NFs. In addition, AF 260 can expose an interface based on Naf services.

[0090] The data network 236 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers (including, for example, application / content server 238).

[0091] In some aspects, the network 200 is configured to perform NR positioning using a location management function (LMF) 245, which can be configured as an LMF node or as a function in a different type of node. In some embodiments, the LMF 245 is configured to receive measurement and assistance information from the NG-RAN 214 and the UE 202 via the AMF 244 (e.g., using the NLs interface) to calculate the location of the UE. In some embodiments, the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) protocol can be used to carry positioning information between the NG-RAN 214 and the LMF 245 over the next generation control plane interface (NG-C). In some embodiments, the LMF 245 configures the UE 202 using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) (e.g., a communication link based on the LPP) via the AMF 244. In some aspects, the NG-RAN 214 configures the UE 202 using, for example, radio resource control (RRC) protocol signaling via, for example, LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces. In some aspects, UE 202 communicates with ng-eNB 218 using an LTE-Uu interface and communicates with gNB 216 using an NR-Uu interface. In some aspects, ng-eNB 216 and gNB 216 communicate with AMF 244 using an NG-C interface.

[0092] In some embodiments, positioning measurements in an NR communication network may be implemented using the following reference signals: an NR Positioning Reference Signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. The downlink Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) may be used as a reference signal to support downlink-based positioning techniques. In some aspects, the entire NR bandwidth may be covered by sending the PRS over multiple symbols, which may be aggregated to accumulate power.

[0093] Figure 3 Schematically illustrated is a wireless network 300 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 300 may include a UE 302 in wireless communication with an AN 304. The UE 302 and the AN 304 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0094] UE 302 may be communicatively coupled to AN 304 via connection 306. Connection 306 is shown as an air interface that enables the communicative coupling and may conform to a cellular communication protocol, such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0095] UE 302 may include a host platform 308 coupled to a modem platform 310. Host platform 308 may include application processing circuitry 312, which may be coupled to protocol processing circuitry 314 of modem platform 310. Application processing circuitry 312 may run various applications for outgoing / incoming application data of UE 302. Application processing circuitry 312 may also implement one or more layer operations to send / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and Internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0096] Protocol processing circuitry 314 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate sending or receiving data over connection 306. The layer operations implemented by protocol processing circuitry 314 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0097] The modem platform 310 may also include digital baseband circuitry 316, which may implement one or more layer operations that are "lower" layer operations in the network protocol stack that are performed by the protocol processing circuitry 314. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations, including one or more of the following: HARQ-ACK functionality, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding / decoding (which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or space coding), reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0098] The modem platform 310 may also include transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, and RF front end (RFFE) 324, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 326. In short, the transmit circuitry 318 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 320 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 322 may include low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc.; the RFFE 324 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the components of the transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panels 326 (generally referred to as "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether the communication is TDM or FDM, at mmWave or sub-6GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, may be provided in the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0099] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 314 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) for providing control functionality for the transmit / receive components.

[0100] UE reception may be established by and via antenna panel 326, RFFE 324, RF circuitry 322, receive circuitry 320, digital baseband circuitry 316, and protocol processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, antenna panel 326 may receive transmissions from AN 304 via receive beamformed signals received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 326.

[0101] UE transmission may be established by and via protocol processing circuitry 314, digital baseband circuitry 316, transmit circuitry 318, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and antenna panel 326. In some embodiments, the transmit component of UE 302 may apply spatial filtering to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams emitted by the antenna elements of antenna panel 326.

[0102] Similar to UE 302, AN 304 may include a host platform 328 coupled to a modem platform 330. Host platform 328 may include application processing circuitry 332 coupled to protocol processing circuitry 334 of modem platform 330. The modem platform may also include digital baseband circuitry 336, transmit circuitry 338, receive circuitry 340, RF circuitry 342, RFFE circuitry 344, and antenna panel 346. The components of AN 304 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with similarly named components of UE 302. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of AN 304 may also perform various logical functions, including, for example, RNC functions (e.g., radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling).

[0103] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating components according to some example embodiments that are capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 4 A diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 400 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory / storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 440 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 402 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resources 400.

[0104] The one or more processors 410 may include, for example, a processor 412 and a processor 414. The one or more processors 410 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP (e.g., a baseband processor), an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0105] The memory / storage device 420 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 420 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, etc.

[0106] The communication resources 430 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 404 or one or more databases 406 or other network elements via the network 408. For example, the communication resources 430 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communication components, NFC components, (or Low power consumption) components, components and other communication components.

[0107] The instructions 450 may include software, programs, applications, applet, apps, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the one or more processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 450 may reside completely or partially in at least one of the one or more processors 410 (e.g., within a cache memory of a processor), the memory / storage device 420, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 450 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of the peripheral device 404 or the database 406. Therefore, the memory of the one or more processors 410, the memory / storage device 420, the peripheral device 404, and the database 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0108] For one or more embodiments, at least one component outlined in one or more figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes and / or methods outlined in the following examples section. For example, baseband circuits associated with one or more of the previous figures may be configured to operate according to one or more examples set forth below. As another example, circuits associated with UEs, base stations, satellites, network elements, etc. described in conjunction with one or more figures may be configured to operate according to the disclosed techniques (including one or more examples set forth below in the examples section).

[0109] The term "application" may refer to a complete and deployable package, or an environment for implementing a specific function in an operating environment. The term "AI / ML application" or the like may refer to an application that contains some artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models and application-level descriptions. In some embodiments, the AI / ML application may be used to configure or implement one or more disclosed aspects.

[0110] The term "machine learning" or "ML" refers to the use of computer systems that implement algorithms and / or statistical models to perform specific tasks without explicit instructions, relying instead on patterns and reasoning. ML algorithms build or estimate mathematical models (called "ML models", etc.) based on sample data (called "training data", "model training information", etc.) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. Typically, an ML algorithm is a computer program that learns from experience about certain tasks and certain performance metrics, while an ML model can be any object or data structure created after training an ML algorithm with one or more training data sets. After training, the ML model can be used to make predictions for new data sets. Although the term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept than the term "ML model", these terms discussed herein can be used interchangeably for the present disclosure.

