Communication method, communication device and communication equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method, a communication device and communication equipment. The communication method comprises the steps that a first request message is received, and the first request message indicates a sensing service to be executed; requesting a sensing device corresponding to a sensing function SF network element participating in the sensing service to execute the sensing service so as to obtain a corresponding sensing result; and sending a sensing result to a specified network element in the SF network elements participating in the sensing service for processing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a communication method, a communication device and a communication equipment. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of communication technology, networks often need to provide corresponding perception services and execute corresponding perception services. In some perception services, a large amount of data may be generated. In the process of executing perception services across multiple network elements, some network elements need to frequently transmit and process a large amount of data, resulting in low execution efficiency of perception services.

[0003] Therefore, there exists a need to improve the performance of perceptual services. Summary of the invention

[0004] A brief overview of the disclosure is given below in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. However, it should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify the key or important parts of the disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Its purpose is simply to give some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description given later.

[0005] One of the objectives of the present disclosure is to provide a communication method, a communication apparatus and a communication device.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, including: receiving a first request message, wherein the first request message indicates a perception service to be executed; requesting a perception device corresponding to a perception function SF network element participating in the perception service to execute the perception service to obtain a corresponding perception result; and sending the perception result to a designated network element among the SF network elements participating in the perception service for processing.

[0007] In some embodiments, the designated network element is determined based on characteristic information of a SF network element participating in the sensing service.

[0008] In some embodiments, the perception function SF network elements participating in the perception service include at least one first SF network element, and the designated network element is determined according to first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element.

[0009] In some embodiments, the designated network element is selected by a network open function NEF network element from the at least one first SF network element based on the first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element, wherein the first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element is obtained by the NEF network element querying the network storage function network element.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first feature information includes at least one of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and perceived object density information of the first SF network element.

[0011] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: the designated network element receiving the first request message, and receiving address information and / or identification information of other first SF network elements in the at least one first SF network element except the designated network element sent by a network open function NEF network element; and the designated network element sending the first request message to the other first SF network elements according to the address information and / or identification information of the other first SF network elements, so that the other first SF network elements request the corresponding perception device to perform the perception service.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first request message is sent by an application function AF network element and is sent to the designated network element via the NEF network element, wherein the communication method further includes: the designated network element sends the processed perception result to the AF network element via the NEF network element.

[0013] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: the designated network element sending the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to the other first SF network elements, so that the other first SF network elements send the corresponding perception results to the designated network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element.

[0014] In some embodiments, the perception function SF network element participating in the perception service includes at least one perception function user SFU network element and a perception function control SFC network element for controlling the at least one SFU network element, wherein the designated network element is selected by the SFC network element from the at least one SFU network element based on the second characteristic information of the at least one SFU network element.

[0015] In some embodiments, the second characteristic information includes at least one of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information and perceived object density information of the SFU network element.

[0016] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: the SFC network element receives the first request message, and sends the first request message to the at least one SFU network element based on the address information and / or identification information of the at least one SFU network element, so that the at least one SFU network element requests the corresponding perception device to perform the perception service.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first request message is sent by an application function AF network element and is sent to the SFC network element via a network open function NEF network element, wherein the communication method further includes:

[0018] The designated network element sends the processed sensing result to the AF network element via the SFC network element and the NEF network element; and / or

[0019] The designated network element sends the processed perception result to the AF network element via the user plane function network element; and / or

[0020] The designated network element directly sends the processed sensing result to the AF network element.

[0021] In some embodiments, the communication method also includes: the SFC network element sends the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to other SFU network elements among the at least one SFU network element except the designated network element, so that the other SFU network elements send corresponding perception results to the designated network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element.

[0022] In some embodiments, the communication method further includes: sending a registration request message to a network storage function network element, wherein the registration request message includes at least one of characteristic information, address information and identification information of the SF network element.

[0023] In some embodiments, the sensing result includes at least one of an execution status of the sensing service and sensing data related to the sensing service.

[0024] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, the communication device comprising:

[0025] A receiving module is configured to receive a first request message, wherein the first request message indicates a sensing service to be executed;

[0026] a request module configured to request a sensing device corresponding to a sensing function SF network element participating in the sensing service to execute the sensing service to obtain a corresponding sensing result; and

[0027] The sending module is configured to send the sensing result to a designated network element in the SF network elements participating in the sensing service for processing.

