Charging and tracking of passive radio devices

Abstract

A method is disclosed, comprising: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; transmitting an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from the device to the passive radio, wherein the configuration is determined based on first ranging information for the passive radio and second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and transmitting the charging signal so configured to the passive radio device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following exemplary embodiments relate to wireless communications and connections utilizing passive radios. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication networks such as cellular communication networks are evolving and can be used for various purposes, including the Internet of Things (IoT). It is predicted that the connections used for IoT will increase significantly. Since there will be a large number of interconnected devices, it will help improve production efficiency and increase living comfort by, for example, further reducing the size, cost and power consumption of passive radio devices (which can act as IoT devices). Summary of the invention

[0003] The scope of protection sought by various embodiments of the present invention is set out by the independent claims. Exemplary embodiments and features described in this specification that do not belong to the scope of the independent claims are to be construed as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the present invention.

[0004] According to a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising means for performing the following operations: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report including first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and sending the charging signal so configured to the passive radio device.

[0005] In some example embodiments according to the first aspect, the component comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0006] According to a second aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: send a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; send an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtain a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determine second ranging information for the network element; obtain a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; apply the configuration to the charging signal; and send the charging signal thus configured to the passive radio device.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a method is provided, comprising: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from a device to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and sending the charging signal thus configured to the passive radio device.

[0008] In some example embodiments according to the third aspect, the method is a computer-implemented method.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following operations: send a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; send an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtain a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determine second ranging information for the network element; obtain a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; apply the configuration to the charging signal; and send the charging signal so configured to the passive radio device.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from a device to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and sending the charging signal so configured to the passive radio device.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and sending the charging signal thus configured to the passive radio device.

[0012] According to a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report including first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from a device to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and sending the charging signal thus configured to the passive radio device.

[0013] According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report including first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from a device to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; and sending the charging signal thus configured to the passive radio device.

[0014] According to a ninth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising components for performing the following operations: receiving a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and sending a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0015] In some example embodiments according to the first aspect, the component comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the performance of the apparatus.

[0016] According to a tenth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receive a signal from the passive radio device; determine first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and send a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0017] According to an eleventh aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and sending a report to the network element, the report including the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0018] In some example embodiments according to the eleventh aspect, the method is a computer-implemented method.

[0019] According to a twelfth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following operations: receive a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receive a signal from the passive radio device; determine first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and send a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0020] According to a thirteenth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and sending a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0021] According to a fourteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following operations: receive a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receive a signal from the passive radio device; determine first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and send a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0022] According to a fifteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and sending a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0023] According to a sixteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device from a network element; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and sending a report to the network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

[0024] According to a seventeenth aspect, a system is provided, comprising a first network element and a second network element, wherein the system is caused to: send a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device to the second network element by the first network element; send an activation signal to the passive radio device by the first network element; receive a signal from the passive radio device by the second network element; determine the first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal by the second network element; send a report to the first network element by the second network element, the report comprising the first ranging information for the passive radio device; determine the second ranging information for the second network element by the first network element; obtain a configuration for a charging signal from a device to the passive radio device by the first network element, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; apply the configuration to the charging signal by the first network element; and send the charging signal thus configured by the first network element to the passive radio device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments and accompanying drawings, in which

[0026] Figure 1 An example embodiment of a radio access network is shown.

[0027] Figure 2 An example embodiment of passive communication between a reader device and a passive radio device is shown.

[0028] Figure 3 Example embodiments of network elements and passive radio devices are shown.

[0029] Figure 4 and Figure 5 An example embodiment of a signaling graph for tracing a passive radio device is shown.

[0030] Figure 6 and Figure 7 An example embodiment of an apparatus is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one", "an" or "some" embodiments in several places in the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is to the same (multiple) embodiments, or that a particular feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0032] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" refers to all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations only (such as implementations in analog only and / or implementations in digital circuits), and (b) combinations of circuits and software (and / or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of processors or (ii) portions of processors / software including a digital signal processor, software, and memory, which work together to enable the device to perform various functions; and (c) circuits, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, which requires software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of 'circuitry' applies to all uses of the term in this application. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would also cover an implementation of only a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuitry" would also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular element, a baseband integrated circuit or an application processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or another network device. The above-described embodiments of circuit systems may also be considered as embodiments that provide means for performing embodiments of methods or processes described in this document.

[0033] The techniques and methods described herein can be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For hardware implementations, the (multiple) devices of the example embodiments can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, the implementation can be performed by a module of at least one chipset (e.g., a process, a function, etc.) that performs the functions described herein. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit can be implemented within a processor or outside a processor. In the latter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as known in the art. Additionally, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the components of the system described herein can be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to support the implementation of the various aspects described herein, etc., and are not limited to the precise configurations set forth in the given figures.

