Sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) procedure

Abstract

In some embodiments, a user equipment (UE) may exchange a plurality of sidelink (SL) positioning protocol (SLPP) messages with other UEs of a plurality of UEs, where the plurality of SLPP messages are exchanged via direct wireless SL communications. At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages may include a request capability message, a provision capability message, a request assistance data message, a provision assistance data message, a request location information message, or a provision location information message. The UE may perform positioning based at least in part on the plurality of SLPP messages. The UE may further exchange SLPP messages with a location server (e.g., an LMF), which may assist the UE in performing positioning and may enable the location server to obtain location results for multiple UEs. An SLPP process may be defined to manage SL positioning.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 18 / 366,472, filed on August 7, 2022, entitled “SIDELINK POSITIONING PROTOCOL (SLPP) PROCEDURES,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 370,917, filed on August 9, 2022, entitled “SIDELINK POSITIONING PROTOCOL (SLPP) PROCEDURES,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 377,530, filed on September 28, 2022, entitled “SIDELINK POSITIONING PROTOCOL (SLPP) PROCEDURES,” all of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to systems, methods, and devices that support positioning. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, positioning, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems) and fifth generation (5G) systems (which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems).

[0005] In some examples, a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations, each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices (also referred to as user equipment (UE)). A base station may communicate with a set of UEs on a downlink channel (e.g., for transmissions from a base station to a UE) and an uplink channel (e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a base station). In addition, UEs may communicate directly with each other using sidelink channels.

[0006] The location of the UE may be useful or necessary for a number of applications including emergency calls, navigation, direction finding, asset tracking, and Internet services. In a cellular network, for example, a base station may transmit a downlink reference signal by which the UE obtains positioning measurements and / or a UE may send an uplink reference signal by which the base station obtains positioning measurements. The UE may use the positioning measurements in UE-based positioning to calculate an estimate of its own position, or may transmit the positioning measurements to a network entity (e.g., a location server), which may calculate the UE position based on the positioning measurements in UE-assisted positioning.

[0007] There are many other applications in which the location of one or more UEs may be needed and in which traditional UE-based positioning and UE-assisted positioning may be less useful. Examples of such other applications include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication and coordination, public safety first responder scenarios, and control and coordination of automated environments (such as factories and warehouses). In these applications, it may be more efficient for the UE to communicate using sidelink signaling and for the UE to locate using sidelink-related positioning measurements and / or sidelink-related control signaling. In addition, a process may be established to enable two or more UEs to perform positioning (including ranging) using sidelink communications. However, many aspects of these sidelink-based processes have not yet been formalized. Summary of the invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, an example method for locating multiple user equipments (UEs) using sidelink (SL) communication may include exchanging multiple SL positioning protocol (SLPP) messages with other UEs among the multiple UEs, the multiple SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a request capability message, in which a first UE among the multiple UEs requests the ability to support positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide capability message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs indicates the ability to support positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide assistance data message, the provide assistance data message includes data for one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs, the data assisting the one or more additional UEs in performing positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a request location information message, in which the first UE requests location measurement for positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs; and at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide location information message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides location measurement for positioning using SL communication. The method may also include performing positioning based at least in part on the plurality of positioning messages.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, an example method for positioning using sidelink (SL) communication at a first user equipment (UE) may include: transmitting one or more request capability messages from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, each request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL location reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement. The method may also include receiving one or more provide capability messages from one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication at the first UE, in which one or more additional UEs respond to the one or more request capability messages. The method may also include: obtaining a SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capability messages. The method may also include: transmitting one or more provide auxiliary data messages from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, the one or more provide auxiliary data messages including a SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, an example method for enabling a first user equipment (UE) to coordinate positioning using sidelink (SL) communication may include: receiving a request capability message from a first UE via direct wireless SL communication at a second UE, the request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL location reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs other than the first UE for positioning using SL communication. The method may also include: transmitting a provide capability message from the second UE to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication in response to the request capability message. The method may also include receiving a provide assistance data message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication at the second UE, the provide assistance data message including a SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capability message.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, an example user equipment (UE) may include: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: exchange multiple side link (SL) positioning protocol (SLPP) messages with other UEs in a plurality of UEs via the one or more transceivers, the multiple SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a request capability message, in which a first UE in the multiple UEs requests from one or more additional UEs in the multiple UEs the ability to support positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide capability message, in which the first UE in the multiple UEs requests the ability to support positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs in the multiple UEs; At least one of the one or more additional UEs in the force message indicates the ability to support positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide assistance data message, the provide assistance data message includes data for one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs, the data assists the one or more additional UEs to perform positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a request location information message, in which the first UE requests location measurement for positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs; and at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide location information message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides location measurement for positioning using SL communication. The one or more processors may also be configured to perform positioning based at least in part on the multiple positioning messages.

[0012] According to the present disclosure, an example first UE may include: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit one or more request capability messages to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, each request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL location reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement. The one or more processors may also be configured to receive one or more provide capability messages from the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, in which the one or more additional UEs respond to the one or more request capability messages. The one or more processors may also be configured to obtain the SL-PRS configuration for each UE in the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capability messages. The one or more processors may also be configured to transmit one or more provide auxiliary data messages to the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the one or more provide auxiliary data messages including the SL-PRS configuration for each UE in the one or more additional UEs.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, an example second UE may include: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive a request capability message from a first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL location reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs for positioning using SL communication in addition to the first UE. The one or more processors may also be configured to transmit a provide capability message to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers in response to the request capability message. The one or more processors may also be configured to receive a provide assistance data message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the provide assistance data message including a SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capability message.

[0014] According to the present disclosure, an example user equipment may include one or more transceivers, one or more memories, and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories and configured to perform any of the previously described methods.

[0015] According to the present disclosure, an example apparatus may include components for performing any of the previously described methods.

[0016] According to the present invention, an example non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions including code for performing a method of any of the previously described methods.

[0017] The present summary is neither intended to identify the key or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of the present disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail below in the following specification, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 The architecture of a communication system including multiple UEs, a radio access network (RAN) and a 5G core network (5GC) is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 An architecture of a communication system for network supported sidelink positioning is shown.

[0020] Figure 3 is a signal flow illustrating signaling between a UE and a location server for network supported sidelink positioning.

[0021] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a block diagram illustrating an implementation of the structure of a Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) message.

[0022] Figure 5 is a signal flow illustrating signaling between a pair of UEs for paired sidelink positioning.

[0023] Fig. 6A is a signal flow illustrating signaling between UEs for sidelink positioning capability exchange, including exchange of capabilities, resources, and service requirements.

[0024] Figure 6B is a signal flow illustrating signaling between UEs for positioning signal configuration and confirmation exchange.

[0025] Figure 6C is a signal flow showing signaling between UEs for measurement exchange.

[0026] Figure 7 is a signal flow showing signaling of group operation for sidelink positioning of multiple UEs.

[0027] Figure 8 and Fig. 9is a signal flow diagram of an embodiment of an SLPP positioning session between UEs in either UE-based or "autonomous" mode.

[0028] Figures 10 to 12 is a signal flow diagram of an embodiment of a SLPP positioning session in network assisted mode.

[0029] Fig.13 is a flowchart of a method for locating multiple UEs using SL communication according to an embodiment.

[0030] Fig.14 It is a flowchart of a method for positioning using SL communication at a first UE according to an embodiment.

[0031] Fig.15 is a flowchart of a method for enabling a first UE to coordinate positioning using SL communication according to an embodiment.

[0032] Fig.16 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE.

[0033] Fig.17 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system.

[0034] Fig.18 is a signal flow diagram of an example of acknowledgement and retransmission capabilities for SLPP messages, which may be used in accordance with some embodiments.

[0035] Fig.19 is a signal flow diagram of an example SLPP process that may include redundancy for SLPP messages, which may be used in accordance with some embodiments.

[0036] Fig. 20 is a signal flow diagram of an exemplary hybrid positioning method according to some embodiments, which utilizes SL positioning in combination with Uu positioning to provide hybrid (or "joint") Uu and SL positioning for a group of UEs.

[0037] According to some example embodiments, the same reference symbols in various drawings indicate the same elements. In addition, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by following a letter or hyphen and a second numeral after the first numeral of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 can be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When only the first numeral is used to refer to such an element, any instance of the element will be understood (for example, the element 110 in the previous example will refer to element 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 or to element 110a, 110b and 110c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Techniques and apparatuses for supporting sidelink positioning (SL) between UEs are discussed herein. The Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) may be used to support pairwise positioning, group operation, and sidelink positioning of UEs in a network-supported SLPP.

[0039] The description may refer to a sequence of actions performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequence of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a corresponding set of computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed, will cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure (including the claimed subject matter).

[0040] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). In general, such a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Industrial IoT (IIoT) device, an in-vehicle system (IVS), etc.) for communicating over a wireless communication network. The UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). For example, as used herein, a UE may be an infrastructure node such as a roadside unit (RSU), a positioning reference unit (PRU), etc. As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber equipment", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", RSU, PRU, IVS or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through a wired access network, a Wi-Fi network (eg, based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), and the like.

[0041] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with UEs, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a generalized Node B (gNodeB, gNB), etc. In addition, in some systems, a base station may provide pure edge node signaling functions, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0042] A UE may be embodied by any of a variety of types of devices, including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wired phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a tracking device, an asset tag, etc. The communication link through which a UE may send a signal to a RAN is referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a RAN may send a signal to a UE is referred to as a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). The communication link through which a UE may send a signal to other UEs is referred to as a sidelink channel. As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward or sidelink traffic channel.

[0043] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of a plurality of cells of a base station, or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cellular cells, and different cellular cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) or other protocol types) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0044] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the term "positioning" as used herein may include absolute position determination, relative position determination, ranging, or a combination thereof. Thus, positioning measurements as discussed herein may include distance measurements. Such positioning may include and / or be based on timing, angle, phase, or power measurements, or a combination thereof (which may include RF sensing measurements) for the purpose of location or sensing services.

[0045] As described above, SL-based signaling between two or more UEs can potentially be used to perform positioning (including ranging) of at least one of the UEs. However, many procedural aspects of such positioning have not yet been defined or formalized. The embodiments of this document solve these and other problems by providing message types, transactions, and procedures that can be used in a protocol for SL-based positioning (referred to herein as the SL Positioning Protocol or SLPP). According to some aspects, advantages can include extending the positioning range and capabilities beyond traditional LPP positioning of a UE, where the UE exchanges uplink and / or downlink signals with one or more base stations.