[0028] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, the communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method described above are implemented.

[0029] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the communication method described above are implemented.

[0030] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the communication method described above.

[0031] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0033] The present disclosure may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a network architecture according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of network element interaction according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of network element interaction according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0039] Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0040] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Note that in the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are sometimes used in common between different drawings to represent the same parts or parts with the same functions, and their repeated descriptions are omitted. In this specification, similar reference numerals and letters are used to represent similar items, so once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further discussed in subsequent drawings.

[0042] For ease of understanding, the positions, sizes, and ranges of various structures shown in the drawings and the like sometimes do not represent actual positions, sizes, and ranges, etc. Therefore, the disclosed invention is not limited to the positions, sizes, and ranges, etc. disclosed in the drawings and the like. In addition, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and some features may be exaggerated to show details of specific components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement of components and steps, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is in fact merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure and its application or use. That is, the structures and methods herein are shown in an exemplary manner to illustrate different embodiments of the structures and methods in the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that they merely illustrate exemplary ways of the present disclosure that can be implemented, rather than exhaustive ways. In addition, the drawings need not be drawn to scale, and some features may be enlarged to illustrate the details of specific components.

[0045] Technologies, methods, and apparatus known to ordinary technicians in the relevant field may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such technologies, methods, and apparatus should be considered part of the authorization specification.

[0046] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limiting. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0047] With the rapid development of communication technology, the requirements for network perception services are getting higher and higher, and the amount of data generated in perception services is also increasing. Each node in the network needs to transmit and process a large amount of data, which makes the execution efficiency of perception services low.

[0048] In some examples, sensing function (SF) network elements can be deployed in the network to handle corresponding sensing services. For example, SF network elements can be used to collect, store, and process sensing data and results, and collaborate with RAN-side devices to perform sensing services and manage sensing scenarios, so as to sink the network's sensing capabilities and reduce the workload of corresponding nodes in the network. In some sensing services, the corresponding sensing scenarios or sensing areas are so large that they may span the sensing coverage of multiple SF network elements. However, when executing the same sensing service across SF network elements, there are problems such as low coordination among SF network elements and slow service execution efficiency.

[0049] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention collects and processes the perception results from each SF network element participating in the perception service by designating a network element as an anchor point, so as to better coordinate and manage the perception services executed across multiple SF network elements, reduce the load on the network, reduce the complexity of the network communication process, and improve the execution efficiency of the perception service.

[0050] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, such as Figure 1 As shown, the communication method 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include steps S110 to S130. At step S110, a first request message is received. The first request message may indicate a perception service to be executed. At step S120, a perception device corresponding to an SF network element participating in the perception service is requested to execute the perception service to obtain a corresponding perception result. At step S130, the perception result is sent to a designated network element in the SF network element participating in the perception service for processing.

[0051] The sensing device may be a device with sensing capability under the management of the Radio Access Network (RAN). The sensing device is the executor of the corresponding sensing service, responsible for executing the specific sensing service and collecting the sensing results and original sensing data. In some embodiments, the sensing device may be a base station or a user terminal with sensing capability.

[0052] In some embodiments, the designated network element may be determined based on characteristic information of the SF network element participating in the sensing service, wherein the characteristic information of the SF network element may include at least one of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and sensing object density information of the SF network element.

[0053] The network element capability information can be used to indicate the computing power or storage capacity of the network element. Since the designated network element needs to process and process the perception results reported by each SF network element, the network element with greater computing power or larger storage space is more likely to be determined as the designated network element when executing the service.

[0054] The deployment location information can be used to indicate the area or location where the network element is deployed. The sensing service can be targeted at a specific scene or a specific area. The closer the area where the network element is deployed is to the center area of ​​the specific scene or the closer the location where the network element is deployed is to the center location of the specific area, the more likely it is to be determined as a designated network element.

[0055] The comprehensive delay information can be used to indicate the communication delay between the network element and other SF network elements (for example, the average delay between the network element and other SF network elements, or the cumulative delay between the network element and other SF network elements). The lower the communication delay between the network element and other SF network elements, the higher the execution efficiency of the corresponding perception service, and the more likely it is to be determined as a designated network element.

[0056] The comprehensive transmission capability information can be used to indicate the data transmission capability between the network element and other SF network elements, such as the transmission bandwidth. The stronger the data transmission capability between the network element and other SF network elements, such as the larger the transmission bandwidth and the more data that can be carried, the more likely it is to be determined as a designated network element.