[0034] The embodiments described herein may be implemented in a communication system, such as in at least one of the following: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) or any other second generation cellular communication system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), a high speed packet access (HSPA), a long term evolution (LTE), an advanced LTE, a system based on the IEEE 802.11 specification, a system based on the IEEE 802.15 specification, and / or a fifth generation (5G) mobile or cellular communication system. However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, but those skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems having the necessary properties.

[0035] Figure 1 An example of a simplified system architecture showing some elements and functional entities is depicted, all of which are logical units, the implementation of which may differ from what is shown. Figure 1 The connections shown in are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the system may also include Figure 1 Other functions and structures than those shown. Figure 1 The example of FIG. 1 shows a portion of an exemplary wireless access network.

[0036] Figure 1 Terminal devices 100 and 102 are shown, which are configured to be wirelessly connected to an access node (such as (e / g)NodeB) 104 providing the cell on one or more communication channels in the cell. Access node 104 may also be referred to as a node. The wireless link from the terminal device to the (e / g)NodeB is referred to as an uplink or reverse link, and the wireless link from the (e / g)NodeB to the terminal device is referred to as a downlink or forward link. It should be understood that the (e / g)NodeB or its functions may be implemented by using any node, host, server or access point entity suitable for such use. It should be noted that, although one cell is discussed in this exemplary embodiment for simplicity of description, in some exemplary embodiments, multiple cells may be provided by one access node.

[0037] The communication system may include more than one (e / g)NodeB, in which case the (e / g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with each other via links designed for this purpose, wired or wireless. These links may be used for signaling purposes. (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. (e / g)NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point or any other type of interface device, including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. (e / g)NodeB includes or is coupled to a transceiver. A connection is provided from the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB to an antenna unit, which establishes a bidirectional radio link to a user equipment. The antenna unit may include multiple antennas or antenna elements. (e / g)NodeB is also connected to a core network 110 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side may be a service gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), which is used to provide a connection of a terminal device (UE) to an external packet data network or a mobile management entity (MME), etc.

[0038] The terminal device (also referred to as UE, user equipment, user terminal, user equipment, etc.) shows a type of device to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned, so any features described herein with a terminal device can be implemented using a corresponding device (such as a relay node). An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) toward a base station. Another example of such a relay node is a layer 2 relay. Such a relay node may include a terminal device part and a distributed unit (DU) part. The CU (centralized unit) may coordinate DU operations, for example, via an F1AP interface.

[0039] A terminal device may refer to a portable computing device, including a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM) or an embedded SIM (eSIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile stations (mobile phones), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, devices using wireless modems (alarms or measuring devices, etc.), laptop computers and / or touch screen computers, tablet computers, game consoles, notebooks, and multimedia devices. It should be understood that a user device may also be an exclusive or almost exclusive uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to a network. A terminal device may also be a device with the ability to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, which is a scenario in which objects are equipped with the ability to transmit data over a network without human-to-human interaction or human-to-computer interaction. The terminal device may also use the cloud. In some applications, the terminal device may include a small portable device (such as a watch, headphones, or glasses) with a radio component, and the calculation is performed in the cloud. The terminal device (or in some embodiments, a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more of the user device functionalities.

[0040] The various techniques described herein may also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems where cooperating computing elements control physical entities). CPS can enable the implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processor microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber-physical systems (where the physical system in question has inherent mobility) are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0041] Additionally, although the apparatus has been depicted as a single entity, different units, processors and / or memory units may be implemented ( Figure 1 not shown).

[0042] 5G enables the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas (more base stations or nodes compared to LTE (the so-called small cell concept)), including macro sites operating in collaborative operation with smaller stations, and adopting various radio technologies depending on service requirements, use cases and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications support a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing, and various forms of machine-type applications, such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC), including vehicle safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces. That is, below 6GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and can also be integrated with existing traditional radio access technologies (such as LTE). Integration with LTE can be implemented as a system, at least in the early stages, in which macro coverage is provided by LTE and 5G radio interface access is achieved by aggregation of small cells to LTE. In other words, 5G is planned to support inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6GHz-cmWave, below 6GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of the concepts considered for use in 5G networks is network slicing, in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual subnetworks (network instances) can be created within the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.

[0043] The current architecture in LTE networks is completely distributed in the radio and completely concentrated in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G may require content to be close to the radio, which may cause local interruptions and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analysis and knowledge generation to occur at the data source. This method requires the use of resources that may be discontinuously connected to networks such as laptops, smart phones, tablet computers and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content in close proximity to cellular subscribers to obtain faster response times. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data collection, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer self-organizing networking and processing, which can also be classified as local cloud / fog computing and grid / model grid computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, micro-cloud, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomous self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (large-scale connectivity and / or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analysis, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0044] The communication system may also be able to communicate with or utilize services provided by other networks, such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 112. The communication network may also be able to support the use of cloud services, for example, at least a portion of the core network operations may be performed as a cloud service (this is in the Figure 1 114). The communication system may also include a central control entity or the like which provides facilities for networks of different operators to collaborate, for example in spectrum sharing.