[0111] The terms "machine learning model", "ML model", etc. may also refer to ML methods and concepts used by ML-assisted solutions. "ML-assisted solutions" are solutions that use ML algorithms to solve specific use cases during operation. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbor (KNN), decision tree algorithm, support machine vector, Bayesian algorithm, ensemble algorithm, etc.) and unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), etc.), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a specific ML model may have many sub-models as components, and the ML model may train all sub-models together. Separately trained ML models may also be linked together in an ML pipeline during inference. "ML pipeline" is a set of functions, features, or functional entities specific to ML-assisted solutions; an ML pipeline may include one or several data sources in a data pipeline, a model training pipeline, a model evaluation pipeline, and an actor. "Actor" is an entity that hosts an ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference. The term "ML training host" refers to an entity (e.g., a network function) that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to the entity (e.g., a network function) that hosts the model during inference mode (including both model execution and any online learning (if applicable)). The ML host informs participants of the output of the ML algorithm, and the participants decide on actions (an "action" is what the participant performs as a result of the output of the ML-assisted solution). The term "model inference information" refers to information used as input to the ML model for determining inferences; the data used to train the ML model and the data used to determine inferences may overlap, however, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

[0112] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communications platforms. The next generation of wireless communication systems (e.g., 5G NR systems) will enable a variety of users and applications to access information and share data anywhere, anytime. 5G NR is expected to be a unified network / system designed to meet widely varying and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. This diverse multi-dimensional demand is driven by different services and applications. Typically, 5G NR will evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simple and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR will enable everything to be connected wirelessly and deliver fast, rich content and services.

[0113] 5G NR supports high-precision positioning in both vertical and horizontal dimensions, which relies on timing-based, angle-based, power-based or hybrid techniques to estimate the user position in the network. Specifically, the following RAT-dependent positioning techniques can be used to meet positioning requirements for various use cases (e.g., indoor, outdoor, and industrial Internet of Things (IoT)):

[0114] (a) Downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA);

[0115] (b) Uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA);

[0116] (c) Downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD);

[0117] (d) Uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA);

[0118] (e) multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT); and

[0119] (f)NR enhanced cell ID (E-CID).

[0120] With the wide bandwidth and beamforming capabilities of positioning signals in the mmWave frequency band, RAT-dependent positioning technology can achieve higher positioning accuracy. In Rel-16, the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS) for positioning are introduced as enabling factors for achieving the target performance characteristics.

[0121] In Rel-18, in order to address use cases such as autonomous driving, sidelink or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) based positioning is considered. More specifically, for sidelink positioning, various scenarios including in-coverage, partial coverage, and out-of-network coverage can be considered. In some aspects, in order to meet the positioning accuracy requirements, a new sidelink reference signal (i.e., sidelink position reference signal (SL PRS)) can be introduced.

[0122] Figure 5 Diagram 500 is shown of sidelink positioning with an anchor UE and a target UE according to some aspects. Figure 5 In the example, the target UE represents the UE to be positioned, and the anchor UE indicates (e.g., by sending and / or receiving SL PRS and providing positioning-related information (e.g., measurements based on SL PRS)) the UE that supports positioning of the target UE. In some aspects, the SL PRS can be transmitted between the anchor UE and the target UE for sidelink positioning.

[0123] In Rel-16, a resource pool may be defined for sidelink communications, where multiple UEs share the same resource pool for sidelink channel / signal transmissions. For Mode 2 resource allocation, the UE autonomously selects resources within the resource pool for physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) transmissions. In Mode 1 resource allocation, the base station controls resource allocation to the UE. For sidelink positioning, a dedicated resource pool may be configured for SL PRS transmission. In this case, certain mechanisms may be defined for configuring a dedicated resource pool for SL PRS transmission.

[0124] The disclosed technology includes a mechanism for configuring a resource pool for sidelink positioning. Specifically, the disclosed technology includes resource pool configuration for SL PRS, SL PRS resource indexing within the resource pool, and determining a time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool.

[0125] Resource pool configuration for SL PRS

[0126] As mentioned above, in order to address use cases such as autonomous driving, sidelink or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) based positioning is considered. More specifically, for sidelink positioning, various scenarios including in-coverage, partial coverage, and out-of-network coverage can be considered. In order to meet the positioning accuracy requirements, a new sidelink reference signal (i.e., sidelink position reference signal (SL PRS)) can be introduced.

[0127] In an embodiment, the dedicated resource pool for SL PRS may include both SL PRS and PSCCH associated with SL PRS transmission without any associated PSSCH. In another embodiment, the dedicated resource pool for SL PRS may include only SL PRS resources. In the following embodiments, SL PRS resource pool may refer to a dedicated resource pool for SL PRS.

[0128] An embodiment of a resource pool configuration for SL PRS is provided as follows.

[0129] In some aspects, multiple resource pools may be configured for SL PRS transmission or reception. In addition, different transmit (Tx) resource pools and receive (Rx) resource pools may be configured for SL PRS transmission and reception, respectively. Specifically, multiple resource pools may be multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

[0130] In some aspects, for the SL PRS resource pool, a contiguous number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) may be (pre)configured in the frequency domain. In addition, the starting PRB of the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre)configured relative to point A. In another option, the starting PRB of the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre)configured relative to the starting PRB of the SL portion bandwidth (BWP) used for SL communication or channel bandwidth.

[0131] Alternatively or in addition to indicating the number of PRBs, the frequency domain allocation of the SLPRS resource pool may be provided to the UE via (pre)configuration of the number of subchannels, where the subchannel may be further configured with a size of one of the PRBs within a consecutive frequency from {10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100}.

[0132] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource pool may be located within or outside the SL-BWP for SL communication, or partially overlap with the SL-BWP for SL communication. As a further extension, when the starting PRB and the number of PRBs are not configured for the SL PRS resource pool, the default frequency domain resource configuration may be equal to the SL BWP for SL communication or the dedicated SLBWP for SL PRS transmission.

[0133] In some embodiments, the starting PRB of the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre-)configured relative to the starting PRB of the SL BWP that is (pre-)configured for SL PRS transmission and reception.In some aspects, the SL-BWP used for SL communication and SL PRS transmission may be different.

[0134] Based on the Rel.16 definition of SL BWP and SL resource pools, several configurations can be changed to allow support for separate SL-BWPs for SL positioning. For backward compatibility, the configured SL BWP can only be used for SL communication using all available symbols of the time slot. The corresponding resource pool will then be configured to use only time slots that do not overlap with the part of the time slot used for positioning.

[0135] In order to allow a time slot partially used for positioning, either two SL BWPs with orthogonal symbol allocations or a new SL BWP partially used for positioning may be defined. Rel.16 / 17 SL devices have only one active SL BWP; therefore, they may only use resources defined only for communication. From the RF front-end perspective, it is possible to configure multiple SL BWPs at different times and activate them at the UE simultaneously, but this is not currently standardized in this way. Alternatively, it may be expected that the UE maintains only a single SL-BWP - either for SL communication or for SL positioning at a time, with a BWP switching mechanism used to switch between SL communication and SL positioning. This switching can be based on the time domain configuration of the SL communication and SL positioning resource pools within the corresponding SL-BWP provided to the UE via (pre-) configuration, or based on dynamic indication via DCI from the serving cell or via SCI from another UE, or a combination of both.