[0057] The perception object density information can be used to indicate the number or density of perception objects targeted by the network element. The more the number of perception objects targeted by the network element or the greater the density, the heavier the load it bears, and the more likely it is to be determined as a designated network element to reduce unnecessary data transmission and reduce network transmission load. When the application function (AF) network element provides the information of the perception objects in the requested perception service, the perception object density information of each SF network element can be determined based on the information of the perception objects to facilitate the determination of the designated network element.

[0058] In some embodiments, the designated network element may be determined in descending order of priority of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and perception object density information of the SF network element participating in the perception service. Among them, the priority of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and perception object density information may be preset. In a specific example, the perception object density information may have a higher priority than the network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, and comprehensive transmission capability information, and the designated network element may be determined according to the perception object density information of the SF network element participating in the perception service. Further, in the case where there are multiple designated network elements determined according to the perception object density information, a designated network element may be selected from multiple designated network elements according to the network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, and comprehensive transmission capability information. In some embodiments, a registration request message may be sent to a network repository function (NRF) network element, wherein the registration request message may include at least one of feature information, address information, and identification information of the SF network element. In this way, at least one of the characteristic information, address information and identification information of the SF network element may be stored in the NRF network element in advance, so that the relevant information of the SF network element may be obtained from the NRF network element when the relevant information of the SF network element is needed.

[0059] In some embodiments, the perception result may include at least one of the execution status of the perception service and the perception data related to the perception service. In this way, the designated network element may process the execution status of the perception service obtained by each SF network element, and may also process the perception data obtained by each SF network element, so as to subsequently send the processed service execution status and / or processed data to the service requester, for example, the AF network element. In some embodiments, the designated network element may process the perception result, including filtering and aggregating the perception results obtained by each SF network element. In the present disclosure, two deployment methods are proposed for sinking the perception capability of the network and performing distributed deployment, which improves the scalability of the network perception capability, facilitates the subsequent improvement of the network perception capability, so that the network can provide more diversified services, and can also make the load of network elements in the network more balanced to ensure the orderly execution of services. Figure 2 As shown, in one deployment mode, a converged deployment can be adopted to converge the control plane function and the user plane (also called data plane) function of the SF network element 210, and based on this converged deployment mode, the perception capability of the network is distributedly deployed to deploy multiple first SF network elements 211 (in this article, the SF network element whose control plane function and user plane function are converged is referred to as the first SF network element 211), wherein each first SF network element 211 has an independent control plane function and user plane function, and each first SF network element 211 is independent of each other, Figure 2 As an example, n first SF network elements 211 are shown, namely, SF(1) network element, SF(2) network element, ..., SF(n) network element. Figure 3 As shown, in another deployment method, a separated deployment can be adopted to separate the control plane function and the user plane function of the SF network element 210, so as to deploy a sensing function user (Sensing Function User, SFU) network element 212 and a sensing function control (Sensing Function Control, SFC) network element 213, and based on this separated deployment method, the network's sensing capability is distributedly deployed so that one SFC network element 213 controls one or more SFU network elements 212. Figure 3 It is exemplarily shown that the SFC (1) network element controls n SFU network elements 212 , namely, the SFU (1) network element, the SFU (2) network element, . . . , the SFU (n) network element.

[0060] The following combination Figure 2 A network architecture is shown to describe some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0061] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, in some embodiments, the SF network element 210 participating in the sensing service may include at least one first SF network element 211, wherein the designated network element may be determined according to the first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element 211. The first characteristic information may include at least one of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and sensing object density information of the corresponding first SF network element 211.

[0062] In some embodiments, a designated network element may be selected from at least one first SF network element 211 according to the first characteristic information of at least one first SF network element 211. In a specific example, the designated network element may be selected from at least one first SF network element 211 by a network exposure function (NEF) network element 230 according to the first characteristic information of at least one first SF network element 211. In this way, in a converged deployment, the selection of the designated network element may be implemented by the NEF network element 230. In some embodiments, the first characteristic information of at least one first SF network element 211 may be obtained by the NEF network element 230 by querying the NRF network element 240, so that the NEF network element 230 and the NRF network element 240 can collaboratively implement the selection of the designated network element. Compared with storing the characteristic information by one network element and determining the designated network element according to the stored characteristic information, the workload of the network element is reduced, so as to reduce the possibility of failure of the network element, thereby ensuring that the network can effectively execute the corresponding perception service.