[0046] Figure 1 An example of a communication system 100 is shown, which includes a first UE 105A, a second UE 105B, a third UE 105C, a radio access network (RAN) 135 (here a fifth generation (5G) next generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN)), and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. For example, the 5GC 140 can be a public land mobile network (PLMN). UEs 105a, 105B, and 105C may sometimes be referred to herein individually or collectively as UEs 105. UEs 105 may be, for example, IoT devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles, on-board units (OBUs), or other similar types of devices. UEs 105 may be additionally considered to be RSUs or PRUs. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or NRRAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). The RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, such as a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. The communication system 100 may utilize an artificial satellite (SV) constellation 190, which may support a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)) (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), Galileo, or BeiDou) or some other local or regional SPS (e.g., an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), a European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)). In some embodiments, the UE 105 may communicate with the UE 105 via the SV 190 and the ground station ( Figure 1 The UE 105 may communicate with a RAN node (e.g., gNB 110) or a 5GC 140 node (not shown), in which case the UE 105 may not communicate directly with the RAN node, but only communicate with the RAN node via the SV 190. This may be used to increase the coverage and / or capacity of the NG-RAN 135. Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0047] like Figure 1 As shown, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeB (gNB) 110a, 110b and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, a session management function (SMF) 117, a location management function (LMF) 120 and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125, a user plane function (UPF) 118 and a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP) 119. The gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each wirelessly configured to communicate bidirectionally with the UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to the AMF 115 and the UPF 118 and configured to communicate bidirectionally with the AMF 115 and the UPF 118. The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs) or RAN nodes. AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC 125 is communicatively coupled to external client 130. AMF 115, SMF 117, UPF 118, and SLP 119 are communicatively coupled to each other, and SLP 119 is communicatively coupled to external client 130. According to some embodiments, server 121, Internet 122, and server 123 may be communicatively coupled to UPF 118 and may facilitate SL positioning. SMF 117 may also serve as an initial contact point for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may be macro cells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), or small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate using short-range technologies such as WI-FI, WI-FI Direct (Wi-Fi D), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ZIGBEE, etc.). One or more of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., a cell). Each cell may be divided into a plurality of sectors according to the base station antenna.

[0048] Figure 1A generalized illustration of various components is provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although only UE 105 is shown, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or less than the four SVs 190 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. In addition, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted, depending on the desired functionality.

[0049] Although Figure 1 A 5G-based network is shown, but similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The embodiments described herein (whether for 5G technologies and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to send (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105) or at a base station 110a, 110b, 114, and / or provide position assistance to UE 105 (via LMF 120 or SLP 119 or other location server) and / or calculate the position of one or both of UE 105 at a positioning-capable device, such as UE 105, base station 110a, 110b, 114, based on measurements received at UE 105 or base station 110a, 110b, 114 for such directionally transmitted signals. GMLC 125, LMF 120, AMF 115, SMF 117, UPF 118, SLP 119, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114 and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and, in various embodiments, may be replaced by or include various other entities, including location server functionality and / or base station functionality.

[0050] The communication system 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of the system 100 can communicate with each other (at least sometimes using wireless connections), for example, directly or indirectly, via base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and / or network 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). For indirect communication, the communication can be changed during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change the header information of the data packet, change the format, etc. The UE 105 can include multiple UEs and can be a mobile wireless communication device, but can communicate wirelessly and via a wired connection. The UE 105 can be any of a variety of devices, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are merely examples because the UE 105 is not required to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of the UE can be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headphones, etc.). Other UEs may also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within the system 100 and can communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the base stations 110a, 110b, 114, the core network 140, and / or the external clients 130. For example, such other devices may include IoT or IIoT devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The core network 140 can communicate with the external clients 130, the servers 123, or the servers 121 (e.g., which can each be a computer system), for example, to allow the external clients 130, the servers 123, or the servers 121 to request and / or receive location information about the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125, the SLP 119, or the UPF 118).

[0051] The UE 105 or other device may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, Wi-Fi communication at multiple frequencies, satellite positioning, satellite communication, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (e.g., V2P (Vehicle to Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle to Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.) for communication. V2X communications can be cellular (cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or Wi-Fi (e.g., DSRC (dedicated short range connection)). The system 100 can support operations on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can send modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. Each modulated signal can be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilots, overhead information, data, etc. UE 105 can communicate with each other through UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink channels (e.g., physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), synchronization signal block (SSB), sidelink channel state information reference signal (SL-CSIRS), physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), or sidelink sounding reference signal (SL-SRS)).

[0052] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a terminal (SET) supporting secure user plane location (SUPL), or some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a PDA, a tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an asset tracker, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, but not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140). UE 105 may support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may use, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable to connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet). Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 to communicate with external clients 130, servers 121, and / or servers 123 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140 and possibly the Internet 122) and / or allow external clients 130, servers 121, and / or servers 123 to receive location-related information about UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125, SLP 119, or UPF 118).

[0053] Each of the UEs 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. An estimate of the location of a UE (e.g., UE 105) may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, thus providing the location coordinates of the UE (e.g., latitude and longitude), which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above ground level, or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE may be expressed as an urban location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or a designation of a certain point or small area in a building (such as a specific room or floor)). The location of the UE may be expressed as an area or volume (defined geographically or in urban form) in which the UE is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE may be expressed as a relative location, including, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. A relative position may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in urban terms, or by a reference point, area, or volume (e.g., indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan). In the descriptions contained herein, use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated.

[0054] When using sidelink positioning, the absolute (e.g., global) or relative position of the UE may not always be obtained. Alternatively, a position result of the UE may be obtained, which may include the range or distance between the UE and each of one or more other UEs, the direction from the UE to each of one or more other UEs, the position of the UE relative to the position of a certain other UE, the position of one or more other UEs relative to the position of the UE, the speed of the UE and / or the speed of each of one or more other UEs. The speed of the UE may be absolute (e.g., relative to the earth) or may be relative to a certain other UE, and then may be referred to as "relative speed". The relative speed of UE B relative to another UE A may include a "radial speed" component and a "lateral speed" component, the "radial speed" component may be equal to the rate of change of the range from UE A to UE B, the "lateral speed" component may be at right angles to the radial speed component seen by UE A, and may be equal to the angular rate of change of the direction from UE A to UE B multiplied by the range from UE A to UE B. In the description contained herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the term "positioning result" or "multiple positioning results" for sidelink positioning of a UE or UE group may include any of these variants.

[0055] UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. UE 105 may be configured to communicate with one or more other UEs (e.g., other UEs 105) via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. D2D P2P links may be examples of sidelink signaling (or may be supported by sidelink signaling) and may be supported by any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT) (such as LTE direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi direct (Wi-Fi D), Bluetooth, etc.). One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP) (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be performed between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0056] Figure 1 The base stations (BS) in the NG-RAN 135 shown include NR Node Bs, referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. Paired gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE using 5G. Figure 1In the figures, the serving gNB for UE 105A is assumed to be gNB 110b, and the serving gNB for UE 105B is assumed to be gNB 110a, although if UE 105 moves to another location, another gNB may serve as the serving gNB, or may serve as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105, and UE 105 may share the same serving gNB.

[0057] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 135 may include ng-eNB 114, also referred to as next generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as a positioning-only beacon, which may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105, but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0058] Base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may transmit one or more downlink reference signals, including positioning reference signal (PRS) transmissions. PRS transmissions may be configured for a particular UE 105 to measure and report one or more reporting parameters (e.g., reporting quantities) associated with positioning and location information. PRS transmissions and reporting parameter feedback may support various location services (e.g., navigation systems and emergency communications). In some examples, the reporting parameters supplement one or more additional location systems (such as global positioning system (GPS) technology) supported by the UE 105.

[0059] Base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may configure PRS transmission on one or more PRS resources of a channel. Depending on the number of configured ports, PRS resources may span resource elements of multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) within one or more OFDM symbols of a time slot. For example, a PRS resource may span a symbol of a time slot and include a port for transmission. In any OFDM symbol, a PRS resource may occupy consecutive PRBs. In some examples, PRS transmission may be mapped to consecutive OFDM symbols of a time slot. In other examples, PRS transmission may be mapped to scattered OFDM symbols of a time slot. In addition, PRS transmission may support frequency hopping within a PRB of a channel.

[0060] According to the PRS resource settings of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114, one or more PRS resources may span multiple PRS resource sets. The structure of one or more PRS resources, PRS resource sets, and PRS resource settings within a PRS transmission may be referred to as a multi-level resource setting. For example, the multi-level PRS resource settings of the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 may include multiple PRS resource sets, and each PRS resource set may include a PRS resource set (e.g., a set of 4 PRS resources).

[0061] The UE 105 may receive a PRS transmission on one or more PRS resources of a time slot. The UE 105 may determine reporting parameters for at least some of the PRS resources included in the transmission. The reporting parameters for each PRS resource (which may include a reporting quantity) may include one or more of: time of arrival (TOA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), angle, PRS identification number, received to transmitted difference (UE Rx-Tx), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or reference signal received quality (RSRQ).

[0062] Similarly, the UE 105 may be configured to transmit one or more additional uplink reference signals that may be received by the base stations 110a, 110b, 114 and used for positioning. For example, the UE 105 may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning. The base stations 110a, 110b, 114 receiving the uplink reference signal from the UE 105 may perform positioning measurements, such as one or more of time of arrival (TOA), received to transmitted difference (UE Rx-Tx).

[0063] A reference signal (e.g., a PRS signal or SRS for positioning signals) or other reference signals from one or more base stations 110a, 110b, 114 or the UE may be used to determine a position estimate for the UE. Positioning methods such as downlink (DL) time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), DL angle of departure (DL AOD), enhanced cell ID (ECID) are positioning methods that may be used to estimate the position of the UE using reference signals from base stations. For example, DL-TDOA relies on measuring a reference signal time difference (RSTD) between downlink (DL) signals received from a base station of a reference cell and base stations of one or more neighboring cells. DL signals from which RTSD may be obtained include cell-specific reference signals (CRS) and positioning reference signals (PRS).

[0064] Other positioning methods may use reference signals sent by the UE, including uplink-based positioning methods and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. For example, uplink-based positioning methods include, for example, UL time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), UL angle of arrival (UL AOA), UL relative time of arrival (UL-RTOA), and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods, such as multi-cell round trip time (RTT) with one or more neighboring base stations. In addition, sidelink-based positioning may be used, in which the UE sends and / or receives sidelink positioning reference signals that are measured and used for positioning.