[0045] Edge cloud can be brought into the radio access network (RAN) by leveraging network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN). The use of edge cloud can mean access node operations that are at least partially performed in a server, host, or node, where the server, host, or node is operably coupled to a remote radio head (RRH) or a radio unit (RU), or access node operations performed in an access node that includes a radio portion. Node operations may also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. For example, the execution of RAN real-time functions on the RAN side (in a distributed unit (DU) 104) and the execution of non-real-time functions in a centralized manner (in a central unit (CU) 108) can be achieved by applying a cloudRAN architecture.

[0046] It should also be understood that the distribution of workload between core network operations and access node operations may be different from that of LTE or even non-existent. Some other technological advances that may be used include big data and all-IP, which may change the way networks are being built and managed. 5G (or new radio, NR) networks may be designed to support multiple layers, where MEC servers may be placed between the core and access nodes. It should be understood that MEC may also be applied in 4G networks.

[0047] 5G can also utilize satellite communications to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, for example, by providing backhaul or service availability in areas without terrestrial coverage. Satellite communications can utilize geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, but can also utilize low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, such as large constellations. The satellites 106 included in the constellation can carry a gNB or at least a portion of a gNB, which creates a cell on the ground. Alternatively, the satellite 106 can be used to relay signals of one or more cells to the earth. The cell on the ground can be created by a ground relay node 104 or by a gNB located on the ground or in a satellite, or a portion of the gNB can be on a satellite, such as a DU, and a portion of the gNB can be on the ground, such as a CU. Additionally or alternatively, a high altitude platform station (HAPS) system can be utilized.

[0048] It should be noted that the depicted system is an example of a part of a radio access system, and the system may include multiple (e / g)NodeBs, a terminal device may have access to multiple radio cells, and the system may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements. At least one of the (e / g)NodeBs may be a Home (e / g)NodeB. Additionally, in a geographical area of ​​the radio communication system, a plurality of different kinds of radio cells as well as a plurality of radio cells may be provided. A radio cell may be a macro cell (or umbrella cell), which is a large cell, typically having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or a smaller cell, such as a micro cell, a femto cell or a pico cell. Figure 1 The (e / g)NodeB of a cell can provide any kind of these cells. The cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including several kinds of cells. In some exemplary embodiments, in a multi-layer network, one access node provides one or more cells, and therefore multiple (e / g)NodeBs are required to provide such a network structure.

[0049] In order to meet the needs of improving the deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB is introduced. In addition to the home (e / g) NodeB (H(e / g) NodeB), networks that can use "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB may include a home node B gateway or HNB-GW ( Figure 1 (not shown). An HNB gateway (HNB-GW) that can be installed in an operator's network can aggregate services from a large number of HNBs back to the core network.

[0050] The Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned to grow rapidly. Therefore, the IoT that can utilize 5G connection may include those devices that can be considered as passive radio devices, such as tags and / or sensors, which can also be understood as IoT devices. These IoT devices require power to transmit and / or receive data. IoT devices may consume, for example, tens or hundreds of milliwatts of power during transceiver. Therefore, it is beneficial to consider how to optimize power consumption and obtain power so that the Internet of Everything can be realized, IoT devices with 10 times or even 100 times lower cost and power consumption. In addition, some applications utilizing IoT may require battery-free IoT devices. This may be, for example, because it may be impractical to replace batteries for some IoT devices, as this would mean a huge consumption of materials and manpower. Therefore, energy harvesting can be used to provide self-sustainable communication for IoT devices. However, for useful energy harvesting, the power available for absorption is greater than the power consumed by the IoT device for receiving the power available for harvesting.

[0051] One option for battery-free IoT devices (such as tags) is to utilize radio frequency identification (RFID). In some examples, RFID tags can have power consumption as low as 1 microwatt. RFID can utilize envelope detection for downlink data reception and backscatter communication for uplink data transmission. Figure 2 An example embodiment of passive communication between a reader device and a tag 220 is shown. The reader device includes a unit configured to send and receive signals. The unit has a transmitter 210 for broadband transmission, and the transmitter 210 is followed by a power amplifier 212 and an antenna 214 that subsequently transmits a carrier 215. The tag 220 has an antenna 222 that receives the carrier. The tag 220 then modifies one or more characteristics of the carrier. The characteristics may include, for example, amplitude, phase, and / or center frequency. The tag 220 may include various units that may implement the modification. In this example embodiment, the tag 220 includes at least the following units: an RF harvester 232 for harvesting electromagnetic energy from an incoming RF signal, a detection unit 234 for detecting an incoming RF signal, a clock 236 for generating a clock signal, and a logic unit 238 for controlling the operation of the tag 220. After the modification, the signal is then reflected by the tag 220 as an uplink reflected signal 225. The uplink reflected signal is then received by the reader's antenna 216, after which the signal is amplified using a low noise amplifier 218, after which the reflected signal is received by a receiver 219. In this way, data transmission can be obtained without generating a carrier wave by the tag 220, which reduces the required energy requirements as well as the cost. However, this transmission scheme may become challenging if the link budget and capacity may not be sufficient for a scalable network.