[0063] After the designated network element is determined, the message can be transmitted and the perception results from each network element can be processed via the designated network element. In order to notify each network element in the SF network element 210 that participates in executing the perception service, the designated network element can receive a first request message indicating the perception service to be executed, and transmit the first request message to other first SF network elements 211 in at least one first SF network element 211 except the designated network element, so that each first SF network element 211 in the at least one first SF network element 211 requests the corresponding perception device 220 to execute the perception service and obtain the corresponding perception result.

[0064] In some embodiments, a first request message may be sent to other first SF network elements 211 according to the address information and / or identification information of other first SF network elements 211, wherein the address information and / or identification information may be used to indicate the corresponding network element, and transmitting the message according to the address information and / or identification information of the network element may improve the accuracy of message transmission. In a specific example, the designated network element may receive the address information and / or identification information of other first SF network elements 211 other than the designated network element in at least one first SF network element 211 sent by the NEF network element 230, and send the first request message to other first SF network elements 211 according to the address information and / or identification information of other first SF network elements 211, so that other first SF network elements 211 request the corresponding sensing device 220 to perform the sensing service to obtain the corresponding sensing result. The designated network element is used as the anchor network element of this sensing service, and when other first SF network elements 211 obtain the corresponding sensing result, they may send the sensing result to the designated network element for unified processing. In order to enable other first SF network elements 211 to accurately send the corresponding perception results to the designated network element for processing, in some embodiments, the designated network element may send the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to other first SF network elements 211, so that other first SF network elements 211 send the corresponding perception results to the designated network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element. In some embodiments, the first request message may be sent by the AF network element 250 and sent to the designated network element via the NEF network element 230. When at least one first SF network element 211 requests the corresponding perception device 220 to perform the perception service to obtain the corresponding perception result and the designated network element processes the perception result, the designated network element may send the processed perception result to the AF network element 250 via the NEF network element 230.

[0065] In some embodiments, each first SF network element 211 of the at least one first SF network element 211 may send a registration request message to the NRF network element 240, wherein the registration request message may include at least one of feature information, address information, and identification information of the corresponding first SF network element 211. In this way, at least one of the feature information, address information, and identification information of the first SF network element 211 may be stored in the NRF network element 240 in advance, so that the relevant information of the corresponding first SF network element 211 may be obtained from the NRF network element 240 when the relevant information of the corresponding first SF network element 211 is needed.

[0066] The following combination Figure 4 To describe Figure 2 Some embodiments of network element interactions in the illustrated network architecture.

[0067] At step S410, each first SF network element 211 is registered on the NRF network element 240 side of the core network, and provides relevant information, such as identification information, address information, network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information and perceived object density information.

[0068] At step S420, the AF network element 250 requests the NEF network element 230 on the network side to execute related perception services (perception services or perception operations). For example, a first request message may be sent to the NEF network element 230, wherein the first request message may include a perception scene or perception range, perception object information, a perception operation requested to be executed, or a specific perception service, etc.

[0069] At step S430, after receiving the request sent by the AF network element 250, the NEF network element 230 queries the NRF network element 240 for information about the relevant first SF network elements 211, discovers the first SF network elements 211, and selects all the first SF network elements 211 (for example, SF (1) network elements and SF (2) network elements) required under the request of the AF network element 250 according to the request content of the AF network element 250 (for example, the content of the first request message) and relevant business requirements.

[0070] At step S440, after discovering and selecting all the required first SF network elements 211, the NEF network element 230 can select a first SF network element 211 as the designated network element for this sensing service (for example, SF (1) network element) according to the service requirements of the AF network element 250 and the characteristic information of the SF, and then send the request of the AF network element 250 and the relevant information of other first SF network elements 211 (for example, identification information and / or address information) to the designated network element.

[0071] At step S450, after receiving the request of the AF network element 250 and the information of other first SF network elements 211 forwarded by the NEF, the designated network element distributes the request to other first SF network elements 211 according to the specific request content of the AF network element 250, requests other first SF network elements 211 to execute the perception service requested by the AF network element 250 and sends the perception result back to the designated network element. The perception result may include the execution status of the perception service (such as successful execution, partial execution or execution failure of the service) and the perception data generated in the process of perceiving the perception object.