[0065] As mentioned above, although Figure 1 Nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, but nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (e.g., an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol) may be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) that provides LTE radio access to a UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), the E-UTRAN may include base stations, the base stations may include evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include an E-UTRAN plus an EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 NG-RAN 135 in, and EPC corresponds to Figure 1 5GC 140 in.

[0066] The gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which, for positioning functions, communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and possible data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly or indirectly with the UE 105, or directly or indirectly with the base stations 110a, 110b, 114, for example, via wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135, and may support positioning procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) TDOA or Uplink (UL) TDOA), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. The LMF 120 may process a location service request of the UE 105 received, for example, from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or the GMLC 125. A node / system implementing the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the positioning functions (including the derivation of the UE's position) may be performed at the UE (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE for signals transmitted by wireless nodes (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or assistance data provided to the UE, for example, by LMF 120). Alternatively, at least a portion of the positioning functions (including the derivation of the UE's position) may be performed at LMF 120 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114). AMF 115 may serve as a control node for handling signaling between UE 105 and core network 140, and provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. AMF 115 may support mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handovers), and may participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105.

[0067] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130, and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response (e.g., containing a location estimate or a sidelink location result for the UE 105) from the LMF 120 may be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing a location estimate or a sidelink location result) to the external client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown as being connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but in some embodiments, the 5GC 140 may support only one of these connections.

[0068] A user plane function (UPF) 118 may support voice and data bearers for UE 105 and may enable voice and data access for UE 105 to other networks such as the Internet 122 and servers such as server 121 and server 123. UPF 118 may be connected to gNB 110 and ng-eNB 114. UPF 118 functions may include: external protocol data unit (PDU) session points for interconnection to data networks, packet (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP)) routing and forwarding, packet inspection and user plane portion of policy rule enforcement, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane, downlink packet buffering, and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 118 may be connected to SLP 119 to enable support for positioning of UE 105 using SUPL. SLP 119 may also be connected to or accessible from external client 130.

[0069] As shown, a session management function (SMF) 117 is connected to the AMF 115 and the UPF 118. The SMF 117 may have the ability to control both local and central UPFs within a PDU session. The SMF 117 may manage the establishment, modification, and release of PDU sessions for the UE 105, perform IP address allocation and management for the UE 105, act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for the UE 105, and select and control the UPF 118 on behalf of the UE 105.

[0070] like Figure 1As further shown in FIG. 1 , LMF 120 may communicate with gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 using a new radio positioning protocol a (NRPPa) that may be defined in 3GPP technical specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be passed between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120 and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120 via AMF 115. Figure 1 As further shown in , the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and a serving gNB 110a, 110b or a serving ng-eNB 114 for the UE 105. For example, the LPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a service operation based on a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and may be transferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a 5G non-access stratum (NAS) protocol.

[0071] The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods (e.g., A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, AOA, AOD, and / or E-CID). The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using a network-based positioning method (such as E-CID) (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional synchronization signal (SS) transmissions from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using a network-based positioning method (such as E-CID) (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Figure 1 140, but may be outside the core network 140, for example, in the NG-RAN. For example, the LMF 120 may be co-located or integrated with the gNB, or may be located remote from the gNB and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB.

[0072] In the case of a UE-assisted positioning method, a UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B) may obtain location measurements and transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in calculating a location estimate of the UE. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of received signal strength indication (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP) and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ), AOA, AOD of gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or WLAN AP. The location measurements may also or may alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudoranges, code phases, and / or carrier phases of SV 190.

[0073] Using the UE-based positioning method, a UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B) can obtain a position measurement (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurement used for the UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the UE's position (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a location server such as LMF 120 or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base station or AP).

[0074] Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, or time of arrival (ToA) of signals sent by a UE (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B)) and / or may receive measurements obtained by a UE. One or more base stations or APs may transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for use in computing a position estimate for the UE.

[0075] As described above, although the communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functions), such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and 5GC 140 may be replaced by EPC containing a mobility management entity (MME) instead of AMF 115, E-SMLC instead of LMF 120, and GMLC which may be similar to GMLC 125.

[0076] For radio networks such as Figure 1Positioning of a UE in the communication system 100 shown in the figure typically uses the Uu interface (i.e., the radio interface between the UE 105 and the radio access network) for DL ​​PRS and / or UL PRS. Positioning of the UE may also use or alternatively use a sidelink PRS (SL-PRS), which may be a reference signal defined by a specific sidelink for positioning, or may reuse the Uu PRS, such as the UL PRS, sometimes referred to as a sounding reference signal for positioning (SRSPos), or may send other reference signals in a sidelink channel. Sidelink positioning may enhance UE positioning by providing additional transmitting (or receiving) nodes. A UE with a known position (such as UE 105B) may be used to support position determination of another target UE (such as UE 105A), where UE 105B is sometimes referred to as an anchor node.

[0077] With the sidelink positioning method, UE 105A, for example, may transmit a sidelink PRS or sidelink SRS signal that is received and measured by another UE 105B. Additionally or alternatively, UE 105B, for example, may transmit a sidelink PRS or sidelink SRS signal that is received and measured by UE 105A. The sidelink PRS may be similar to the PRS (e.g., DL PRS) transmitted by gNB 110, for example, as described above. The sidelink SRS may be similar to the SRS (e.g., uplink) SRS transmitted by UE 105 for measurement by gNB 110, for example, as described above. Measurements of the SL PRS or SL SRS signal may include received transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), time of arrival (TOA), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), angle of arrival (AOA), and reference signal time difference (RSTD). SL positioning methods may include SL round trip signal propagation time (RTT) (also known as ranging), SL AOA, SL AOD, or any combination thereof.

[0078] In some scenarios, a group of UEs ( Figure 1SL positioning may be supported by a UE (not shown). In this case, one UE in the group may send a SL PRS or SL SRS signal, which may be measured by some or all other UEs in the group. Some or all other UEs in the group may also each send a SL PRS or SL SRS signal (for example, each UE sends a SL SRS or SL PRS at one or more times different from the time when other UEs in the group send SL PRS or SL SRS), which may be measured by some or all other UEs in a group different from the UE sending ULPRS or ULS SRS. Measurements performed by the UE applicable to a group of UEs transmitting SLPRS or SL SRS may include Rx-Tx, TOA, RSTD, AOA, RSRP, RSRQ, or any combination thereof. Positioning methods supported by these measurements may include sidelink RTT (e.g., ranging), sidelink AOA, sidelink AOD, sidelink TDOA (SL-TDOA), or any combination thereof. Based on the measurements and positioning methods, each UE may determine the positioning results for itself and / or one or more other UEs in the group. As previously described, the location results for the UE may include a range or distance between the UE and each of one or more other UEs in the group, a direction from the UE to each of one or more other UEs in the group, a direction from each of one or more other UEs in the group to the UE, the location of the UE relative to the location of some other UE in the group, the location of the UE relative to some other known location, the absolute location of the UE, the speed of the UE, or the speed of the UE relative to some other UE.

[0079] Sidelink positioning can be used to locate a UE independently of the core network (e.g., 5GC 140) or serving PLMN. An example embodiment of sidelink positioning can be found in a vehicle communication system (such as V2X), which can be used for safety-related applications such as safety warnings, traffic congestion (e.g., automatic traffic control), and coordinated or automatic vehicle maneuvers. One aspect of sidelink positioning that may be desirable for a standardized solution is a sidelink positioning protocol (SLPP) that can be used between UEs (including between RSUs and UEs) and between location servers. For example, SLPP can support sidelink positioning with network access independence between UEs, RSUs, and PRUs. SLPP can provide support for sidelink positioning for a pair of UEs (e.g., ranging), a group of UEs (V2X), and UEs that are members of multiple different groups. For example, SLPP may provide support for various location technologies currently standardized for UE and UE-assisted support for location servers (e.g., LMF 120), such as PRS RTT, AOA, Differential AOA (DAOA), AOD, Differential AOD (DAOD), but may also implement support for other PRS and SRS-based location methods and non-PRS methods (e.g., RTK) at a later time. SLPP may avoid the need to define a separate new positioning protocol different from SLPP by implementing the addition of new capabilities and methods at a later time. For example, additional positioning methods that may be included in SLPP at a later time may include RTK, Wi-Fi, Ultra Wideband (UWB), BT positioning methods. SLPP may initially implement direct sidelink operation (where UEs communicate and coordinate positioning by exchanging SLPP messages using sidelink signaling), and may later be extended to sidelink operation via relay and operation via network, where UEs may exchange SLPP messages via the network or via an intermediate relay UE. For example, this may be used to coordinate the positioning of two vehicles on a collision course at a corner where direct SL signaling between the two vehicles is not possible. Therefore, SLPP may initially define support for SL PRS-based positioning in a generic manner to simplify later expansion of support for other positioning methods. For example, SLPP may define generic SLPP messages similar to the generic LPP messages defined for LPP in 3GPP TS 37.355. Where feasible, SLPP may support separate positioning methods (e.g., SL PRS RTT, SL PRS AOA, SL PRS AOD) using common procedures and common parameters. SLPP may define procedures that may be reused for multiple positioning methods and are not limited to only one or a few positioning methods. SLPP may be enabled to be delivered and used by various entities (e.g., UE, RSU, PRU, and location servers such as LMFs and SUPL SLP).The location server (e.g., LMF and SUPL SLP) uses SLPP messages that can be delivered inside LPP messages to enable UE assisted positioning through LMF or SUPL SLP. Alternatively, the location server (e.g., LMF and SUPL SLP) uses SLPP messages that can be delivered without being associated with LPP messages to enable UE assisted positioning through LMF or SUPL SLP. SLPP can also support relative (local) and global positioning.

[0080] As an example, Figure 2 2 shows the architecture of a communication system 200 capable of network-supported sidelink positioning. Figure 2 As shown, multiple UEs may be combined within the same group 210 for sidelink positioning. Within the group 210, there may be various subgroups of UEs. For example, the UE group 210 may include a first subgroup 212 of UEs served by a first network (PLMN1 140a), while a second subgroup 214 of UEs is served by a second (different) network (PLMN2 140b), and a third subgroup 216 of UEs is out of coverage of either network and is not served by either network. One or more UEs served by a network (e.g., UEs in the subgroup 212 served by PLMN1 140a or UEs in the subgroup 214 served by PLMN2 140b) may include an RSU.