[0052] Passive radio devices such as tags or sensors can operate in two modes. One mode is an energy collection mode, in which the radio device collects energy from a wireless signal sent toward the passive radio device on a given spectrum. The other mode is a data transmission mode, in which the passive radio device can generate a unique signal. The unique signal then carries data dedicated to the passive radio device, such as its ID or data collected by the passive radio device. These two modes can be implemented in a half-duplex or full-duplex manner, in other words, sequentially or simultaneously. In order to support the interaction between the passive radio device and the 5G network infrastructure, the passive radio device obtains enough energy to become discoverable when the passive radio device is not equipped with a power supply. Therefore, it would be beneficial to enable the passive radio device to be charged in an optimal manner via a transmitter connected to a network (e.g., a 5G network), and the optimal manner is about maximizing the power received by the passive radio device. To achieve this, the guided charging and tracking methods of the passive radio device discussed below can be utilized.

[0053] In a network such as a 5G network, there may be various network elements such as terminal devices, positioning reference units (PRUs), road side units (RSUs), transmission and reception points (TRPs), access nodes such as gNBs, etc. Network elements may have different roles, such as an activator role or a reader role. If a network element acts as an activator, it transmits a signal to a passive radio device, causing the signal to charge the passive radio device or it activates the passive radio device. The activator may charge the passive radio device during a period of time when the passive radio device operates in energy harvesting mode. The activator may also trigger the passive radio device to send a signal, and the signal may carry information specific to the passive radio device. It should be noted that in order to activate the passive radio device, the passive radio device will switch to a data transmission mode.

[0054] If the network element is acting as a reader, the network element then listens and detects and decodes the signal from the passive radio device, and the signal may carry information specific to the passive radio device.

[0055] Figure 3 , an example embodiment of a network element and a passive radio device is shown in which one network element acts as an activator and the other network element acts as a reader. In this example embodiment, the passive radio device is a tag 310, the network element acting as a reader is a terminal device 312, and the network element acting as an activator is a terminal device 314. However, it should be noted that in some alternative example embodiments, the activator 314 can be another network element, such as an access node such as an eNB or gNB, and / or the reader 312 can also be another network element, such as an access node such as an eNB or gNB. Both terminal devices 312 and 314 establish sidelink communications to the tag 310 using the Uu interface. It should be noted that in some other example embodiments, there may be multiple tags for which the terminal devices 312 and 314 establish sidelink communications. The terminal devices 312 and 314 may receive an indication from the network indicating that sidelink communications are to be established for (multiple) tags. In addition, the establishment of the communication link may be directed by the network, or alternatively, it may be directed by the terminal device 314 acting as an activator or by the tag 310.

[0056] When the communication link is established, the terminal device 314 may send a request for tracking of the tag 310 by sending an indication in a data message, and the indication may include a flag for the request. It should be noted that tracking the tag 310 may also require the tag 310 to be charged. The data message may be sent, for example, using a small data transfer (SDT) procedure, such as via a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or a physical uplink / downlink shared channel (PU / DSCH), which may be sent to the tag 310 and / or the terminal device 312.

[0057] As part of establishing the communication link, terminal devices 312 and 314 may agree on a joint coordinate system (JCS). In other words, they align their local coordinate systems with a common reference such as geographic north. Additionally, terminal device 312 may send a request for a minimum duration of listening to terminal device 314, in other words, a time period for terminal device 312 to scan all spatial directions. The minimum duration may depend on the number of receive beams being used by terminal device 312 and / or the time for each beam that terminal device 312 has configured. Terminal device 314 may also request terminal device 312 to report its mobility conditions, for example, extracting and reporting the coherence time of the channel (Tc) between terminal devices 312 and 314.

[0058] The terminal device 314 may activate the tag 310 for a period of time corresponding to at least the listening period of the terminal device 312 and the time delay corresponding to the maximum distance between the terminal device 312 and the tag 310 by sending an activation signal to the tag 310. The terminal device 312 receives the signal from the tag 310 at time T1, decodes it, and additionally estimates the direction of arrival (DoA) 336 and the distance 322 to the tag 310. Additionally, the terminal device 312 may estimate the quality Qt of the signal from the tag 310, and the estimation may include, for example, estimating the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR). The terminal device 312 may also apply one or more receive beams to collect signals from the tag 310. In this case, the angle 336 may be obtained directly as the receive beam that has collected the highest tag power. Alternatively or additionally, the terminal device 312 may apply any suitable filtering operation to the received baseband signal in the digital domain and then estimate the most likely DoA 336.