[0136] Furthermore, the starting symbol and the length of the symbol in the time slot may be (pre-)configured in the time domain for the SL PRS resource pool.

[0137] In addition, the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix may be (pre)configured for the SL PRS resource pool. In the case where the starting PRB of the SL PRS resource pool is defined relative to the starting PRB of the SL BWP for SL communication, the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix may be the same as the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix (pre)configured for the SL BWP for SL communication. In another option, the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix may be determined based on the configuration from the SL BWP for SL PRS transmission and reception.

[0138] In some embodiments, the SL PRS resource pool may be multiplexed with the SL communication resource pool in TDM and / or FDM fashion or both. In some aspects, the number of PRBs and the number of symbols allocated to the resource pools for SL communication and SL PRS transmission may be different.

[0139] In the aspect of multiplexing the SL PRS resource pool with the SL communication resource pool in a TDM manner, in one option, the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre)configured in a time slot different from the time slot that is (pre)configured for the SL communication resource pool. In another option, the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre)configured in a different symbol in the same time slot as the time slot that is (pre)configured for the SL communication resource pool.

[0140] Figure 6 A diagram 600 is shown of multiplexing resource pools for SL communication and sidelink positioning reference signals (SL PRS) in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner at different time slots according to some aspects. Figure 6 In the example of , the SL PRS resource pool can be configured in a time slot set that is disjoint from the resource pool used for SL communications. In some aspects, this can be configured via orthogonal resource pools. In addition, it is potentially possible to design them in a way that the SL PRS can occupy a larger portion of the guard band while still meeting the spectrum mask requirements.

[0141] Figure 7 A diagram 700 is shown of resource pools for SL communication and SL PRS multiplexed in a time slot in a TDM manner according to some aspects. Figure 7 In the example of , the SL PRS resource pool may be configured in the same time slot as the resource pool for SL communication, but with disjoint symbol sets. This may be possible when the SL PRS resource pool and the SL communication resource pool are configured in different SLBWPs.

[0142] Figure 8 A diagram 800 is shown of multiplexing resource pools for SL communication and SL PRS in a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner according to some aspects. Figure 8 In the example of , the SL PRS resource pool can be configured in the same time slot as the resource pool for SL communication. In addition, the SL PRS resource pool can be multiplexed with the SL communication resource pool in an FDM manner. In some aspects, although Figure 8 As shown, the same symbol set is allocated to the resource pools for SL communication and SL PRS, but different symbol sets can be easily extended from the example.

[0143] In some embodiments, one or more SL PRS dedicated resource pools may be (pre)configured within the SL bandwidth portion (BWP). When more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool is (pre)configured, more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool may be multiplexed in the SLBWP in TDM and / or FDM manner or a combination thereof. When more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool is multiplexed in TDM manner, more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool may be multiplexed in the same time slot or in different time slots.

[0144] Fig. 9 A diagram 900 is shown for multiplexing multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools in a TDM and FDM manner according to some aspects. Fig. 9 In the example, the SL PRS dedicated resource pool can be multiplexed via TDM or FDM across different time slots.

[0145] In some aspects, the same set of parameters, including the number of symbols used for PSCCH and PSSCH transmissions, the starting symbol, the number of symbols used for SL PRS transmissions, the comb size and / or the number of PRBs used for SL PRS transmissions, may be (pre)configured as part of the SL PRS dedicated resource pool configuration. In some aspects, different sets of parameters may be (pre)configured across different SL PRS dedicated resource pools.

[0146] In some aspects, the first subset of parameters may be the same for the SL PRS dedicated resource pool, while the second subset of parameters may be different in the SL PRS dedicated resource pool. In some aspects, the number of symbols and comb size used for SL PRS transmission may be the same for the SL PRS dedicated resource pool, while the starting symbol and number of PRBs used for SL RPS transmission may be different for different SL PRS resources in the SL PRS dedicated resource pool.

[0147] Fig.10 A diagram 1000 is shown of SL PRS resources with different bandwidths in a SL PRS dedicated resource pool according to some aspects. Fig.10 In the example of , SL PRS resource #0 and resource #1 are multiplexed in an SL PRS dedicated resource pool in an FDM manner. In some aspects, different bandwidths may be (pre-)configured for different SL PRS resources in a dedicated SL PRS resource pool.

[0148] In some embodiments, when more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool is multiplexed in FDM manner, the number of symbols used for SLPRS, the number of symbols used for PSCCH / PSSCH, the comb size, the number of repetitions and / or the number of SLPRS resources multiplexed via TDM are the same on more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool.

[0149] In some embodiments, when more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool is multiplexed in FDM mode, the number of symbols and starting symbols of SL PRS resources, the number of symbols used for PSCCH / PSSCH and the number of SL PRS resources multiplexed via TDM are the same on more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool.

[0150] In some aspects, one or more SL PRS resource pools shared with SL communications may be (pre)configured within a SL bandwidth portion (BWP). When more than one SL PRS shared resource pool is (pre)configured, the more than one SL PRS shared resource pool may be multiplexed in the SL BWP in a TDM and / or FDM manner or a combination thereof.

[0151] In some aspects, when more than one SL PRS shared resource pool is multiplexed in a TDM manner, more than one SLPRS shared resource pool may be multiplexed in different time slots.

[0152] In some embodiments, when more than one SL PRS shared resource pool is multiplexed in FDM mode, the number of symbols and starting symbols of SL symbols in a time slot, the presence or absence of PSFCH in the time slot, and the number of symbols and starting symbols of SL PRS resources are the same on more than one SL PRS shared resource pool.

[0153] In some aspects, when more than one SL PRS shared resource pool is multiplexed in FDM mode, the number of symbols and the starting symbol of the SL symbols in the time slot, the presence or absence of the PSFCH in the time slot are the same on more than one SL PRS shared resource pool, while the number of symbols and the starting symbol of the SL PRS resources may be different on the shared resource pool. In another example, this may apply to the SL PRS shared resource pool, where the SL PRS is multiplexed with the PSSCH at the RE level, similar to the SLCSI-RS.

[0154] In some embodiments, multiple SL PRS resources may be (pre)configured within a SL PRS resource pool, which may depend on the number of PRBs and the number of symbols used for each SL PRS resource. In some aspects, the number of PRBs, the starting symbol, and the number of symbols used for SL PRS resources may be (pre)configured by higher layers for sidelink positioning.

[0155] Furthermore, one or more repetitions may be (pre-)configured for the SL PRS resources. In aspects where multiple repetitions of the SL PRS are (pre-)configured for the SL PRS resources, the multiple repetitions may be allocated within the same SL PRS resource pool.

[0156] In some aspects, when multiple SL PRS resources or multiple repetitions of SL PRS are multiplexed in a SL PRS resource pool in a TDM manner (i.e., with different sets of symbols in a time slot), the number of automatic gain control (AGC) symbols and the number of protection symbols in the SL PRS resources for Tx-Rx switching purposes can be (pre-)configured by higher layers or predetermined for the SL PRS resource pool.