[0081] The location servers in the serving network (e.g., LMF1 120a, SUPL SLP1 119a, or Server 1 121a in serving PLMN1 140a, LMF2 120b, SUPL SLP2 119b, or Server 2 121b in serving PLMN2 140b, and Server 3 123 (communicating with the UE via PLMN1 140a and / or PLMN2 140b)) may assist some or all UEs in the group (e.g., subgroups 212 and 214) served by the network (PLMN), respectively. As shown, the location server may support the UE by communicating with the UE using "LPP / SLPP", which means communicating using LPP, SLPP, SLPP embedded in LPP, or a combination thereof. For example, LMF1 120a and LMF2 120b may embed SLPP into LPP while supporting UEs in subgroups 212 and 214, respectively (e.g., where each SLPP message communicated between the UE and LMF1 120a or LMF2 120b is embedded in one LPP message, and where one LPP message may include one or more embedded SLPP messages). Similarly, SUPLSLP1 119a and SUPL SLP2 119b may embed SLPP into LPP, where LPP messages are embedded in SUPL User Plane Location Protocol (ULP) messages, while supporting UEs in subgroups 212 and 214, respectively. Additionally or alternatively, LPP messages and / or SLPP messages may be used, where SLPP messages are not embedded in LPP messages (but LPP messages or SLPP messages may still be embedded in SUPLULP messages). In addition, UEs within each subgroup and UEs in different subgroups may exchange SLPP messages with each other to support and coordinate SL positioning.

[0082] Location server (e.g., LMF / SUPL SLP / Server 1 / Server 2 / Server 3) support for one or more specific UEs may not be visible to other UEs in the group. For example, location server support from PLMN1140a for UEs in subgroup 212 may not be visible to UEs in subgroup 214, and may not be visible to out-of-coverage UEs in subgroup 216. The support provided by the location server to the UE may include determining or verifying the SL PRS configuration and calculating location results for the UE, including supported UEs and unsupported UEs (e.g., if location information of UEs in an unsupported subgroup is provided to the location server, location results are calculated for UEs in the supported subgroup and UEs in the unsupported subgroup). In some embodiments, signaling between location servers in separate networks may be used to provide more complete network support. As shown, LMF-LMF or SUPL SLP-SUPL SLP signaling may use extensions of SLPP (in Figure 2 SLPP**) for more complete network support.

[0083] SLPP message types may be aligned with LPP message types to enable LPP messages to contain embedded SLPP messages and / or to enable SLPP procedures to be aligned with LPP procedures, which may reduce implementation and / or testing. Figure 2 Signaling (eg, SLPP messages or SLPP messages embedded in LPP messages) between LMF1 120a and one or more of the UEs of subgroup 212 and signaling between LMF2 120b and one or more of the UEs of subgroup 214 are shown. Figure 2 SLPP messages or LPP messages containing embedded SLPP messages are also shown and embedded in SUPL ULP messages exchanged between SUPL SLP1 119a and one or more UEs of subgroup 212 and between SUPL SLP2 119b and one or more UEs of subgroup 214. SLPP may include messages similar to LPP request capability messages and LPP offer capability messages, which may be referred to as "request capabilities and resources" and "offer capabilities and resources" in SLPP, for example. Requesting / offering capabilities and resources in SLPP may initially be limited to NR SL PRS capabilities and resources, but may later be extended to capabilities and resources for LTE SL PRS, RTK, Wi-Fi, BT, etc.

[0084] In another example, the SLPP may include a message similar to the LPP Provide Assistance Data message, which may be referred to as "Provide Positioning Signal Configuration" (or just "Provide Assistance Data") in the SLPP, for example. The Provide Positioning Signal Configuration in the SLPP may include one or more of the following: for example, the SL PRS configuration to be sent by each UE and measured by other UEs, the start time and duration of the transmission, and the conditions for terminating the transmission, and the type of SL PRS measurement requested (e.g., Rx-Tx, AOA, RSRP, RSRD, TOA, TDOA). In some embodiments, the Provide Positioning Signal Configuration in the SLPP may be extended to define other types of signals, such as RTK signals to be measured, Wi-Fi signals to be sent and measured, etc. The Provide Positioning Signal Configuration in the SLPP may include additional information, for example to assist the UE in acquiring and measuring signals (e.g., SL PRS signals) and determining the time for sending and measuring.

[0085] In another example, SLPP may include a message such as "Confirm Positioning Signal Configuration" (or "Provide Assistance Data Confirmation"), which does not have a similar LPP message. For example, the Confirm Positioning Signal Configuration in SLPP may confirm whether Providing Positioning Signal Configuration (or Providing Assistance Data) is agreeable. If Providing Positioning Signal Configuration is not agreeable (partially), a different configuration may be provided as Providing Positioning Signal Configuration. Because LPP does not have a similar message, a new LPP message type may be added to carry the Confirm Positioning Signal Configuration SLPP message in the case where the SLPP message is embedded in the LPP message. However, when the SLPP message is not embedded in the LPP message, this new LPP message type may not be needed.

[0086] In another example, the SLPP may include a message similar to the LPP Provide Location Information message, which may be referred to as a "Provide Location Information" message in the SLPP, for example. The Provide Location Information message in the SLPP may include and provide SL PRS measurements obtained by the UE for SL PRS sent by one or more other UEs, and / or may include and provide location results obtained for the UE and / or other UEs. The Provide Location Information in the SLPP may be extended to include and provide other measurements, such as measurements of RTK, Wi-Fi, BT, etc.

[0087] like Figure 2 As shown, UEs within each subgroup and UEs in different subgroups can signal each other using SLPP (e.g., where a UE transmits a SLPP message to one or more other UEs). In addition, a location server (e.g., LMF, SUPL SLP, or server 1-3) can support UEs using SLPP (as discussed above). As previously mentioned, according to some embodiments, SLPP can be embedded in LPP or embedded in both LPP and SUPL, or can be sent without being embedded in LPP. Thus, a first UE can receive a first SLPP message from a second UE, and can transmit the first SLPP message to a location server supporting the first UE. The first UE can receive a second SLPP message from the location server in response to the first SLPP message, and can transmit the second SLPP message to the second UE.

[0088] As an example, Figure 3 3 is a signal flow 300 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UEs 105B, 105C, and 105D and a location server 302 for network-supported sidelink positioning, as discussed herein. UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, and 105D may belong to the same group and may be, for example, Figure 1 UE 105 shown in or Figure 2The network in supports any UE shown in subgroups 212 and 214. Location server 302 can be Figure 1 LMF 120, SUPL SLP 119, server 121 or server 123 or Figure 2 Either the LMF1 120a or the SUPL SLP1 119a shown in FIG.

[0089] like Figure 3 As shown, at 310, UE 105A receives a first side link positioning message from UE 105B. For example, the first side link positioning message may be a SLPP message, as described above, and may be any message type discussed above. If the group includes more than two UEs, the first side link positioning message may be transmitted based on SL multicast (also referred to as SL groupcast), for example, Figure 3 As shown, the first sidelink positioning message can be transmitted based on SL unicast. Using SL multicast (also known as SL groupcast), a sidelink positioning message (e.g., SLPP message) containing a group destination address (e.g., which can be partially or completely included in the layer 1 protocol header and / or layer 2 protocol header in the sidelink positioning message) can be sent. Then, the receiving UE (e.g., UE 105A) belonging to the group with the group destination address identifies the group destination address in the sidelink positioning message, and receives, decodes and processes the sidelink positioning message. Using SL unicast, a sidelink positioning message containing a UE destination address (e.g., a layer 2 address assigned to UE105A) can be sent and is only received, decoded and processed by the UE (e.g., UE 105A) that includes the destination address.

[0090] In 320, the UE 105A transmits a first LPP / SLPP message (eg, a first SLPP message or a first SLPP message embedded in an LPP message, as described above) to the location server 302, wherein the first SLPP message is based on or includes the first sidelink positioning message.

[0091] In 330, UE 105A receives a second LPP / SLPP message from location server 302 in response to the first LPP / SLPP message from 320. The second LPP / SLPP message may be a second SLPP message or a second SLPP message embedded in an LPP message, as discussed above, and may be any of the message types discussed above. The second LPP / SLPP message (e.g., a second SLPP message) may include a positioning result for at least one UE in the group (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B). For example, the position result for at least one UE in the group may include at least one of a range between at least one UE and another UE, a direction from at least one UE to another UE, a position of at least one UE relative to a position of another UE, a speed of at least one UE, a relative speed of at least one UE relative to a speed of another UE, or some combination of these.

[0092] At 340, UE 105A may transmit a second sidelink positioning message to one or more of UEs 105B, 105C, and 105D in the group. The second sidelink positioning message may be an SLPP message and may be based on or include the second SLPP message received at 330. If the group includes more than two UEs, the second sidelink positioning message may be transmitted based on SL multicast, e.g., Figure 3 shown.

[0093] The sidelink positioning messages in signal flow 300 may be any message type as described above. For example, the first sidelink positioning message at 310 and the first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include sidelink positioning capabilities, sidelink positioning resources, or both for at least one UE in the group (e.g., UE 105B). The first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include an LPP offers capabilities message and / or an SLPP offers capabilities message (e.g., where the SLPP offers capabilities message may be embedded in the LPP offers capabilities message). The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 and the second sidelink positioning message at 340 may include sidelink positioning capabilities, sidelink positioning resources, or both for UE 105A. The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 may include an LPP offers capabilities message and / or an SLPP offers capabilities message.

[0094] In another example, the first sidelink positioning message at 310 and the first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include a SL positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for at least one UE in the group (e.g., UE 105A and / or UE 105B). The first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include an LPP request assistance data message, an LPP provide assistance data message, an SLPP request assistance data message, and / or an SLPP provide assistance data message (e.g., where the SLPP message may be embedded in the same type of LPP message). The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 and the second sidelink positioning message at 340 may include a SL positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for at least one UE in the group (e.g., UE 105A or UE 105B). The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 may include an LPP provide assistance data message and / or an SLPP provide assistance data message (e.g., where the SLPP provide assistance data message may be embedded in an LPP provide assistance data message).