[0059] Then, the terminal device 312 sends the ranging information Rt=(angle 336, distance 322, Qt, T1)(tag_ID) for the tag 310 to the terminal device 314. The ranging information Rt can be sent using PSSCH or PU / DSCH. Additionally, the terminal device 312 can attach the coherence time Tc of the channel between the terminal device 312 and the terminal device 314. It should be noted that the channel coherence time Tc can be estimated using any suitable reference signal sent by the terminal device 314, such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or a positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0060] The terminal device 314 then receives the SL / UL / DL signal from the terminal device 312 at time T2, which includes the ranging information Rt for the tag 310 and possibly the channel coherence time Tc, and based on the received signal, determines the DoA 334 towards the terminal device 312, the distance 324 to the terminal device 312, and the signal quality Qr. The ranging information Rr for the terminal device 312 can then be determined as Rr = (angle 334, distance 324, Qr, T2)(reader_ID).

[0061] The terminal device 314 uses the ranging information Rt and Rr to determine a configuration for a charging signal from the terminal device 314 to the tag 310. Determining the configuration for the charging signal may include, for example, determining an optimal direction of departure (DoD) 332 from the terminal device 314 to the tag 310. It should be noted that there may be additional terminal devices acting as readers, so that the ranging information Rt and Rr may also be determined for these additional terminal devices. The DoD 332 may be determined, for example, by solving for the DoD 332. To determine. Thus, an approximation of DoD 332 can be obtained. Terminal device 314 then uses the channel coherence time Tc and the time difference T2-T1 to determine whether the previously obtained approximation is applicable. In other words, terminal device 314 ensures that the position of terminal device 312 is substantially the same at time T1 when terminal device 312 reads tag 310 and at time T2 when a report is sent to terminal device 314. If the difference between the positions at times T1 and T2 is less than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the positions are at least substantially the same.

[0062] The terminal device 314 uses DoD 332 to direct its next charging signal to the tag 310. The terminal device 314 can store the ranging information (Rt, Rr) in a table for tracking the tag 310, and it can also track the location of the tag 310 and determine the displacement of the tag 310, such as the displacement relative to the past location of the tag 310, the displacement relative to the location of the terminal device 312, or the displacement relative to the location of the terminal device 314.

[0063] Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 314 may report the displacement of the tag 310 back to the network. It should be noted that in some alternative example embodiments, the DoD 332 may be determined by a location management function (LMF), which may also be understood as a network element, and the determined DoD 332 may then be sent to the terminal device 314, in other words, the terminal device 314 may obtain the DoD 332 from the LMF. In this example embodiment, the terminal device 314 transmits Rt and Rr to the LMF using an information element (IE) in the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), and the LMF may then provide the determined DoD 332 using another IE included in the LPP assistance data.

[0064] By enabling the network elements such that at least one network element acts as a reader and one network element acts as an activator, the network elements can establish a strategy for discovering one or more passive radio devices (such as passive IoT tags), charging the one or more passive radio devices using a signal that can be understood as a guidance signal, and tracking the one or more passive radio devices in an absolute manner or in a relative manner depending on whether the activator / reader pair has a known location.

[0065] Figure 4 4 shows a signaling diagram according to an example embodiment of tracking passive radio devices. In this example embodiment, there is a network element, such as an access node, namely an activator 410, and another network element, such as a terminal device, namely a reader 412. It should be noted that although in Figure 4 4. One reader is shown, but there may be more than one reader communicating with the activator 410 and detecting the passive radio device. The passive radio device in this example embodiment is a tag 414, but it should be noted that there may be more passive radio devices. A network such as a 5G network is also shown as 416.

[0066] In this example embodiment, the activator 410 is a consumer of the ranging information Rt for the tag 414. Therefore, the activator 410 can indicate to the reader 412 which passive radio devices are to be detected by the reader 412 and for which passive radio devices Rt is to be determined. In this example embodiment, the tag 414 is included in those passive radio devices.

[0067] The activator 410 sends 420 a configuration for the tag 414 to the reader 412, and the configuration may include, for example, an ID, a tag code signature, and / or occupied resources. In the case where the activator and the reader operate using a side link, for example, if both are terminal devices, the configuration for the tag 414 can be sent via the PSSCH. Alternatively, in the case where the activator 410 resides in the network, the configuration for the tag 414 can be sent using the PDSCH. If the activator 410 resides in the terminal device, the activator 410 and the reader 412 can receive the configuration for the tag 310 directly from the network.