[0157] In some embodiments, when more than one SL PRS resource in the SL PRS resource pool is from different UEs, an AGC symbol is inserted into the first symbol of each of the multiple SL PRS resources in the SL PRS resource pool. Similarly, a guard symbol is inserted into the last symbol of each SL PRS resource in the SL PRS resource pool.

[0158] Fig.11 A diagram 1100 is shown of SL PRS resources in a SL PRS resource pool configured according to a first option in accordance with some aspects. Fig.11 In the example of , two SL PRS resources are configured in the SL PRS resource pool. Given that the two SL PRS resources may be sent from different UEs, the AGC symbol and the protection symbol are inserted into the first SL PRS resource and the second SL PRS resource, respectively. In some aspects, although in the example, the starting symbol is the third symbol for the SL PRS resource pool, the design can be simply extended to other cases (for example, the starting symbol for the SL PRS resource pool is the first symbol in the time slot).

[0159] In some aspects, an AGC symbol is inserted into the first symbol of each of the multiple SL PRS resources in the SL PRS resource pool. This may apply to the following situations: when multiple SL PRS resources within the SL PRS resource pool are from the same UE, when different beams are applied for more than one SL PRS resource, or when multiple SL PRS resources within the SL PRS resource pool are from different UEs. SL PRSSL PRS. In some aspects, a single guard symbol may be inserted into the (time-wise) last symbol of the multiple SL PRS resources in the SL PRS resource pool.

[0160] Fig.12 A diagram 1200 of configuring a SL PRS resource pool in a SL PRS resource pool according to a second option according to some aspects is shown. In the example, two SL PRS resources are configured in the SL PRS resource pool. Given that the two SL PRS resources may be transmitted from one UE with different beam directions, a guard symbol for Tx Rx switching time may be inserted in the second SL PRS resource. In some aspects, an AGC symbol is inserted into the first SL PRS resource and the second SL PRS resource, respectively.

[0161] In some aspects, when more than one SL PRS resource or more than one repetition of a SL PRS resource in a SL PRS resource pool is from the same UE, an AGC symbol is inserted into the first symbol of more than one SL PRS resource or repetition in the SL PRS resource pool. In addition, a single guard symbol may be inserted into the last (in time) symbol of the last of multiple SL PRS resources or repetitions in the SL PRS resource pool.

[0162] Fig.13 A diagram 1300 illustrates SL PRS resources in a SL PRS resource pool configured according to a third option in accordance with some aspects. Fig.13In the example of , two SL PRS repetitions of SL PRS resources are configured in the SL PRS resource pool. Given that these two SL PRS resources can be sent from one UE, a single guard symbol for TxRx switching time is inserted in the last symbol of the second SL PRS repetition. In addition, a single AGC symbol is inserted in the first symbol of the first SL PRS repetition.

[0163] SL PRS resource index in the resource pool

[0164] An embodiment of SL PRS resource indexing within a SL PRS resource pool is provided as follows. The embodiments and examples of indexing of SL PRS resources in this subsection can be applicable to a resource pool, whether it can be a dedicated SL PRS resource pool (with SL PRS or SL PRS and PSCCH) or a shared resource pool with SLPRS multiplexed with other SL communication channels (e.g., SL PRS, PSCCH, and PSSCH).

[0165] In some embodiments, multiple SL PRS resources may be (pre)configured in a SL PRS resource pool. In some aspects, multiple SL PRS resources may be multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) and / or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner. Specifically, the following multiplexing options may be used for different SL PRS resources:

[0166] (a) Different comb offset indices may be assigned to different SL PRS resources. In some aspects, for SLPRS resources, different comb offsets may be applied to different symbols, following a staggered pattern similar to the DL-PRS design. In this case, SL PRS resources may be distinguished by the starting RE offset within the comb.

[0167] (b) Different frequency domain resources may be allocated for different SL PRS transmissions. For this case, a non-overlapping set of continuous physical resource blocks may be allocated for different SL PRS resources. In one example, the SL PRS resource pool may span 100 PRBs, and the first 50 PRBs may be allocated for the first SL PRS resource, and the second 50 PRBs may be allocated for the second SL PRS resource.

[0168] (c) Different time domain resources may be allocated for different SL PRS transmissions. For this option, different SL PRS resources may be allocated in different symbols or different time slots.

[0169] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of the starting symbol and / or starting slot of the SL PRS transmission, second in ascending order of the starting PRB, and third in ascending order of the comb RE offset.

[0170] In some embodiments, if only one SLPRS in the time domain in a time slot is allocated within the SL PRS resource pool, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of the starting PRB of SL PRS transmission and secondly in ascending order of comb RE offset.

[0171] In some aspects, if only one SL PRS in the frequency domain in a time slot is allocated within the SL PRS resource pool, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of the starting symbol and / or starting time slot of SL PRS transmission and secondly in ascending order of comb RE offset.

[0172] In some embodiments, if only one SL PRS in the time domain and the frequency domain in the time slot is allocated within the SL PRS resource pool, the SL PRS resource index may be determined in ascending order of the comb RE offset of the SL PRS transmission.

[0173] In some embodiments, other arrangements for determining the order of SL PRS resource indexes can be concisely extended from the above embodiments. In one example, the SL PRS resource indexes can be determined first in ascending order of the starting PRB of the SL PRS transmission, then in ascending order of the starting symbol and / or starting time slot, and finally in ascending order of the comb RE offset.

[0174] In some embodiments, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of combRE offsets of SL PRS transmissions, second in ascending order of starting PRBs, and third in ascending order of starting symbols and / or starting time slots. In the case where only one SL PRS in the frequency domain in a time slot is allocated within the SL PRS resource pool, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of comb RE offsets of SL PRS transmissions, and second in ascending order of starting symbols and / or starting time slots.

[0175] Fig.14 Diagram 1400 illustrates SL PRS resource determination within a SL PRS resource pool according to some aspects. Fig.14In the example of , 12 symbols are allocated to the SL PRS resource pool, and the 1st and 7th symbols within the SL PRS resource pool are allocated for AGC symbols; and the 6th and 12th symbols within the SL PRS resource pool are allocated for protection symbols for Tx-Rx switching purposes. In some aspects, the number of AGC and protection symbols may be different for different SL PRS resource pool configurations. In addition, a comb size of 2 is used for SL PRS transmission. In this example, the SL PRS resource index is determined first by the starting symbol of the SL PRS transmission and secondly by the ascending order of the comb RE offset of the SL PRS. In this case:

[0176] (a) The first SL PRS resource is a SL PRS of which {first symbol=the second symbol in the SL PRS resource pool, and comb RE offset=0};

[0177] (b) the second SL PRS resource is a SL PRS of which {first symbol=the second symbol in the SL PRS resource pool, and comb RE offset=1};

[0178] (c) the third SL PRS resource is a SL PRS of which {first symbol=8th symbol in the SL PRS resource pool, and comb RE offset=0}; and

[0179] (d) The fourth SL PRS resource is a SL PRS of {first symbol=the 8th symbol in the SL PRS resource pool, and comb RE offset=1}.