[0095] In another example, the first sidelink positioning message at 310 and the first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include sidelink positioning measurements obtained by at least one UE in the group (e.g., UE 105B). The first LPP / SLPP message at 320 may include an LPP Provides Location Information message and / or an SLPP Provides Location Information message (e.g., wherein the SLPP Provides Location Information message may be embedded in the LPP Provides Location Information message). The second LPP / SLPP message at 330 may include a location result of at least one UE in the group, wherein the second LPP / SLPP message includes an LPP Provides Location Information message and / or an SLPP Provides Location Information message (e.g., wherein the SLPP Provides Location Information message may be embedded in the LPP Provides Location Information message).

[0096] The location server 302 may be a LMF or a SUPL SLP. If the location server 302 is a SUPL SLP, a first LPP / SLPP message is transmitted by the UE 105A to the location server 302 as part of a first SUPL message at 320, and a second LPP / SLPP message is received by the UE 105A from the location server 302 as part of a second SUPL message at 330. The first SUPL message and the second SUPL message may each include a SUPL POS message.

[0097] As an example, Figure 4A4 is a block diagram 400A showing an embodiment of the structure of a SLPP message 410. As shown, the SLPP message 410 includes a header 412, which may include a session ID, a transaction ID, a sequence number (seq no), an acknowledgement (or acknowledgement) sequence number (acknowledgment sequence number), etc. The SLPP message 410 allows one or more positioning methods or positioning method types. For example, the SLPP message 410 includes a location method / type 1 414, a location method / type 2 416, and a location method / type M 418 (for example, where M may be equal to three or greater than three) as entries. For example, the positioning method may use one or more specific signal types (e.g., SL NR PRS, SL LTE PRS, Wi-Fi, GPS L1 to L5, or any combination thereof), and support a method for determining the location of the specific signal type (e.g., one of RTT, AOA, RSRP, or TDOA). On the other hand, the positioning method type uses a specific one or more signal types and supports multiple positioning methods for the one or more signal types. For example, a location method type may use SL PRS signals (e.g., SLNR PRS signals or both SL NR PRS and SL LTE PRS signals) and support multiple location methods using these SL PRS signals (e.g., all of RTT, AOA, RSRP, and TDOA may be supported). Another positioning method type may use GNSS signals and support multiple positioning methods using GNSS signals (e.g., GNSS code phase-based positioning and GNSS carrier phase-based positioning, such as RTK, may be supported).

[0098] The SLPP message 410 may be configured to support a location method or location method type (also referred to as a location type), or both a location method and a location method type. As shown, each positioning method / type 414, 416, and 418 in the SLPP message 410 may include parameters for each UE in the group, which are shown as being identified by a member ID (e.g., UE1, UE2, ... UEn). Not all UEs in the group may support the same positioning method / type, which may mean that the parameters of the UEs that do not support positioning method / type 414, 416, or 418 may not be present in the positioning method / type in the SLPP message 410. When the UEs do not all support the same location method or the same location method type, it may be advantageous to support multiple location methods or location method types in the SLPP message 410. For example, some of the UEs may support positioning using RTK and SL PRS, while some other UEs only support RTK. However, in some embodiments, the SLPP message 410 may provide support for only one location method (e.g., NR SLPRS RTT) or one location method type (e.g., NR SL PRS).

[0099] Figure 4B FIG. 4 is a block diagram 400B showing another embodiment of the structure of a SLPP message 420. Figure 4A In block diagram 400A, SLPP message 420 includes header 422, which may include Figure 4A However, here, the data may be structured so that each UE in a group of n UEs has a separate message part 424, 426 and 428 in the SLPP message 420, each message part 424, 426 and 428 including parameters for the UE for each positioning method / type 1-M supported by the UE.

[0100] As an example, Figure 5 5 is a signal flow 500 showing signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for paired sidelink positioning involving only two UEs. UE 105A and UE 105B may be, for example, Figure 1 The UE shown in Figure 2 Any two UEs among the UEs shown in the group 210 shown in . Figure 5 The sidelink positioning shown can be independent of the network, so Figure 5 The UE shown may be an out-of-coverage UE in subgroup 216. The signaling performed in signal flow 500 may be similar to that described above with reference to FIG. Figure 2 The SLPP signaling discussed is similar or identical.

[0101] exist Figure 5In stage 0, the discovery of UE and the establishment of side link communication session or side link positioning session are performed. The discovery process can be based on request-response or notification. For example, the discovery phase can be implemented by one or both of UE 105A and 105B to detect other UEs that can be used for side link positioning. For example, discovery messages can be exchanged between UE 105A and / or UE 105B to determine nearby UEs that can be used to participate in side link positioning. For example, UE 105A can use side link signaling to broadcast a message based on discovery, and UE 105B can receive and respond to the message by sending a similar response message based on discovery back to UE 105A using side link signaling. Additional messages can be exchanged between UE 105A and UE 105B to establish a side link communication or positioning session between UE 105A and 105B. For example, UE 105A may transmit a request (eg, SLPP Request) to UE 105B to start a SLPP positioning session, and UE 105B may return a response (eg, SLPP Response) to UE 105A agreeing to start the SLPP positioning session.

[0102] In phase 1, UE 105A and 105B may exchange SLPP capabilities, resources, and service requirements, which may include quality of service (QoS), for example, using SLPP request capabilities and resources and SLPP offer capabilities and resources messages as discussed above. Exchanging SLPP capabilities, resources, and service requirements may include both UE 105A and UE 105B transmitting their capabilities, resources, and service requirements to the other UE, or only one of UE 105A or UE 105B sending its capabilities, resources, and service requirements to the other UE. The capabilities exchanged may define what each of UE 105A and 105B is enabled to support. The resources exchanged may define what capabilities each of UE 105A and 105B is allowed to support, and / or what capabilities each of UE 105A and 105B is not allowed to support, or both. The sidelink positioning capabilities that the UE is allowed to support or not allowed to support may include permission or restriction on one or more of a sidelink PRS transmission time, a sidelink PRS measurement time, a sidelink PRS transmission duration, a sidelink PRS measurement duration, a bandwidth of a sidelink PRS that can be sent, a bandwidth of a sidelink PRS that can be measured, an RF frequency of a sidelink PRS that can be sent, an RF frequency of a sidelink PRS that can be measured, a signal coding of a sidelink PRS that can be sent, a signal coding of a sidelink PRS that can be measured, a periodicity of a sidelink PRS transmission, a periodicity of a measured sidelink PRS, a transmission power of a sidelink PRS transmission, a transmission power of a measured sidelink PRS, or any combination thereof.

[0103] The sidelink positioning capability may be fixed and static (e.g., it may never change or may change infrequently via software upgrades to the UE, depending on the UE embodiment). The sidelink positioning resources may depend on the available spectrum for the SL PRS (e.g., whether PLMN licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or Intelligent Transport System (ITS) spectrum for V2X is available and allowed to be used) and / or on pre-existing positioning sessions and / or positioning procedures that the UE may already support or be part of. Pre-existing positioning sessions and / or positioning procedures may mean that the UE cannot send and / or measure SL PRS for a new SL positioning session at certain times because at these times the UE needs to send and / or measure SL PRS for pre-existing positioning sessions and / or positioning procedures. Similarly, certain SL PRS characteristics (such as frequency or coding) that have been used for pre-existing positioning sessions may not be available for a new SL (or SLPP) positioning session. For example, the use of certain SL PRS characteristics for a new positioning session that have already been used for a pre-existing positioning session may prevent the SL PRS transmissions for the new positioning session or the pre-existing positioning session from being uniquely identified by the UEs involved in the new positioning session or the pre-existing positioning session, which may then result in errors in position measurements and position results. Controlling the use of SL PRS characteristics for a new positioning session by exchanging allowed and / or disallowed sidelink positioning resources may prevent such errors from occurring.

[0104] The service requirements exchanged in Phase 1 may include an indication of at least one of: an instant (e.g., single) position at the current time, a delayed position (e.g., at a later time), a periodic position, a triggered position, one or more types of position results (e.g., relative position, global position, range, direction), a QoS of the position result (e.g., position result accuracy, position result response time or latency, position periodicity, position reliability), or some combination of these. The exchanged service requirements may define the type of position (e.g., single or periodic), accuracy, latency, periodicity, reliability, or any combination thereof, that each UE requires or expects in a sidelink positioning session.

[0105] At stage 2, UE 105A may transmit a proposed sidelink positioning signal configuration, such as PRS1, PRS2 configuration, to UE 105B, for example, using an SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration message or an SLPP Provide Assistance Data message, as discussed above. The PRS1 configuration (in this example) may define a SL PRS to be sent later by UE 105A, and the PRS2 configuration (in this example) may define a SL PRS to be sent later by UE 105B, for example, the PRS1 and PRS2 configurations may be defined and proposed by UE 105A based on the capabilities, resources, and service requirements exchanged at stage 1, which may include QoS for UEs 105A and 105B. The PRS1 and PRS2 configurations may be the same or similar to the PRS configurations defined for LPP in 3GPP TS 37.355, for example, except that they may refer to SL PRS transmissions on a sidelink communication channel between UEs 105A and 105B. For example, the PRS1 and PRS2 configurations may each include specifications for a SL PRS transmission start time, a SL PRS transmission duration, a SL PRS bandwidth, a SL PRS RF frequency (or multiple frequencies), a SLPRS signal encoding, a SL PRS transmission period, a SL PRS transmission power, SL PRS muting, and / or a SL PRS frequency hopping. Rules and guidelines may be standardized to ensure that the proposed PRS configurations PRS1 and PRS2 are compatible with the capabilities, resources, and service requirements of UEs 105A and 105B (which may include QoS for both UEs).

[0106] At stage 3, UE 105B may transmit a message to UE 105A to confirm the proposed positioning signal configuration, such as PRS1, PRS2 configuration, for example, using SLPP confirm positioning signal configuration or SLPP provide assistance data confirmation, as discussed above. In some embodiments, UE 105B may alternatively reject the proposed positioning signal configuration at stage 3, and UE 105A may then propose a different positioning signal configuration until UE 105A confirms the positioning signal configuration. In some embodiments, UE 105B may transmit a modified proposed positioning signal configuration to UE 105A, and UE 105A may confirm the modified positioning signal configuration or may transmit another modified proposed positioning signal configuration to UE 105B. In some implementations, when the PRS1, PRS2 configuration transmitted at stage 2 is acceptable to UE 105B, stage 3 may be omitted, which may reduce signaling.

[0107] In stage 4, UE 105A transmits S1 positioning signals corresponding to the PRS1 configuration, and UE 105B measures these positioning signals (e.g., based on UE 105B already knowing the PRS1 configuration). For example, UE 105B may measure one or more of RTT, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, or TOA of PRS1 transmitted by UE 105A.