[0072] At step S460, all first SF network elements 211 participating in the sensing service request the corresponding sensing device 220 to perform the specific sensing service and collect the corresponding sensing results after receiving the request from the AF network element 250. The sensing device 220 is a device with sensing capability, for example, a base station with sensing capability and / or a user terminal with sensing capability.

[0073] At step S470 , after collecting the sensing results requested by the sensing service, all first SF network elements 211 participating in the sensing service send the collected sensing results to a designated network element (eg, SF (1) network element) for processing.

[0074] At step S480, after receiving the perception results sent by all the first SF network elements 211 participating in this perception service, the designated network element collects and processes the perception results, and then sends the result of the response to the perception service request of the AF network element 250 back to the NEF network element 230, and then the NEF network element 230 forwards it to the requesting AF network element 250 corresponding to the perception service.

[0075] The following combination Figure 3 Another network architecture is shown to describe some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0076] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, in some embodiments, the sensing function SF network element 210 participating in the sensing service may include at least one SFU network element 212 and an SFC network element 213 for controlling the at least one SFU network element 212, wherein the designated network element may be determined according to the second characteristic information of the at least one SFU network element 212. The second characteristic information may include at least one of the network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and sensing object density information of the corresponding SFU network element 212.

[0077] In some embodiments, a designated network element may be selected from at least one SFU network element 212 according to the second characteristic information of at least one SFU network element 212. In a specific example, the designated network element may be selected from at least one SFU network element 212 by the SFC network element 213 according to the second characteristic information of at least one SFU network element 212. In this way, in a separate deployment, the selection of the designated network element may be implemented by the SFC network element 213. In some embodiments, the SFC network element 213 may store the second characteristic information of at least one SFU network element 212 controlled by it, so as to determine the designated network element according to the second characteristic information of the SFU network element 212 stored by the SFC network element 213 itself. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the second characteristic information of at least one SFU network element 212 may be sent to the SFC network element 213 via the NEF network element 230, so as to determine the designated network element according to the second characteristic information of the SFU network element 212 sent by the NEF network element 230. The second characteristic information of the SFU network element 212 sent by the NEF network element 230 may be obtained by the NEF network element 230 querying the NRF network element 240 .

[0078] The SFC network element 213 may transmit a message to at least one SFU network element 212 controlled by it to instruct the SFU network element 212 to request the sensing device 220 to perform the sensing service and obtain the corresponding sensing result. The SFC network element 213 may receive the first request message. In some embodiments, after the SFC network element 213 determines the designated network element, the SFC network element 213 may send the first request message to the designated network element and forward the first request message to other SFU network elements 212 in at least one SFU network element 212 except the designated network element via the designated network element. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the SFC network element 213 may send the first request message to at least one SFU network element 212 without forwarding via the designated network element.

[0079] In some embodiments, a first request message may be sent to the SFU network element 212 according to the address information and / or identification information of the SFU network element 212 to improve the accuracy of message transmission. In a specific example, the SFC network element 213 may send a first request message to at least one SFU network element 212 according to the address information and / or identification information of at least one SFU network element 212, so that at least one SFU network element 212 requests the corresponding sensing device 220 to perform a sensing service. In some embodiments, the SFC network element 213 may store the address information and / or identification information of at least one SFU network element 212 under control, so as to transmit a message to at least one SFU network element 212 according to the address information and / or identification information of at least one SFU network element 212 stored by the SFC network element 213 itself. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the address information and / or identification information of at least one SFU network element 212 may be sent to the SFC network element 213 via the NEF network element 230, so that the SFC network element 213 transmits a message to the at least one SFU network element 212 according to the address information and / or identification information of the at least one SFU network element 212 sent by the NEF network element 230. The address information and / or identification information of the SFU network element 212 sent by the NEF network element 230 may be obtained by the NEF network element 230 querying the NRF network element 240.

[0080] The designated network element serves as the anchor network element for this perception service. When other SFU network elements 212 obtain corresponding perception results, they can send the perception results to the designated network element for processing. In order to enable other SFU network elements 212 to accurately send corresponding perception results to the designated network element for processing, in some embodiments, the SFC network element 213 can send the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to other SFU network elements 212 in at least one SFU network element 212 except the target SFU network element 212, so that other SFU network elements 212 send corresponding perception results to the designated network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element.