[0180] Determine the time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool

[0181] An embodiment of determining a time slot set for a SL PRS resource pool is provided as follows.

[0182] In some embodiments, after excluding the time slot set allocated for the SL synchronization signal block (SSB), non-SL, reserved time slots, and SL communication resource pool, the time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool can be determined. Specifically, the following process can be used to determine the time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool: the time slot set includes all time slots except the following time slots:

[0183] (a) Time slots where SL-SSB resources are configured.

[0184] (b) A slot identified as a non-SL slot, where some OFDM symbols are not semi-statically configured as UL in the slot, as determined in section 8 of 3GPP TS 38.214.

[0185] (c) Reserved time slots identified in Section 8 of TS 38.214.

[0186] (d) Allocate time slots for the SL communication resource pool as determined in Section 8 of TS 38.214.

[0187] In some aspects, a bitmap may be (pre)configured for the SL PRS resource pool. More specifically, one or more of the following steps may be used to determine a set of time slots for the SL PRS resource pool based on the (pre)configured bitmap:

[0188] (a) Using the bitmap associated with the resource pool for SL PRS in, The length of the bitmap used for the SL PRS resource pool is configured by higher layers.

[0189] (b) If b k′ =1, then the time slot belongs to this set, among which, And N SLcomm is the number of time slots allocated for SL communication.

[0190] (c) Reindex the time slots in the set so that the remaining time slots The subscript i is continuous in, is the number of time slots remaining in the set.

[0191] In some embodiments, after excluding the time slot sets allocated for SL SSB, non-SL and reserved time slots, the time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool can be determined. Specifically, the following process can be used to determine the time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool: the time slot set includes all time slots except the following time slots:

[0192] (a) The time slots where SL-SSB resources are configured;

[0193] (b) a slot identified as a non-SL slot, where some OFDM symbols are not semi-statically configured as UL in the slot, as determined in section 8 of TS 38.214; and

[0194] (c) Reserved time slots identified in Section 8 of TS 38.214.

[0195] In some embodiments, a bitmap may be (pre)configured for the SL PRS resource pool. More specifically, one or more of the following steps may be used to determine the time slot set for the SL PRS resource pool according to the (pre)configured bitmap:

[0196] (a) Using the bitmap associated with the resource pool for SL PRS in, The length of the bitmap used for the SL PRS resource pool is configured by higher layers.

[0197] (b) If b k′ =1, then the time slot belongs to this set, among which,

[0198] (c) Reindex the time slots in the set so that the remaining time slots The subscript i is continuous in, is the number of time slots remaining in the set.

[0199] In some embodiments, the length of the bitmap for the SL PRS resource pool may be the same as or different from the length for the SL communication resource pool. When the length of the bitmap for the SL PRS resource pool is the same as the length of the bitmap for the SL communication resource pool, disjoint time slot sets may be configured for the SL PRS resource pool and the SL communication resource pool, respectively. In this case, the UE may not expect time slots to be (pre) configured for both the SL PRS and SL communication resource pools. For this option, the SL PRS resource pool and the SL communication resource pool may be multiplexed in a TDM manner in different time slots.

[0200] Fig.15 A diagram 1500 is shown for determining a set of time slots for a SL PRS resource pool according to a first option in accordance with some aspects. Fig.15 In the example of , the bitmap "0010001000" is configured for the SL PRS resource pool, and the bitmap "1100110000" is configured for SL communication. This indicates that n=2,6 with a period of 10 time slots are configured for the SL PRS resource pool, and n=0,1,4,5 with a period of 10 time slots are configured for the SL communication resource pool. In this case, the SL PRS resource pool and the SL communication resource pool can be multiplexed in a TDM manner in different time slots.

[0201] In some embodiments, if one or more time slots from the determined time slot set are the same for the SL PRS and SL communication resource pools, respectively, the UE may further check whether the symbol sets and / or PRB sets in the one or more time slots used for the SL PRS resource pool and SL communication overlap.

[0202] In some aspects, if the symbol sets and / or PRB sets in one or more time slots used for the SL PRS resource pool and SL communication do not overlap, then the one or more time slots can be assigned to the SL PRS resource pool. However, if the symbol sets and / or PRB sets in one or more time slots used for the SL PRS resource pool and SL communication overlap, then the one or more time slots cannot be assigned to the SL PRS resource pool.

[0203] Fig.16 A diagram 1600 is shown for determining a set of time slots for a SL PRS resource pool according to a first option in accordance with some aspects. Fig.16 In the example of , the bitmap "0100010000" is configured for the SL PRS resource pool, and the bitmap "1100110000" is configured for SL communication, which indicates that n=1, 5 with a period of 10 time slots are configured for the SLPRS resource pool, and n=0, 1, 4, 5 with a period of 10 time slots are configured for the SL communication resource pool. In some aspects, n=1 and 5 with a period of 10 time slots are configured for both the SL PRS and SL communication resource pools. However, in view of the allocation of disjoint symbol sets for the SL PRS and SL communication resource pools, n=1 and 5 with a period of 10 time slots can be used for the SL PRS. In some aspects, different SL-BWPs need to be configured for the positioning and communication resource pools.

[0204] In some aspects, the disclosed technology may be based on one or more of the following examples. A wireless communication system and method for a fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system includes: a resource pool configured by a gNB for sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) transmission or reception. The UE transmits the SL PRS in the resource pool for SL PRS transmission. The UE receives the SL PRS in the resource pool for SLPRS reception.

[0205] In some aspects, multiple resource pools may be configured for SL PRS transmission or reception.

[0206] In some aspects, a contiguous number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) may be (pre-)configured in the frequency domain.

[0207] In some aspects, the starting PRB of the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre-)configured relative to point A or the starting PRB of the SL portion bandwidth (BWP) used for SL communication or channel bandwidth.

[0208] In some aspects, frequency domain allocation of the SL PRS resource pool may also be provided to the UE via (pre)configuration of the number of subchannels, where the subchannel may be further configured with a size of one of the PRBs within a contiguous frequency range from {10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100}.

[0209] In some aspects, a starting PRB of a SL PRS resource pool may be (pre-)configured relative to a starting PRB of a SL BWP that is (pre-)configured for SL PRS transmission and reception.

[0210] In some embodiments, the starting symbol and the length of the symbol in the time slot may be (pre-)configured for the SL PRS resource pool in the time domain.