[0108] In stage 5, UE 105B sends SL positioning signals corresponding to the PRS2 configuration, and UE 105A measures these positioning signals (e.g., based on UE 105A already knowing the PRS2 configuration). For example, UE 105A can measure one or more of RTT, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, or TOA of the PRS2 sent by UE 105B.

[0109] At Phase 6, UE 105A and UE 105B exchange measurements obtained at Phase 4 and Phase 5. For example, if there are any differences with the PRS1 and / or PRS2 configurations (e.g., regarding the exact time or duration of SL PRS transmissions), the exchange of measurements may indicate the exact SL PRS configuration used for SL PRS transmissions at Phase 4 or Phase 5, and may further provide measurements generated at Phase 4 or Phase 5. As an example, if the SL positioning signal (SL PRS) sent by UE 105A at Phase 4 that corresponds to the PRS1 configuration sent by UE 105A at Phase 2 does not exactly match the PRS1 configuration (e.g., because UE 105A slightly delayed the SL PRS transmission because some other UEs transmitted at the transmission time indicated in the PRS1 configuration), UE 105A may include a portion of the measurements sent by UE 105A at Phase 6, the transmission time actually used by UE 105A at Phase 4. UE 105B may then use the correct transmission time of UE 105A received at stage 6 later when calculating any positioning results (e.g., at stage 7). Exchanging measurements at stage 6 may include both UE 105A and UE 105B transmitting their measurements to the other UE or only one of UE 105B transmitting its measurements to the other UE.

[0110] At stage 7, UE 105A and UE 105B may each calculate a position result, such as a range and / or direction, relative position, absolute position, speed, relative speed, or any combination thereof, between UE 105A and 105B based on the measurements generated at stages 4 and 5 and received at stage 6. For example, the UE may determine the distance between UE 105A and UE 105B based on Rx-Tx measurements of PRS signals or equivalent TODi and TOAi measurements based on PRSi signals (where i=1 for the PRS sent by UE 105A in stage 4 and i=2 for the PRS sent by UE 105B in stage 5, and c represents the transmission speed of electromagnetic waves, such as the speed of light), as follows:

[0111]

[0112] At stage 8, the positioning results determined at stage 7 may then be exchanged. Exchanging the positioning results at stage 8 may include both UE 105A and UE 105B transmitting their positioning results to the other UE or only one of UE 105A or UE 105B transmitting its positioning result to the other UE. In the latter case, only the UE that transmits its positioning result to the other UE may calculate its positioning result at stage 7.

[0113] Stages 4-8 may be repeated as desired by UE 105A and UE 105B, as shown in stage 9. For example, stages 4 to 8 may be repeated at stage 9 to achieve periodic or triggered positioning results for UE 105A and UE 105B.

[0114] Fig. 6A FIG. 6 is a signal flow 600 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for a sidelink positioning capability exchange, which includes an exchange of capabilities, resources, and service requirements, which may include QoS, which may correspond to Figure 5 As shown in signal flow 600, at stage 1, UE 105A may transmit a (e.g., SLPP) request capability message, a (e.g., SLPP) offer capability message, or a (e.g., SLPP) offer capability, resource, and service requirements message, which may include QoS, to UE 105B. At stage 2, in response to the request capability, offer capability, or offer capability, resource, and service requirements message, UE 105B may transmit a (e.g., SLPP) offer capability message or a (e.g., SLPP) offer capability, resource, and service requirements message, which may include QoS, to UE 105A.

[0115] Figure 6B6 is a signal flow 620 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for positioning signal configuration and confirmation exchange, and may correspond to Figure 5 As shown, in stage 1 of signal flow 620, UE 105A transmits the proposed positioning signal configuration, such as PRS1, PRS2 configuration, to UE 105B, which corresponds to Figure 5 Phase 2 of the UE 105B may include a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message or a SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration message. In phase 2a, UE 105B may transmit a confirmation configuration message to UE 105A, which corresponds to Figure 5 3 and may be a SLPP confirm positioning signal configuration message or a SLPP provide auxiliary data confirm message. Alternatively, in stage 2b, UE 105B may transmit a rejection configuration message to UE 105A, which may be a SLPP reject positioning signal configuration message or a SLPP provide auxiliary data reject message. In response to the rejection configuration message from stage 2b, UE 105A may prepare another positioning signal configuration and repeat stages 1 and 2a or 2b. In another embodiment, in stage 2c, UE 105B may transmit a modified positioning signal configuration to UE 105A, for example, having the proposed modified PRS1*, PRS2* configuration, which may be included in a SLPP provide auxiliary data message or a SLPP provide positioning signal configuration message. In response to stage 2c, UE 105A may transmit a confirmation configuration message to UE 105B in stage 3, which may be a SLPP confirm positioning signal configuration message or a SLPP provide auxiliary data confirm message. Alternatively, UE 105A may further modify the positioning signal configuration by repeating stages 1 and 2a or 2b.

[0116] Figure 6C is a signal flow 660 illustrating signaling between UE 105A and UE 105B for a measurement exchange and may correspond to Figure 5 As shown in signal flow 660, at stage 1, UE 105A may transmit a measurement report to UE 105B, which may include the measurement report received by UE 105A at Figure 5 4, such as one or more exact times of transmission, and may further include information related to the PRS sent by UE 105A to UE 105B at Figure 5 The measurement report of the PRS sent at stage 5 of the SLPP can be a SLPP provide location information message.

[0117] Similarly, at stage 2, UE 105B may transmit a measurement report to UE 105A, which may include the measurement report of the UE 105B at Figure 55, such as one or more exact times of transmission, and may further include information related to the PRS sent by UE 105B to UE 105A at Figure 5 The measurement report of the PRS sent at stage 4 of the SLPP can be a SLPP provide location information message.

[0118] Therefore, if Figure 5 Phase 1 of the Fig. 6A As discussed in stage 1 shown in FIG, the sidelink positioning message transmitted by UE 105A may include the sidelink positioning capability and sidelink positioning resources of UE 105A. The sidelink positioning message may also include the sidelink positioning service requirements of UE 105A, such as for Figure 5 and Fig. 6A as discussed in Phase 1.

[0119] In addition, UE 105A may receive a second sidelink positioning message from UE 105B. Figure 5 Phase 1 of the Fig. 6A As discussed in stage 2 shown in FIG, the second sidelink positioning message received from UE 105B may include the sidelink positioning capability and the sidelink positioning resource of UE 105B. The second sidelink positioning message received from UE 105B may also include the sidelink positioning service requirement of UE 105B, such as for Figure 5 Phase 1 and Fig. 6A as discussed in Phase 2.

[0120] like Figure 5 As shown in stage 2-8 of , UE 105A may exchange additional sidelink positioning messages with UE 105B, which may be based on the sidelink positioning capability and sidelink positioning resources of UE 105B. Each additional sidelink positioning message may also be based on the sidelink positioning service requirements of UE 105B. For example, Figure 5 discussed in Stages 2-8 of Figure 6B and Figure 6C As discussed in signal flows 620 and 660 of , the additional sidelink positioning messages exchanged with UE 105B may include a proposed positioning signal configuration, confirmation (or rejection or modification) of the proposed positioning signal configuration, measurements and / or requests for measurements of the sidelink positioning PRS, and a position result determined based on the measurements of the sidelink positioning PRS.

[0121] like Figure 5 As shown in stage 7, UE 105A can determine the location of UE 105B based on the additional side link positioning message.

[0122] Figure 5 , Fig. 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 6C The paired sidelink positioning shown in FIG. 1 can be extended to group operation with a group of UEs, for example, as shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown in the UE group 210 in the figure. For example, the group of UEs can be small enough so that direct discovery and direct sidelink signaling can be performed between the UEs in the group of UEs. Various sidelink positioning messages transmitted by the UEs in the group can be sent using groupcast or multicast, so that each sidelink positioning message is broadcast once to all receiving UEs using sidelink signaling.

[0123] As an example, Figure 7 7 is a signal flow 700 illustrating signaling for group operation of sidelink positioning for a plurality of UEs (illustrated as UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, sometimes collectively referred to as UEs 105). The UE group may include a small number of UEs (e.g., up to 20) for which direct discovery and direct SL signaling may be performed. UE 105 may be, for example, Figure 1 The UE shown in Figure 2 Any UE shown in the group 210 shown in . Figure 7 The sidelink positioning shown in is independent of the network, so Figure 7 The UE shown in FIG. 1 may be Figure 2 The signaling performed in signal flow 700 may be similar to that described above with reference to Figure 2 discussed and as Figure 5 500 in FIG. 7 , except that the SLPP signaling may involve a greater number of UEs. If desired, the signaling may be performed directly as shown, or via a relay and / or via the network. Note that the number of UEs in signal flow 700 is typically more than two, but in a limiting case may be two (in which case there is no Figure 7 ).

[0124] exist Figure 7In phase 0, the discovery of UEs, the formation of groups and the establishment of multicast side link communication sessions are performed. The discovery process can be based on request-response or notification. For example, the discovery phase can be implemented by one or more UEs 105 to detect other UEs 105 that can be used for side link positioning and are suitable for joining the group. For example, discovery messages can be exchanged between UEs 105 to determine nearby UEs 105 that can be used to participate in side link positioning. For example, UE 105A can use side link signaling to broadcast a message based on discovery, and UE 105B, 105C and 105Z can each receive and respond to the message by sending a similar response message based on discovery back to UE 105A using side link signaling. UE 105 can also exchange (or can be pre-configured with) one or more group standard parameters for group formation, such as the approximate maximum distance between UE pairs (to help ensure that UE 105 can communicate directly with each other), the minimum time period that any UE 105 may communicate with other UEs 105 (to help ensure that UE 105 can communicate directly with each other for a certain minimum time period). and / or a common direction and / or a common speed range of the UEs 105 (to help ensure that the UEs 105 will remain in the vicinity of each other). Based on the group criteria parameters, the UEs 105 may determine whether to form a group, which UEs 105 should or should not belong to the group, or whether and when to later add additional UEs 105 to the group and / or remove existing UEs 105 from the group. For example, the UEs 105 may determine a group status indication for each UE 105 indicating inclusion in the group or exclusion from the group. Figure 7 In the example, it is assumed that all UEs 105A, 105B, 105C, ... 105Z meet one or more group criteria and are included in the group. Additional messages may be exchanged between UEs 105 to establish sidelink communications or positioning sessions between UEs 105. For example, UE 105A may multicast a single request (e.g., SLPP Request) to UEs 105B, 105C, and 105Z to start a SLPP positioning session, and UEs 105B, 105C, and 105Z may each return a response (e.g., SLPP Response) agreeing to start the SLPP positioning session to UE 105A.