[0068] Then, the activator 410 sends 422 to the reader 412 a request for obtaining ranging information (Rt) for the tag 414. It should be noted that the request can also be for a subset of multiple tags, and the tag 414 can be included in the subset of tags, and the request can optionally also be sent to other network elements acting as readers. Thereafter, the activator 414 configures 424 an interface to the reader 412 to report Rt. The configuration may include the configuration of a time interval during which the reader 412 listens to the tag 414, and resources for reporting the Rt of the tag 414 back to the activator 414. If the activator 410 and the reader 412 pair operate in a side link, the reporting of Rt can be performed, for example, using PSSCH, if the activator 410 resides in the network and the reader 412 resides in the terminal device, the reporting of Rt can be performed, for example, using PUSCH, or if the activator 410 resides in the terminal device and the reader 412 resides in the network, the reporting of Rt can be performed, for example, using PDSCH.

[0069] Next, the activator 410 sends 426 an activation signal to the tag 414. The tag 414 then in response sends 428 a signal specific to the tag 414 to the reader 412. Then, in block 430, the reader 412 detects the tag 414 and determines the Rt for the tag 414. It should be noted that in the event that there is more than one tag to be detected, the reader 412 may also detect those tags and also determine their corresponding Rt. Thereafter, the reader 412 sends 435 the determined Rt to the activator 412.

[0070] Then, in block 440, the activator 410 obtains ranging information Rt for the tag 414 from the reader 412, and determines ranging information Rr for the reader 412 in block 442. The determination of the ranging information Rr may be done, for example, based on the received transmission 435. If the activator 410 and the reader 412 reside in a terminal device and communicate using a side link, the ranging information Rt may be carried by the PSSCH, and the DMRS of the SL transmission (or any other suitable SL reference signal) may be used by the activator 410 to estimate the ranging information Rr. If the activator 410 resides in the network, the ranging information Rt may be carried by the PUSCH, for example, by a UL SDT method when the reader is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, and the DMRS of the UL transmission (or any other suitable UL reference signal) may be used for the estimation of the ranging information Rr. If the activator 410 resides in the terminal device and the reader 412 resides in the network, the ranging information Rt can be carried by PDSCH, for example, by DL SDT if the activator 410 is in the RRC inactive state. Similarly, the DMRS (or any other suitable DL reference signal) of the DL transmission can be used to estimate the ranging information Rr. In the case where both the activator 410 and the reader 412 reside in the network, a backhaul interface such as an Xn interface can be used.

[0071] In box 444, the activator 410 then determines the DoD towards the tag 414. This DoD can be understood as the best DoD. The determination of this DoD can be based on one or more available pairs of Rr and Rt for the tag 414. In the case where there is more than one reader, one or more (Rr, Rt) pairs are determined from all readers. The activator 410 can then check which readers have provided reports to be used and which reports are to be discarded due to loss of channel consistency, in other words, ensure that the reader has not moved after it has measured the tag and before it sends the report Rt. The activator 410 can then prioritize the ranging information (Rr, Rt) from readers with good channel quality to the tag 414 and / or to the activator 410, that is, check whether Qr and / or Qt are above a certain threshold. The activator 410 can then use the selectable available solvers and indexes 1,...,K to solve the multilateral measurement problem for DoD as follows: where G is the DoD, A is the DoA from the reader, B is the DoA from the tag to the reader, d is the distance between the activator and the reader, and a is the distance between the tag and the reader, ∈1,…,∈ K is the measurement error associated with the K readers.

[0072] Next, in box 446, the activator 410 generates a precoded signal directed to the tag 414, that is, the activator 410 focuses the radiated electromagnetic energy toward the tag 414 to more efficiently charge the tag 414. Depending on the activator capabilities, precoding can be implemented in the analog domain, the digital domain, or a hybrid domain. The precoded charging signal is then sent 450 by the activator 410 to the tag 414. Thereafter, the activator 410 stores DoD, Rt, and Rr. This storage may use a table as shown in Table 1 below: Table 1

[0073] The activator 410 may use the table and any optional tracking mechanism (such as a Kalman-filter) to estimate in block 455 the change in position of the tag 414 compared to a fixed reference of the position of the activator 410 and / or the position of the reader 412 (which may be referred to as a displacement). Alternatively, the displacement may be estimated by comparison to a relative reference such as past tag positions. Optionally, the activator 410 may then transmit 460 the calculated tag displacement to the network 416. The transmission 460 may be done, for example, via the backhaul if the activator 410 resides in the gNB or in the TRP, or may be done, for example, via the UL PUSCH if the activator 410 resides in the terminal device.