[0211] In some aspects, the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix can be (pre-)configured for the SL PRS resource pool; wherein the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix can be the same as the subcarrier spacing and / or cyclic prefix of the SL BWP (pre-)configured for SL communication, or can be determined based on the configuration from the SL BWP used for SL PRS transmission and reception.

[0212] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource pool may be multiplexed with the SL communication resource pool in TDM and / or FDM fashion or both.

[0213] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre-)configured in a time slot different from the time slots (pre-)configured for the SL communication resource pool.

[0214] In some embodiments, the SL PRS resource pool may be (pre-)configured in different symbols in the same time slot as the time slot that is (pre-)configured for the SL communication resource pool.

[0215] In some aspects, multiple SL PRS resources may be configured within a SL PRS resource pool.

[0216] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of the starting symbol and / or starting slot of the SL PRS transmission, second in ascending order of the starting PRB, and third in ascending order of the comb RE offset.

[0217] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of the starting PRB of the SL PRS transmission and second in ascending order of the comb RE offset.

[0218] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of the starting symbol and / or starting slot of the SL PRS transmission and second in ascending order of the comb RE offset.

[0219] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource index may be determined in ascending order of comb RE offsets of SL PRS transmissions.

[0220] In some embodiments, the SL PRS resource index may be determined first in ascending order of comb RE offsets of SL PRS transmission, second in ascending order of starting PRBs, and third in ascending order of starting symbols and / or starting slots.

[0221] In some aspects, the number of automatic gain control (AGC) symbols and the number of guard symbols in the SL PRS resources for Tx-Rx switching purposes may be configured by higher layers (pre-) or predetermined for the SL PRS resource pool.

[0222] In some aspects, when more than one SL PRS resource within the SL PRS resource pool is from different UEs, an AGC symbol is inserted in the first symbol of each of the multiple SL PRS resources in the SL PRS resource pool.

[0223] In some aspects, when multiple SL PRS resources within the SL PRS resource pool are from the same UE and when different beams are applied for more than one SL PRS resource, an AGC symbol is inserted in the first symbol of each of the multiple SL PRS resources in the SL PRS resource pool.

[0224] In some aspects, when more than one SL PRS resources or more than one repetition of a SL PRS resource within the SL PRS resource pool are from the same UE, an AGC symbol is inserted in the first symbol of the more than one SL PRS resources or repetition in the SL PRS resource pool.

[0225] In some aspects, the set of time slots for the SL PRS resource pool may be determined after excluding the set of time slots allocated for SL synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), non-SL, reserved time slots, and the SL communication resource pool.

[0226] In some aspects, a bitmap may be (pre-)configured for the SL PRS resource pool.

[0227] In some aspects, the set of time slots for the SL PRS resource pool may be determined after excluding the set of time slots allocated for SL SSB, non-SL, and reserved time slots.

[0228] In some aspects, the length of the bitmap used for the SL PRS resource pool may be the same as or different from the length used for the SL communication resource pool.

[0229] In some aspects, the SL PRS resource pool may be allocated one or more time slots for SL PRS resource pool and SL communication if the symbol sets and / or PRB sets in the one or more time slots do not overlap.

[0230] In some aspects, if the symbol sets and / or PRB sets in one or more time slots used for the SL PRS resource pool and SL communication overlap, then the one or more time slots may not be allocated for the SL PRS resource pool.

[0231] In some aspects, one or more SL PRS dedicated resource pools may be (pre-)configured within the SL portion bandwidth (BWP).

[0232] In some aspects, when more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool is multiplexed in a TDM manner, the more than one SL PRS dedicated resource pool may be multiplexed in the same time slot or in different time slots.

[0233] In some aspects, the same set of parameters, including the number of symbols used for PSCCH and PSSCH transmissions, the number of symbols used for SL PRS transmissions, the comb size and / or the number of PRBs used for SL PRS transmissions, may be (pre-)configured as part of the SL PRS dedicated resource pool configuration.

[0234] In some aspects, the first subset of parameters may be the same for the SL PRS dedicated resource pool, while the second subset of parameters may be different in the SL PRS dedicated resource pool.

[0235] In some embodiments, one or more SL PRS resource pools shared with SL communications may be (pre)configured within the SL partial bandwidth (BWP); wherein, when more than one SL PRS shared resource pool is (pre)configured, more than one SL PRS shared resource pool may be multiplexed in the SL BWP in TDM and / or FDM manner or a combination thereof.

[0236] Fig.17 A block diagram of a communication device (e.g., an evolved Node B (eNB), a new generation Node B (gNB) (or another RAN node, such as a base station), a network controlled relay (NCR), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE)) according to some aspects and for performing one or more techniques disclosed herein is shown. In alternative aspects, the communication device 1700 can operate as a standalone device, or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices.

[0237] A circuit (e.g., a processing circuit) is a collection of circuits implemented in a tangible entity of the device 1700 including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuit membership can be flexible over time. A circuit includes members that can perform specified operations individually or in combination when in operation. In an example, the hardware of the circuit can be invariably designed to perform a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In an example, the hardware of the circuit can include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) that include a machine-readable medium that is physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, removably placed invariant aggregate particles, etc.) to encode instructions for a specific operation.

[0238] When connecting physical components, the underlying electrical characteristics of the hardware components are changed, such as from an insulator to a conductor, or vice versa. These instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or a loading mechanism) to create members of a circuit in hardware via variable connections to perform a portion of a specific operation when in operation. Thus, in an example, a machine-readable medium element is part of a circuit, or is communicatively coupled to other components of a circuit when the device is operating. In an example, any physical component can be used in more than one member of more than one circuit. For example, in operation, an execution unit can be used in a first circuit of a first circuit at one point in time, and reused by a second circuit in the first circuit at a different time, or reused by a third circuit in the second circuit. The following are additional examples of these components of device 1700.

[0239] In some aspects, device 1700 can be operated as a stand-alone device, or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, communication device 1700 can operate as a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in a server-client network environment. In an example, communication device 1700 can act as a peer communication device in a point-to-point (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Communication device 1700 can be UE, eNB, PC, tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile phone, smart phone, network appliance, network router, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable of (sequentially or otherwise) executing instructions specifying the action to be taken by the communication device. In addition, although only a single communication device is shown, the term "communication device" should also be understood to include any collection of communication devices that execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more methods discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS) and other computer cluster configurations.

[0240] Examples as described herein may include logic or several components, modules or mechanisms, or may operate thereon. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that can perform a specified operation, and may be configured or arranged in some way. In an example, a circuit may be arranged as a module in a specified manner (e.g., internally, or relative to an external entity such as other circuits). In an example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., independent, client or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application parts or applications) to operate to perform a specified operation of the module. In an example, the software may reside on a communication device readable medium. In an example, the software, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causes the hardware to perform a specified operation.