[0125] In Phase 1, the UE 105 may exchange SLPP capabilities, resources, and service requirements, which may include QoS, for example using SLPP Request Capabilities and Resources and SLPP Offer Capabilities and Resources messages as discussed above. The exchange of capabilities, resources, and service requirements (which may include QoS) may be similar to Fig. 6A105 , but with additional UEs. For example, the UEs 105 may initially exchange capabilities by transmitting a single multicast SLPP message from each UE 105 to all other UEs 105. The capabilities exchanged may define what each UE 105 is enabled to support. The resources exchanged may define what capabilities each UE 105 is allowed to support and / or is not allowed to support. The sidelink positioning capability that the UE is allowed to support or not allowed to support may include permission or restriction on one or more of the following: sidelink PRS transmission time, sidelink PRS measurement time, sidelink PRS transmission duration, sidelink PRS measurement duration, bandwidth of sidelink PRS that can be sent, bandwidth of sidelink PRS that can be measured, RF frequency of sidelink PRS that can be sent, RF frequency of sidelink PRS that can be measured, signal coding of sidelink PRS that can be sent, signal coding of sidelink PRS that can be measured, periodicity of sidelink PRS transmission, periodicity of measured sidelink PRS, transmission power of sidelink PRS transmission, transmission power of measured sidelink PRS, or any combination thereof. The sidelink positioning capability may be fixed and static, such as for Figure 5 The sidelink positioning resources may depend on the available spectrum for the SL PRS and / or pre-existing positioning sessions and / or positioning procedures that the UE 105 may already support or as described for Figure 5 The service requirements of each UE 105 in the UE 105 may be as described for Figure 5 as described in Phase 1.

[0126] At stage 2, UE 105A may communicate proposed positioning signal configurations, such as PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, ... PRSn configurations, to other UEs 105, for example, using an SLPP Provide Positioning Signal Configuration message or an SLPP Provide Assistance Data message, as discussed above. The PRS1 configuration (in this example) may define a SL PRS to be sent later by UE 105A, the PRS2 configuration (in this example) may define a SL PRS to be sent later by UE 105B, the PRS3 configuration (in this example) may define a SL PRS to be sent later by UE 105C, and the PRSn configuration (in this example) may define a SL PRS to be sent later by UE 105Z, and the PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, and PRSn configurations may be defined and proposed, for example, by UE 105A based on the capabilities, resources, and service requirements (which may include the QoS of each UE 105) exchanged in stage 1. For example, the PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, and PRSn configurations may each be defined and proposed, for example, for UE 105A, based on the capabilities, resources, and service requirements (which may include the QoS of each UE 105) exchanged in stage 1. Figure 5 Stage 2 is as described for PRS1 and PRS2.

[0127] At stage 3, each of UE 105B, 105C, ... 105Z may transmit a message to UE 105A to confirm the proposed positioning signal configuration, such as PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, ... PRSn configurations, for example using SLPP Confirm Positioning Signal Configuration or SLPP Provide Assistance Data Confirm, as discussed above. In some embodiments, UE 105 (e.g., UE 105B) may alternatively reject the proposed positioning signal configuration at stage 3, and may further indicate which PRS configurations are being rejected. And UE 105A may then propose a different positioning signal configuration (or a different PRS configuration only for the PRS configuration being rejected) until each of the other UEs 105 confirms the positioning signal configuration. In some embodiments, UE 105 (e.g., UE 105B) may transmit the modified proposed positioning signal configuration to UE 105A and to other UEs 105 in the group, and UE 105A and the other UEs 105 may confirm the modified positioning signal configuration or may transmit another modified proposed positioning signal configuration to the other UEs 105. In some embodiments, when the PRS1, PRS2, PRS3, ... PRSn configurations transmitted in stage 2 are acceptable to each of UEs 105B, 105C, ... 105Z, stage 3 may be omitted, which may reduce signaling.

[0128] In stage 4, UE 105A transmits S1 positioning signals corresponding to the PRS1 configuration, and UEs 105B, 105C, ..., 105Z each measure these positioning signals (e.g., based on the fact that UE 105B, UE 105C, ..., UE 105Z each already knows the PRS1 configuration). UEs 105B, 105C, ..., 105Z may each measure one or more of RTT, Rx-Tx, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, AOD, TOA of the PRS1 transmitted by UE 105A, for example.

[0129] At stage 5 , UE 105B sends positioning signal PRS2 , and the remaining UEs 105 each measure positioning signal PRS2 , similar to the PRS1 measurement at stage 4 .

[0130] At stage 6 , UE 105C sends positioning signal PRS3 , and the remaining UEs 105 measure positioning signal PRS3 , similar to the PRS1 measurement at stage 4 .

[0131] At stage 7 , UE 105Z sends positioning signal PRSn, and the remaining UEs 105 measure positioning signal PRSn, similar to the PRS1 measurement in stage 4 .

[0132] In stage 8, UE 105 exchanges measurements. The exchange of measurements may be similar to Figure 6C , but with additional UEs and where the measurements are exchanged, for example, via a single multicast SLPP message sent by each UE 105 to all other UEs 105 in the group. For example, the exchange of measurements may indicate an accurate or corrected SLPRS configuration for use by the UE 105 in transmitting the SL PRS (e.g., as for Figure 5 ), and may further provide measurements obtained by UE 105, for example, in one of stages 4, 5, 6, or 7.

[0133] At stage 9, each UE 105 determines a position result based on the measurements generated at stages 4-7 and received at stage 8, such as a range and / or direction between the UE 105 and each of one or more other UEs 105 in the group, a relative position, an absolute position, a speed, a relative speed, or any combination thereof of one or more of the UEs 105. In some embodiments, only one UE 105 (e.g., UE 105A) may determine a position result.

[0134] Then, at stage 10, the positioning results determined at stage 9 may be exchanged. Exchanging the position results at stage 10 may include each of UEs 105A, 105B, 105C ... 195Z transmitting its position result to all other UEs 105 in the group or only one UE 105 (e.g., UE 105A) transmitting its position result to the other UEs 105. In the latter case, only the UE 105 that transmits its position result to the other UEs 105 may calculate its position result at stage 9.

[0135] As shown at stage 11, stages 4-10 may be repeated as needed by UE 105. For example, stages 4 to 10 may be repeated at stage 11 to enable periodic or triggered positioning results for UE 105 to be obtained.

[0136] Therefore, if Figure 7 As shown, when UE 105 (e.g., UE 105A) belongs to a UE group including two or more UEs, UE 105A can send a sidelink positioning message to all other UEs in the group of UEs (e.g., UE 105B, 105C, ... 105Z), for example, based on sidelink multicast, so that the sidelink positioning message is broadcast or multicast to all receiving UEs using SL signaling. For example, as in Figure 7 As discussed in Phase 1 of Fig. 6AAs discussed in stage 1 shown in FIG. 1 , the sidelink positioning message transmitted by UE 105A may include the sidelink positioning capability and the sidelink positioning resource of UE 105A. The sidelink positioning message may also include the sidelink positioning service requirement of UE 105A, such as Figure 7 and Fig. 6A discussed in Phase 1 of this paper.

[0137] In addition, as in Figure 7 As further discussed in stage 1 of , UE 105A may receive a second sidelink positioning message from each other UE in the UE group (e.g., UE 105B, 105C, ... 105Z), for example, based on sidelink multicast. Figure 7 As discussed in Phase 1 of Fig. 6A As discussed in stage 2 shown in , the second sidelink positioning message received from each of the other UEs may include the sidelink positioning capability and the sidelink positioning resource of each UE. The second sidelink positioning message received from each UE may also include the sidelink positioning service requirement of each UE, such as Figure 7 and Fig. 6A discussed in Phase 1 of this paper.

[0138] As shown in stages 2-8 of stage 7, UE 105A may exchange additional sidelink positioning messages with at least some UEs in the UE group (e.g., UE 105B, 105C, ... 105Z), for example, based on sidelink multicast. For example, the additional sidelink positioning messages may be based on the sidelink positioning capability and sidelink positioning resources of each UE in the at least some UEs. Each of the additional sidelink positioning messages may also be based on the sidelink positioning service requirements of each UE. For example, as in Figure 7 discussed in Stages 2-8 of Figure 6B and 6C As discussed in signal flows 620 and 660, the additional sidelink positioning messages exchanged with at least some UEs may include a proposed positioning signal configuration, may confirm (or reject or modify) a proposed positioning signal configuration, and / or may request measurements of a SL PRS or provide measurements of a SL PRS.

[0139] As shown in stage 9, UE 105A can determine location results for at least some UEs based on the additional sidelink positioning messages.

[0140] For group operations of sidelink positioning, such as Figure 7 As shown, the UE group should be initially determined and optionally formed, for example, based on one or more criteria. In addition, when the UE leaves or enters the group area, it may be necessary to modify the group UE.

[0141] Group determination and formation for sidelink positioning may use proximity-based services (ProSe) or V2X services, e.g. Figure 5 and Figure 7 The discovery and establishment of the group shown in Phase 0 of . Various criteria may be used to include UEs in the same group. For example, to be included in the group, one criterion may be the ability to be discovered via ProSe or V2X and the ability to communicate directly (via sidelink signaling) with other UEs in the group. Other criteria may include a maximum distance limit, for example, excluding from the group any UE that is generally farther from other UEs in the group than a maximum distance threshold; a time limit, for example, excluding from the group any UE that communicates with other UEs in the group (or may communicate with other UEs in the group) for less than a minimum duration threshold; and a direction or speed limit, for example, excluding from the group any UE that moves in a different direction from other UEs in the group or moves at a speed that differs from other UEs in the group by more than a maximum speed difference threshold. The criteria (e.g., thresholds for determining whether a UE meets various requirements for joining a group) may depend on the environment and application. For example, the distance, time, and direction or speed criteria used in group formation for V2X highway, V2X local road, or V2X parking lot applications may be different. Once a group is established, periodic ProSe or V2X signaling may be used to determine when a UE should leave the group and when a new UE should join the group, e.g., based on whether group criteria are met. Within a group, UEs may be assigned a member ID (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.) for identification within the group and in SLPP messages. For example, the group member ID may be used to determine which UE will lead, coordinate, and / or initiate a SLPP positioning session, location method, or location method type, e.g., which UE will propose a PRS configuration to other UEs, e.g., in Figure 5 and Figure 7 . Groups may be limited to one positioning method type (e.g. SL NRPRS), while other positioning method types (e.g. SL LTE PRS or RTK) may be used by different groups. Limiting groups to one positioning method type may avoid situations where not all UEs in the group support the same positioning method type, and may simplify procedures and messaging. Alternatively, to maximize signaling efficiency, the same UE group may employ multiple positioning method types and / or multiple positioning methods, where not all UEs in the group must support exactly the same positioning method type or exactly the same positioning method.