[0081] In some embodiments, the first request message may be sent by the AF network element 250 and sent to the SFC network element 213 via the NEF network element 230. In the case where at least one SFU network element 212 requests the corresponding sensing device 220 to perform the sensing service to obtain the corresponding sensing result and the designated network element processes the sensing result, in some embodiments, the designated network element may send the processed sensing result to the AF network element 250 via the SFC network element 213 and the NEF network element 230, or, in some embodiments, the designated network element may send the processed sensing result to the AF network element 250 via the User Plane Function (UPF) network element (not shown). The designated network element may determine whether to send the sensing result to the AF network element 250 via the SFC network element 213 and the NEF network element 230 or via the UPF network element according to the amount of data of the processed sensing result. In a specific example, when the amount of data of the processed perception result is large, for example, the original perception data from each SFU network element 212 is aggregated, so that the amount of data of the processed perception result is greater than a preset threshold, some network elements in the core network (such as SFC network element 213, NEF network element 230) may not be able to carry too much data, then the designated network element can send the processed perception result to the AF network element 250 via the UPF network element. Considering that there can be many ways to deploy the SFU network element, in some embodiments, the designated network element can send the processed perception result directly to the AF network element 250, for example, the designated network element can send the processed perception result directly to the AF network element 250 through the N6 interface.

[0082] In some embodiments, the SFC network element 213 and each of the at least one SFU network element 212 may send a registration request message to the NRF network element 240, wherein the registration request message may include at least one of the characteristic information, address information, and identification information of the corresponding SFC network element 213 or the SFU network element 212. In this way, at least one of the characteristic information, address information, and identification information of the SFC network element 213 and at least one of the characteristic information, address information, and identification information of the at least one SFU network element 212 may be stored in the NRF network element 240 in advance, so that the relevant information of the corresponding SFC network element 213 or the relevant information of the corresponding SFU network element 212 can be obtained from the NRF network element 240 when the relevant information of the corresponding SFC network element 213 or the relevant information of the corresponding SFU network element 212 is needed. In some embodiments, the NRF network element 240 may only store and manage the relevant information of the SFC network element 213, while the relevant information of at least one SFU network element 212 may be stored and managed by the corresponding SFC network element 213, so as to make the workload of each network element more balanced and reduce the possibility of failure of the network element, thereby ensuring that the network can effectively execute the corresponding perception service.

[0083] The following combination Figure 5 To describe Figure 3 Some embodiments of network element interactions in the illustrated network architecture.

[0084] At step S510, each SFC network element 213 and SFU network element 212 is registered on the NRF network element 240 side of the core network, and provides relevant information, such as identification information, address information, network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information and perceived object density information.

[0085] At step S520, the AF network element 250 requests the NEF network element 230 on the network side to execute related perception services (perception services or perception operations). For example, a first request message may be sent to the NEF network element 230, wherein the first request message may include a perception scene or perception range, perception object information, a requested perception operation or specific perception service, etc.

[0086] At step S530, after receiving the request sent by the AF network element 250, the NEF network element 230 queries the NRF network element 240 for information of the relevant SFC network element 213 according to the request content of the AF network element 250 (for example, the content of the first request message), discovers the SFC network element 213 and selects the corresponding SFC network element 213. In some embodiments, the NEF network element 230 can select the SFC network element 213 under the corresponding perception scene or perception area according to the perception scene or perception area information in the request content of the AF network element 250.

[0087] At step S540 , after selecting the corresponding SFC network element 213 (eg, the SFC (1) network element), the NEF network element 230 sends the request of the AF network element 250 to the corresponding SFC network element 213 .

[0088] At step S550, after receiving the request from the AF network element 250, the SFC network element 213 discovers and selects all SFU network elements 212 (e.g., SFU (1) network element and SFU (2) network element) that need to participate in the perception service under this perception service according to the request content of the AF network element 250, the specific service requirements, and the characteristic information of each SFU network element 212, and selects a suitable SFU network element 212 as the designated network element (e.g., SFU (1) network element). The SFC network element 213 sends the request from the AF network element 250 to the SFU network elements 212 that participate in this perception service, and provides the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to these SFU network elements 212, so as to instruct all SFU network elements 212 to send the collected perception results to the designated network element for processing.

[0089] At step S560, after receiving the request from the AF network element 250, all SFU network elements 212 participating in this sensing service request the corresponding sensing device 220 to execute the specific sensing service and collect corresponding sensing results (such as sensing service execution status and sensing data).