[0241] Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity, whether physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., temporarily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operations described herein. Considering the example of temporarily configured modules, each module need not be instantiated at all times. For example, where the module includes a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor can be configured into corresponding different modules at different times. The software can configure the hardware processor accordingly, for example, to constitute a particular module at one time instance and to constitute a different module at a different time instance.

[0242] The communication device (e.g., UE) 1700 may include a hardware processor 1702 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 1704, a static memory 1706, and a storage device 1716 (e.g., a hard drive, a tape drive, a flash memory, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnect link (e.g., a bus) 1708.

[0243] The communication device 1700 may also include a display device 1710, an alphanumeric input device 1712 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1714 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device 1710, the input device 1712, and the UI navigation device 1714 may be a touch screen display. The communication device 1700 may also include a signal generating device 1718 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1720, and one or more sensors 1721 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or another sensor). The communication device 1700 may include an output controller 1728 (e.g., a serial connection (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB)), a parallel connection, or other wired or wireless connections (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.)) for communicating with or controlling one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0244] The storage device 1716 may include a communication device-readable medium 1722 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1724 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functionality described herein. In some aspects, registers of the processor 1702, the main memory 1704, the static memory 1706, and / or the storage device 1716 may be or include (in whole or in part) a device-readable medium 1722 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1724 embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functionality described herein. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 1702, the main memory 1704, the static memory 1706, or the storage device 1716 may constitute the device-readable medium 1722.

[0245] As used herein, the term "device-readable medium" is interchangeable with "computer-readable medium" or "machine-readable medium." Although the communication device-readable medium 1722 is shown as a single medium, the term "communication device-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 1724. The term "communication device-readable medium" includes the terms "machine-readable medium" or "computer-readable medium" and may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions 1724) that are executed by the communication device 1700 and cause the communication device 1700 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of communication device-readable media may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)), and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magnetic optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the communication device readable media may include non-transitory communication device readable media. In some examples, the communication device readable media may include communication device readable media that is not a transient propagating signal.

[0246] Instructions 1724 may also be sent or received over a communication network 1726 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 1720 using any of a number of transmission protocols. In an example, the network interface device 1720 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet jacks, coaxial jacks, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 1726. In an example, the network interface device 1720 may include multiple antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technology. In some examples, the network interface device 1720 may wirelessly communicate using multi-user MIMO technology.

[0247] The term "transmission medium" should be understood to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions executed by the communication device 1700, and includes a digital or analog communication signal or another intangible medium for facilitating the communication of such software. In this regard, a transmission medium in the context of the present disclosure is a device-readable medium.

[0248] The terms "machine-readable medium," "computer-readable medium," and "device-readable medium" mean the same thing and are used interchangeably in this disclosure. These terms are defined to include both machine storage media and transmission media. Thus, these terms include both storage devices / medium and carrier / modulated data signals.

[0249] Implementations of the described subject matter may include one or more of the features described below, alone or in combination.

[0250] Example 1 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, the apparatus comprising: a processing circuit, wherein, in order to configure the UE for sidelink positioning in the 5G NR network, the processing circuit is used to: decode at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling received from a base station for an in-coverage scenario, a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling received from a second UE, or a pre-configuration for an out-of-coverage scenario, the LPP signaling, the RRC signaling, the SLPP signaling, or the pre-configuration respectively including configuration information, the configuration information configuring a first resource pool associated with sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with a sidelink positioning reference signal, the first resource pool being multiplexed with the second resource pool; encoding sidelink data using a first time-frequency resource from the first resource pool for sidelink transmission to a second UE; and encoding a first sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) for transmission to a third UE; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit and configured to store the configuration information.

[0251] In Example 2, the subject matter described in Example 1 includes the following subject matter, wherein the processing circuit is used to: decode the LPP signaling, the RRC signaling, the SLPP signaling or the preconfiguration to obtain multiple resource pools for the first SL PRS, the multiple resource pools including the second resource pool and at least a third resource pool for sending and / or receiving SL PRS.

[0252] In Example 3, the subject matter as described in Example 2 includes the following subject matter, wherein the processing circuit is used to: decode a positioning measurement received from the third UE using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool, the positioning measurement corresponding to the first SL PRS.

[0253] In Example 4, the subject matter as described in Examples 2-3 includes the following subject matter, wherein the processing circuit is used to: decode a second SL PRS received from the first UE using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool; and encode a positioning measurement for transmission to a location management function (LMF) entity or the second UE, the positioning measurement corresponding to the second SL PRS.

[0254] In Example 5, the subject matter as described in Examples 2-4 includes the following subject matter, wherein the multiple resource pools are multiplexed in one or both of a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

[0255] In Example 6, the subject matter as described in Example 5 includes the following subject matter, wherein the plurality of resource pools are multiplexed in a TDM manner, and each of the plurality of resource pools occupies a separate time slot.

[0256] In Example 7, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-6 includes the following subject matter, wherein at least the second resource pool is a SL PRS dedicated resource pool configured within a side link (SL) partial bandwidth (BWP).

[0257] In Example 8, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-7 includes the following subject matter, wherein the configuration information configures multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner.

[0258] In Example 9, the subject matter as described in Example 8 includes the following subject matter, wherein at least two SL PRS dedicated resource pools among the plurality of SL PRS dedicated resource pools are multiplexed in the same time slot.

[0259] In Example 10, the subject matter as described in Examples 1-9 includes the following subject matter, wherein the configuration information includes an SLPRS dedicated resource pool configuration, and the SL PRS dedicated resource pool configuration includes one or more of the following: the number of symbols used for a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a starting symbol, the number of symbols used for SL PRS transmission, a comb size used for SL PRS transmission, and / or the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) used for SL PRS transmission.

[0260] Example 11 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions being used to configure the base station for sidelink positioning communication in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, and causing the base station to perform the following operations, including: encoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to at least one user equipment (UE), the RRC signaling comprising configuration information, the configuration information configuring a first resource pool associated with the sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), the first resource pool being multiplexed with the second resource pool.

[0261] In Example 12, the subject matter as described in Example 11 includes: the operation also includes: encoding the RRC signaling to include multiple resource pools for the sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), the multiple resource pools including the second resource pool and at least a third resource pool for sending and / or receiving the SL PRS, wherein the multiple resource pools are multiplexed in one or both of a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

[0262] Example 13 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions being used to configure the UE for sidelink positioning communication in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, and causing the UE to perform the following operations, including: decoding at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling received from a base station for an in-coverage scenario, a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling from a second UE, or a pre-configuration for an out-of-coverage scenario, the LPP, RRC, SLPP signaling or the pre-configuration respectively including configuration information, the configuration information configuring a first resource pool associated with sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), the first resource pool being multiplexed with the second resource pool; encoding sidelink data using a first time-frequency resource from the first resource pool for sidelink transmission to a second UE; and encoding a first sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) using a second time-frequency resource from the second resource pool for transmission to a third UE.