[0074] Figure 5 A signaling diagram according to another exemplary embodiment is shown. Figure 4 A variation of the exemplary embodiment shown. In this exemplary embodiment, as in Figure 4 As shown in the example embodiment of , the activator 410 sends 420 the configuration for the tag 414 to the reader 412. Then, as shown in Figure 4 As shown in the example embodiment of , the activator 410 sends 422 a request for obtaining ranging information Rt for the tag 414, and it also sends 424 a configuration for reporting the ranging information Rt to the reader 412. Thereafter, the activator 410 sends 426 an activation signal to the tag 414, and the tag 414 then sends 428 a signal specific to the tag 414 to the reader 412, as shown in Figure 4 Block 430, where the reader 412 detects the tag 414, determines the distance information Rt, and then sends 435 the distance information Rt to the activator 410, also as shown in the example embodiment of FIG. Figure 4 Then, as shown in the example embodiment of Figure 4 As shown in the example embodiment of , the activator 410 decodes the payload and retrieves the ranging information Rt in block 440 , and estimates the ranging information Rr for the reader 412 in block 442 .

[0075] As a pair Figure 4 In a modification of the example of , the activator 410 then sends 520 the Rt, Rr pairs for the tag 414 to the LMF 518 included in the network. It should be noted that, in addition, there may be more (Rt, Rr) pairs for more tags or more readers, so that the (Rt, Rr) pairs are associated with one tag and one reader. The LMF 518 then determines the DoD towards the tag 414 in box 522. This DoD can be understood as the optimal DoD. The determination of this DoD can be based on one or more Rr and Rt pairs for the tag 414. In the presence of more than one reader, one or more Rr, Rt pairs are determined from all readers. The LMF 518 can then check which readers have provided reports to be used and which reports are to be discarded due to loss of channel consistency, in other words, to ensure that the reader has not moved after it has measured the tag and before it sends the report Rt. LMF 518 may then prioritize ranging information (Rr, Rt) from readers with good channel quality to tags 414 and / or to activators 410, i.e., check whether Qr and / or Qt are above a certain threshold. LMF 518 may then use the selectable available solvers and the selected readers indexed 1, ..., K to solve the multilateration problem for DoD as follows: where G is the DoD, A is the DoA from the reader, B is the DoA from the tag to the reader, d is the distance between the activator and the reader, and a is the distance between the tag and the reader, ∈1,…,∈ K is the measurement error associated with the K readers.

[0076] Next, in block 524, the LMF 518 estimates a change in position of the tag 414 compared to a fixed reference of the position of the activator 410 and / or the position of the reader 412, which may be referred to as a displacement. Alternatively, the displacement may be estimated by comparison to a relative reference, such as past tag positions. The LMF 518 may then transmit 526 the calculated tag displacement to the network 416. The LMF 518 may then transmit 528 information about the DoD to the activator 410. The activator 410 may then, in block 530, generate a precoded charging signal directed toward the tag 414 based on the DoD angle indicated by the LMF, and then send 535 the charging signal to the tag 414.

[0077] The example embodiments described above may have benefits such as enabling guided charging of tags, i.e., by performing relative positioning of passive radio devices using an optimal set of active devices, maximizing received power at the tags to optimize energy harvesting.

[0078] Figure 6 An apparatus 600 according to an example embodiment is shown, which may be an apparatus such as or included in a terminal device, and may embody an activator or reader as described above. The apparatus 600 includes a processor 610. The processor 610 interprets computer program instructions and processes data. The processor 610 may include one or more programmable processors. The processor 610 may include programmable hardware with embedded firmware, and may alternatively or additionally include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

[0079] The processor 610 is coupled to the memory 620. The processor is configured to read and write data from the memory 620. The memory 620 may include one or more memory units. The memory unit may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that in some example embodiments, there may be one or more non-volatile memory units and one or more volatile memory units, or alternatively, one or more non-volatile memory units, or alternatively, there may be one or more volatile memory units. The volatile memory may be, for example, RAM, DRAM, or SDRAM. The non-volatile memory may be, for example, ROM, PROM, EEPROM, flash memory, optical storage, or magnetic storage. In general, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 620 stores computer-readable instructions executed by the processor 610. For example, the non-volatile memory stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor 610 executes instructions using the volatile memory to temporarily store data and / or instructions.

[0080] The computer readable instructions may be pre-stored in the memory 620, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity (such as a computer program product). Execution of the computer readable instructions causes the device 600 to perform the above functions.

[0081] In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory medium or component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

[0082] The device 600 also includes or is connected to an input unit 630. The input unit 630 includes one or more interfaces for receiving user input. The one or more interfaces may include, for example, one or more motion and / or orientation sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons, and one or more touch detection units. In addition, the input unit 630 may include an interface to which an external device may be connected.

[0083] The device 600 also includes an output unit 640. The output unit includes or is connected to one or more displays capable of rendering visual content, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), displays, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) displays. The output unit 640 also includes one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs can be, for example, a speaker or a set of headphones.

[0084] The device 600 may also include a connectivity unit 650. The connectivity unit 650 enables wired and / or wireless connections to external networks. The connectivity unit 650 may include one or more antennas, and one or more receivers that may be integrated into the device 600 or to which the device 600 may be connected. The connectivity unit 650 may include an integrated circuit or a set of integrated circuits that provide wireless communication capabilities for the device 600. Alternatively, the wireless connectivity may be a hardwired application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0085] It should be noted that the apparatus 600 may also include Figure 6 Various components are not shown in the figure. The various components can be hardware components and / or software components.