[0090] At step S570 , after collecting the sensing results requested by the sensing service, all SFU network elements 212 participating in the sensing service send the collected sensing results to a designated network element (eg, SFU (1) network element) for processing according to the instruction of the SFC network element 213 .

[0091] At step S580, the designated network element reports the brief perception result of the perception service in response to the request of the AF network element 250 to the SFC network element 213. The brief perception result includes the execution status of the perception service in response to the request of the AF network element 250, such as brief information such as successful execution, partial execution or execution failure of the service.

[0092] At step S590, the designated network element uploads the detailed perception result of the perception service in response to the request of the AF network element 250 to the AF network element 250. The detailed perception result may include, for example, the specific progress of the service execution, the perception data generated in the process of perceiving the perception object, etc. In some embodiments, in response to the data volume of the detailed perception result being small (for example, the data volume is less than or equal to a preset threshold), the designated network element may send the detailed perception result to the AF network element 250 via the SFC network element 213 and the NEF network element 230. In other embodiments, in response to the data volume of the detailed perception result being large (for example, the data volume is greater than a preset threshold), the designated network element may send the detailed perception result to the AF network element 250 via the UPF network element.

[0093] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided. Figure 6 As shown, a communication device 600 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a receiving module 610, a requesting module 620, and a sending module 630. The receiving module 610 may be configured to receive a first request message. The first request message indicates a perception service to be executed. The requesting module 620 may be configured to request a perception device corresponding to a perception function SF network element participating in the perception service to execute the perception service to obtain a corresponding perception result. The sending module 630 may be configured to send the perception result to a designated network element in the SF network element participating in the perception service for processing.

[0094] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device is also provided. Figure 7As shown, in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication device 700 may include a processor 710 and a memory 720. The memory 720 stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor 710, implement the steps of the communication method described in any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the communication device 700 may be the SF network element 210 described above, or may be the first SF network element 211, SFU network element 212, or SFC network element 213 described above.

[0095] The processor 710 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, to implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc., and may be an X86 architecture or an ARM architecture, etc.

[0096] The memory 720 may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0097] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed, the steps of the communication method described in any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0098] Similarly, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. It should be noted that the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0099] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is further provided. The computer program product includes a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the communication method described in any of the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0100] Instructions may be any set of instructions to be executed directly by one or more processors, such as machine code, or any set of instructions to be executed indirectly, such as a script. The terms "instructions", "applications", "processes", "steps" and "programs" (including "computer programs") herein may be used interchangeably herein. Instructions may be stored in an object code format for direct processing by one or more processors, or in any other computer language, including scripts or collections of independent source code modules that are interpreted on demand or compiled in advance. Other sections of this document explain the functions, methods and routines of instructions in more detail.

[0101] In the technical solution disclosed in the present invention, the service results and service data of different perception network elements are concentrated in a designated network element for collection, storage, processing, etc., and then sent uniformly to the service requester by the designated network element. In this way, when the scope of a certain perception service is large and spans the coverage of multiple perception network elements, the network can perform effective collaborative execution to ensure the orderliness of the service, efficiently utilize network resources, and reduce the network load and process complexity. The present invention proposes two methods of distributed deployment of perception function network elements on the core network side, namely, integrated deployment and separate deployment, which sink and distribute the perception capabilities of the network, reduce the workload of the corresponding nodes in the network, and can better meet the needs of more perception services so that the network can provide more diversified services.

[0102] As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration" rather than as a "model" to be exactly copied. Any implementation described as an example herein is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, the present disclosure is not to be limited by any expressed or implied theory given in the technical field, background, summary, or detailed description.

[0103] As used herein, the term "substantially" is intended to include any minor variations due to design or manufacturing imperfections, device or component tolerances, environmental influences, and / or other factors. The term "substantially" also allows for deviations from a perfect or ideal situation due to parasitic effects, noise, and other practical considerations that may exist in actual implementations.

[0104] In addition, the terms "first", "second" and the like may also be used herein for reference purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the terms "first", "second" and other such numerical terms referring to structures or elements do not imply a sequence or order unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0105] It should also be understood that when the term “include / comprises” is used in this document, it indicates the presence of the specified features, integers, steps, operations, units and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, units and / or components and / or their combinations.