[0263] In Example 14, the subject matter described in Example 13 includes: the operation also includes: decoding the LPP signaling, the RRC signaling, the SLPP signaling or the preconfiguration to obtain multiple resource pools for the side link positioning communication, the multiple resource pools including the second resource pool and at least a third resource pool for sending and / or receiving SL PRS.

[0264] In Example 15, the subject matter as described in Example 14 includes: the operation also includes: decoding a positioning measurement received from the third UE using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool, the positioning measurement corresponding to the first SL PRS.

[0265] In Example 16, the subject matter as described in Examples 14-15 includes: the operation also includes: decoding a second SL PRS received from the third UE using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool; and encoding a positioning measurement for transmission to a location management function (LMF) entity or the second UE, the positioning measurement corresponding to the second SL PRS.

[0266] In Example 17, the subject matter as described in Examples 14-16 includes the following subject matter, wherein the plurality of resource pools are multiplexed in one or both of a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

[0267] In Example 18, the subject matter as described in Example 17 includes the following subject matter, wherein the plurality of resource pools are multiplexed in a TDM manner and each of the plurality of resource pools occupies a separate time slot.

[0268] In Example 19, the subject matter as described in Examples 13-18 includes the following subject matter, wherein at least the second resource pool is a SL PRS dedicated resource pool configured within a side link (SL) partial bandwidth (BWP).

[0269] In Example 20, the subject matter as described in Examples 13-19 includes the following subject matter, wherein the configuration information configures multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner, and wherein at least two SL PRS dedicated resource pools among the multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools are multiplexed in the same time slot.

[0270] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0271] Example 22 is an apparatus comprising components for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0272] Example 23 is a system implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0273] Example 24 is a method of implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0274] Although one aspect has been described with reference to specific exemplary aspects, it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Therefore, this detailed description should not be construed as limiting, and the scope of the various aspects is limited only by the appended claims together with the full scope of equivalents to which these claims are entitled.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, the apparatus comprising: A processing circuit, wherein, in order to configure the UE to perform sidelink positioning in the 5G NR network, the processing circuit is used to: Decoding at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling received from a base station for an in-coverage scenario, side link positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling received from a second UE, or pre-configuration for an out-of-coverage scenario, wherein the LPP signaling, the RRC signaling, the SLPP signaling, or the pre-configuration respectively includes configuration information, wherein the configuration information configures a first resource pool associated with a sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with a sidelink positioning reference signal, wherein the first resource pool is multiplexed with the second resource pool; encoding sidelink data using a first time-frequency resource from the first resource pool for sidelink transmission to a second UE; and encoding a first sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) using a second time-frequency resource from the second resource pool for transmission to a third UE; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit and configured to store the configuration information.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit is used for: The LPP signaling, the RRC signaling, the SLPP signaling or the preconfiguration is decoded to obtain multiple resource pools for the first SL PRS, the multiple resource pools including the second resource pool and at least a third resource pool for sending and / or receiving the SL PRS.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein: The processing circuit is used for: A positioning measurement received from the third UE is decoded using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool, the positioning measurement corresponding to the first SL PRS.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The processing circuit is used for: decoding a second SL PRS received from the first UE using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool; and A positioning measurement is encoded for transmission to a location management function (LMF) entity or the second UE, the positioning measurement corresponding to the second SL PRS.

5. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The multiple resource pools are multiplexed in one or both of a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The multiple resource pools are multiplexed in a TDM manner, and each of the multiple resource pools occupies a separate time slot.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: At least the second resource pool is a SL PRS dedicated resource pool configured within a side link (SL) part bandwidth (BWP).

8. The device of claim 1, wherein: The configuration information configures multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools that are multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein: At least two SL PRS dedicated resource pools among the multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools are multiplexed in the same time slot.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The configuration information includes a SL PRS dedicated resource pool configuration, and the SL PRS dedicated resource pool configuration includes one or more of the following: the number of symbols used for a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a starting symbol, the number of symbols used for SL PRS transmission, a comb size used for SL PRS transmission, and / or the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) used for SL PRS transmission.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions being used to configure the base station for sidelink positioning communication in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network, and causing the base station to perform the following operations, including: Radio resource control (RRC) signaling is encoded for transmission to at least one user equipment (UE), the RRC signaling including configuration information, the configuration information configuring a first resource pool associated with sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), the first resource pool being multiplexed with the second resource pool.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, the operations further comprising: encoding the RRC signaling to include a plurality of resource pools for the sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), the plurality of resource pools including the second resource pool and at least a third resource pool for transmission and / or reception of the SL PRS, The multiple resource pools are multiplexed in one or both of a time division multiplexing (TDM) mode and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) mode.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions being used to configure the UE for sidelink positioning communication in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) network and causing the UE to perform the following operations, including: Decoding at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling received from a base station for an in-coverage scenario, sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling from a second UE, or pre-configuration for an out-of-coverage scenario, wherein the LPP, RRC, SLPP signaling or the pre-configuration respectively include configuration information, wherein the configuration information configures a first resource pool associated with a sidelink communication and a second resource pool associated with a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), wherein the first resource pool is multiplexed with the second resource pool; encoding sidelink data using a first time-frequency resource from the first resource pool for sidelink transmission to a second UE; as well as A first sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS) is encoded using second time-frequency resources from the second resource pool for transmission to a third UE.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the operations further comprising: The LPP signaling, the RRC signaling, the SLPP signaling or the pre-configuration is decoded to obtain multiple resource pools for the side link positioning communication, the multiple resource pools including the second resource pool and at least a third resource pool for sending and / or receiving SL PRS.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, the operations further comprising: A positioning measurement received from the third UE is decoded using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool, the positioning measurement corresponding to the first SL PRS.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, the operations further comprising: Decoding a second SL PRS received from the third UE using a third time-frequency resource from the third resource pool; as well as A positioning measurement is encoded for transmission to a location management function (LMF) entity or the second UE, the positioning measurement corresponding to the second SL PRS.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein: The multiple resource pools are multiplexed in one or both of a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner and a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein: The multiple resource pools are multiplexed in a TDM manner, and each of the multiple resource pools occupies a separate time slot.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein: At least the second resource pool is a SL PRS dedicated resource pool configured within a side link (SL) part bandwidth (BWP).

20. The computer-readable storage medium of any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein: The configuration information configures multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools multiplexed in a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner, and Among them, at least two SL PRS dedicated resource pools among the multiple SL PRS dedicated resource pools are multiplexed in the same time slot.

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