[0086] Figure 7 The apparatus 700 shows an example embodiment of an apparatus that may be an access node or included in an access node, and the apparatus may embody an activator or reader as described above. The apparatus may be, for example, a circuit system or a chipset suitable for use in an access node to implement the described embodiments. The apparatus 700 may be an electronic device including one or more electronic circuit systems. The apparatus 700 may include communication control circuitry 710 (such as at least one processor) and at least one memory 720 including computer program code (software) 722, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) 722 are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 700 to perform any of the example embodiments of the access node described above.

[0087] The memory 720 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The memory may include a configuration database for storing configuration data. For example, the configuration database may store a current neighboring cell list, and in some example embodiments, may store the structure of frames used in detected neighboring cells.

[0088] The apparatus 700 may also include a communication interface 730, which includes hardware and / or software, and the hardware and / or software is used to implement a communication connection according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 730 can provide the apparatus with a radio communication capability to communicate in a cellular communication system. The communication interface can, for example, provide a radio interface for a terminal device. The apparatus 700 may also include another interface, which is oriented to a core network such as a network coordinator device and / or an access node of a cellular communication system. The apparatus 700 may also include a scheduler 740 configured to allocate resources.

[0089] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to example embodiments according to the accompanying drawings, it is clear that the present disclosure is not limited thereto, but can be modified in several ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate, not limit, the embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the present disclosure concept can be implemented in various ways. In addition, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments can, but are not required to, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; as well as The charging signal so configured is transmitted to the passive radio device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first ranging information for the passive radio device is determined based on a signal received by the network element from the passive radio device in response to the activation signal, and the first ranging information comprises at least one of: a direction of arrival of the received signal, a distance between the network element and the passive radio device, a quality of the received signal, and a timestamp of the received signal. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the configuration comprises determining the configuration based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element. 4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the configuration comprises receiving the configuration from a location management function.

5. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein applying the configuration to the charging signal comprises: The charging signal is precoded with an outgoing direction from the apparatus to the passive radio device, and wherein the outgoing direction is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element.

6. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is further caused to determine the displacement of the passive radio device by determining one of: a displacement relative to a past position of the passive radio device; a displacement relative to the position of the network element; displacement relative to the device; or The displacement relative to the location of the network element and the device.

7. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is further caused to receive at least one other report from at least one other network element, the at least one other report comprising ranging information for the passive radio device.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein obtaining the configuration further comprises prioritizing the received reports and determining which reports to use for the determination of the configuration.

9. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is further caused to send to the network element another configuration for tracking the passive radio device before sending to the network element the request for obtaining ranging information for the passive radio device.

10. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus is further caused to determine the second ranging information based on a received signal conveying the report.

11. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving a request from a network element to obtain ranging information for a passive radio device; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; as well as A report is sent to the network element, the report including the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein determining the first ranging information for the passive radio device comprises at least one of estimating a direction of arrival of the received signal, estimating a quality of the received signal, and estimating a distance to the passive radio device.

13. An apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the report comprises a timestamp of the received signal.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the report further comprises information about a coherence time of a channel between the apparatus and the network element.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the apparatus is further caused to receive another configuration for tracking the passive radio device from the network element before receiving the request for obtaining ranging information for the passive radio device from the network element.

16. A method comprising: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; as well as The charging signal so configured is transmitted to the passive radio device.

17. A method comprising: receiving a request from a network element to obtain ranging information for a passive radio device; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; as well as A report is sent to the network element, the report including the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

18. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least: sending a request to a network element for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending an activation signal to the passive radio device; obtaining a report from the network element, the report comprising first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining second ranging information for the network element; obtaining a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying the configuration to the charging signal; as well as The charging signal so configured is transmitted to the passive radio device.

19. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least: receiving a request from a network element to obtain ranging information for a passive radio device; receiving a signal from the passive radio device; determining first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; and A report is sent to the network element, the report including the first ranging information for the passive radio device.

20. A system comprising a first network element and a second network element, wherein the system: Sending, by the first network element to the second network element, a request for obtaining ranging information for a passive radio device; sending, by the first network element, an activation signal to the passive radio device; receiving, by the second network element, a signal from the passive radio device; determining, by the second network element, first ranging information for the passive radio device from the received signal; sending, by the second network element to the first network element, a report including the first ranging information for the passive radio device; determining, by the first network element, second ranging information for the second network element; acquiring, by the first network element, a configuration for a charging signal from the apparatus to the passive radio device, wherein the configuration is determined based on the first ranging information for the passive radio device and the second ranging information for the network element; applying, by the first network element, the configuration to the charging signal; as well as The charging signal configured in this way is sent by the first network element to the passive radio device.

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