[0106] In this disclosure, the term "provide" is used in a broad sense to cover all ways of obtaining an object, and thus "providing an object" includes but is not limited to "purchasing", "preparing / manufacturing", "arranging / setting up", "installing / assembling", and / or "ordering" an object, etc.

[0107] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0108] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the boundaries between the above operations are merely illustrative. Multiple operations can be combined into a single operation, a single operation can be distributed in additional operations, and operations can be performed at least partially overlapping in time. Moreover, alternative embodiments may include multiple instances of a specific operation, and the order of operations may be changed in various other embodiments. However, other modifications, variations, and replacements are equally possible. Aspects and elements of all embodiments disclosed above may be combined in any manner and / or in combination with aspects or elements of other embodiments to provide multiple additional embodiments. Therefore, this specification and accompanying drawings should be considered illustrative, not restrictive.

[0109] Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of example, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above examples are for illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The various embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in any manner without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It should also be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The communication method comprises: Receiving a first request message, wherein the first request message indicates a sensing service to be executed; Requesting a sensing device corresponding to a sensing function SF network element participating in the sensing service to execute the sensing service to obtain a corresponding sensing result; and The sensing result is sent to a designated network element among the SF network elements participating in the sensing service for processing.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The designated network element is determined according to the characteristic information of the SF network element participating in the sensing service.

3. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The perception function SF network elements participating in the perception service include at least one first SF network element, and the designated network element is determined according to the first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The designated network element is selected by a network open function NEF network element from the at least one first SF network element according to the first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element, wherein the first characteristic information of the at least one first SF network element is obtained by the NEF network element querying the network storage function network element.

5. The communication method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first characteristic information includes at least one of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information, and perception object density information of the first SF network element.

6. The communication method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The communication method further comprises: The designated network element receives the first request message, and receives address information and / or identification information of other first SF network elements in the at least one first SF network element except the designated network element, which is sent by a network open function NEF network element; and The designated network element sends the first request message to the other first SF network elements according to the address information and / or identification information of the other first SF network elements, so that the other first SF network elements request the corresponding sensing device to execute the sensing service.

7. The communication method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first request message is sent by an application function AF network element and is sent to the designated network element via the NEF network element, wherein the communication method further includes: The designated network element sends the processed sensing result to the AF network element via the NEF network element.

8. The communication method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The communication method further comprises: The designated network element sends the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to the other first SF network elements, so that the other first SF network elements send the corresponding perception results to the designated network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element.

9. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The perception function SF network elements participating in the perception service include at least one perception function user SFU network element and a perception function control SFC network element for controlling the at least one SFU network element, wherein the designated network element is selected by the SFC network element from the at least one SFU network element based on the second characteristic information of the at least one SFU network element.

10. The communication method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The second characteristic information includes at least one of network element capability information, deployment location information, comprehensive delay information, comprehensive transmission capability information and perceived object density information of the SFU network element.

11. The communication method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The communication method further comprises: The SFC network element receives the first request message, and sends the first request message to the at least one SFU network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the at least one SFU network element, so that the at least one SFU network element requests the corresponding perception device to perform the perception service.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The first request message is sent by an application function AF network element and is sent to the SFC network element via a network open function NEF network element, wherein the communication method further includes: The designated network element sends the processed sensing result to the AF network element via the SFC network element and the NEF network element; and / or The designated network element sends the processed perception result to the AF network element via the user plane function network element; and / or The designated network element directly sends the processed sensing result to the AF network element.

13. The communication method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The communication method further comprises: The SFC network element sends the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element to other SFU network elements in the at least one SFU network element except the designated network element, so that the other SFU network elements send corresponding perception results to the designated network element according to the address information and / or identification information of the designated network element.

14. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication method further comprises: A registration request message is sent to the network storage function network element, wherein the registration request message includes at least one of feature information, address information and identification information of the SF network element.

15. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensing result includes at least one of an execution status of the sensing service and sensing data related to the sensing service.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: A receiving module is configured to receive a first request message, wherein the first request message indicates a sensing service to be executed; a request module configured to request a sensing device corresponding to a sensing function SF network element participating in the sensing service to execute the sensing service to obtain a corresponding sensing result; and The sending module is configured to send the sensing result to a designated network element in the SF network elements participating in the sensing service for processing.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor and a memory, wherein instructions are stored in the memory, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 are implemented.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 are implemented.

19. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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