[0142] Figure 8 8 is a signal flow diagram showing four UEs (UE A, B, C and D) participating in a SLPP positioning session 800 without being supported by a location server such as LMF. Figure 1 Sample, Figure 8805, wherein the UEs may discover each other and / or each UE may determine whether it has network services. In some embodiments, the device and service discovery process (in Figures 8 to 12 any of ) may be followed by a potential SLPP session establishment (not shown).

[0143] After the device and service discovery process, the sidelink positioning and ranging function (SPRF) process 807 may begin, where the initiating UE ( Figure 8 UE B in the example of , which may act as a coordinating UE) may broadcast or multicast an SLPP request capability message, as indicated by arrow 810, to request UE positioning capabilities from UE A, C, and D. As used in the figures herein, a double-sided arrow (such as arrow 810) may represent a transmission to multiple receiving devices (e.g., from one UE to all other UEs), including a broadcast or multicast transmission. That is, it may be noted that alternative embodiments may similarly use unicast transmissions (e.g., separate unicast transmissions for each receiving device) to send a message to each of the multiple receiving devices. Note that UE B may be referred to as an "initiating UE," "coordinating UE," "anchor UE," "target UE," or "server UE."

[0144] The addressed UEs may then respond by multicasting (or possibly broadcasting or unicasting) a SLPP Provide Capabilities message including the UE positioning capabilities each time, as indicated by arrow 815. The UE positioning capabilities of each UE may include details of the UE's supported SL-PRS configurations and supported SL-PRS measurements. Taking into account the received UE capabilities, UE B may then (in this example) determine the SL-PRS configurations that may be broadcast and measured by all UEs, and multicast a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message, as indicated by arrow 820, distributing the determined SL-PRS configurations to the participating UEs in the session. This may be followed by UE B transmitting a SLPP Request Location Information message, as indicated by arrow 825, requesting specific SL-PRS measurements from UEs A, C and D. Each participating UE (including Figure 8The initiating UE B in the example may broadcast a SL-PRS according to its own SL-PRS configuration (e.g., at a different time than the SL-PRS transmitted by the other UEs), and perform the requested measurements of the SL PRS broadcast by the other participating UEs, as shown in block 830. For example, at block 830a, UE A may transmit a SL-PRS according to its SL-PRS configuration, and measure the SL-PRS transmitted by UEs B, C, and D, which are transmitted at blocks 830b, 830c, and 830d, respectively. (At block 830, the other UEs have similar functionality).

[0145] Once the measurements are complete, all UEs (except the initiating UE B) may then each multicast (or possibly broadcast or unicast) a SLPP Provides Location Information message, as indicated by arrow 835, and the initiating UE B will use the SLPP Provides Location Information message to determine the range and / or position of the UE group, as shown at box 840. For example, the position / range calculation at box 840 may include obtaining positioning results (e.g., relative position, direction and / or range) for UE A, B, C, and D. In some examples, the initiating UE B may optionally distribute the obtained UE range / position to other UEs in the group, as indicated by dashed arrow 845. (As used herein, dashed arrows may represent optional functionality). UE B's transmission of the final SLPP Provides Location Information message may be unsolicited by other UEs, but is still allowed according to the transaction rules applicable to the SLPP.

[0146] Figure 8 The process in may be referred to as centralized UE location or "UE assisted" UE location because one UE (UE B) obtains the location or location information of other UEs and may then send it to the other UEs.

[0147] Fig. 9 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another example SLPP positioning session 900. Figure 8 800, UE B is the initiator and many of the initial operations are the same. Fig. 9 , at arrow 910, each UE in the group (including the initiating UE B) can distribute (e.g., via multicast) its SL-PRS measurement values ​​to all other UEs in the group using the SLPP Provide Location Information message. This can allow each UE in the group to perform a range or positioning calculation, as indicated at block 920. As indicated at arrow 930, each UE then optionally transmits the range or positioning calculation determined by the UE at block 920 to the other UEs in the group.

[0148] Fig. 9The process in may be referred to as distributed or decentralized UE positioning or "UE-based" UE positioning because each UE obtains its own and other UEs' positions or location information, which may then be transmitted to other UEs.

[0149] In accordance with some embodiments, two or more UEs may use SLPP with location server support to support ranging and positioning in a network-assisted mode. This is possible, for example, when at least one UE is within network coverage and is enabled via subscription to access a PLMN. In this mode, a UE with PLMN access may be assisted by a location server (e.g., LMF) in using SLPP or may be requested by a location server to employ SLPP to obtain a mobile terminal location request (MT-LR) location result. In some examples of this network-assisted mode, not all UEs may have PLMN access and be supported by or provide support to a location server - for example, if some UEs are out of coverage. Therefore, location server support may be limited to only some UEs in a group of UEs participating in a SLPP positioning session. This is described in more detail below. Figure 10 to Figure 12 A method is shown how positioning in this network assisted mode may be performed.

[0150] Fig.10 An example SLPP positioning session 1000 is shown, in which a location server (LS) (eg, LMF) acts as an adjunct to an initiating UE B to assist UE B in performing sidelink positioning. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 In the process, there may be a device and service discovery process, as shown in box 1005, followed by the SPRF 1010. The SPRF 1010 may start with the initiating UE (UE B) multicasting (or broadcasting) a SLPP request capability message, as shown by arrow 1015, to request sidelink positioning capabilities to other participating UEs, and each participating UE responds to the initiating UE (UE B) with a SLPP provide capability message, as shown by arrow 1020. The initiating UE B may then request SL-PRS configuration information from the LS via SLPP request assistance data, as shown by arrow 1025, and the LS may respond thereto with a SLPP provide assistance data message, as shown by arrow 1035, and the SLPP provide assistance data message may have the SL-PRS configuration for all UEs. In some embodiments, in order to enable the LS to determine the appropriate SL-PRS configuration for all UEs, UE B may also provide the obtained SL-PRS capabilities of all UEs in the group to the LS in the SLPP provide capability message, as shown by optional arrow 1030. (As shown in FIG. 1030 ) Fig.10 As shown, this message may precede the SLPP request assistance data message of arrow 1025).

[0151] The SLPP positioning session 1000 may then proceed in a manner similar to Figure 8 The SLPP positioning method 800 of the present invention is performed to distribute assistance data, perform SL-PRS measurements, and distribute location information. Specifically, UE B may transmit the SL-PRS configuration received from the LS to other UEs in the group in a SLPP Provide Assistance Data message, as indicated by arrow 1040, followed by a SLPP Request Location Information message, as indicated by arrow 1045. The sending and measuring of the SL-PRS measurement results at block 1050 and the transmitting of the measurement results in the SLPP Provide Location Information message at arrow 1055 may be similar to the previously described Figure 8 , as indicated by dashed box 1060, UE B may use the measurement results received from other UEs to perform range / positioning calculations. Optionally, UE B may provide the location measurements obtained from all UEs in the group to the LS in a SLPP Provide Location Information message (as shown by arrow 1065) for use in the range / positioning calculation performed at the LS (as shown by box 1070). In the example where the LS performs the range / positioning calculation, the LS may then provide the calculated range / positioning back to the initiating UE B in a SLPP Provide Location Information message, as shown by arrow 1075. The SLPP transaction initiated by UE B towards the LS may be part of a location session between UE B and the LS (e.g., a mobile initiated location request (MO-LR) or a new supplementary service operation simulation).

[0152] Fig.11 Another example SLPP positioning session 1100 in network assisted mode is shown. In this example, the LS initiates a sidelink positioning operation with a coordinating UE (UE B) to obtain a mobile terminated location request (MT-LR) location result. In this example, the coordinating UE (UE B) is the UE that coordinates the acquisition of SL-PRS configuration and reports the measurement results for the group of UEs participating in the SLPP positioning session 1100. The LS may request the location of the coordinating UE and / or the location of any UE (or all UEs) in the group. In some embodiments, the MT-LR that triggers the request from the location server to the coordinating UE may be initiated by an external client or an application function (AF) (e.g., Figure 1The LS may first request the sidelink positioning capability of UE B and possibly other UEs (e.g., UE A, C, D) from UE B via an SLPP request capability message, as indicated by arrow 1105, to which the coordinating UE may respond with an SLPP provide capability message, as indicated by arrow 1110. The LS may then request a location result from UE B using a supplementary service operation request, as indicated by arrow 1115. According to some embodiments, the supplementary service operation request may, for example, indicate the type of location result requested (e.g., the location of the coordinating UE and / or one or more other UEs), the identity and / or address of specific other UEs (e.g., UE A, C, D) to be involved or whether any UE may be used, whether a single set of location results (immediate location) is requested or whether a delayed (e.g., periodic or triggered) location result is requested, or any combination thereof. The supplementary service request may also include an embedded SLPP Request Location Information message indicating specific SLPP location results or measurements to be provided by the coordinating UE and / or an embedded SLPP Provide Assistance Data message providing assistance data (eg, SL PRS configuration) for SLPP positioning to the coordinating UE.

[0153] In accordance with some embodiments, the reason for using a supplementary service request (at arrow 1115) may be to allow for the inclusion of information such as the UE address and identity and the use of immediate versus delayed location that may not be suitable for inclusion in a SLPP message. However, in accordance with some embodiments, it may be possible to use an SLPP message instead (e.g., an SLPP request for location information). The target UE may then confirm or acknowledge the supplementary service request with a supplementary service response, as indicated by arrow 1120 - for example, which may indicate whether any requested UEs are available (e.g., whether target UE B has discovered UE A, C, D). The coordinating UE then performs SLPP positioning using the operations of process 1125 to obtain measurement and position results without further LS assistance. As can be seen, the operations of process 1125 reflect Figure 8 Alternatively, the coordinating UE may initiate a response Fig. 9The process of operations in the SLPP positioning session 900 is as previously described. At the end of process 1125, the coordinating UE may optionally perform positioning calculations (shown at box 1130), in which case the coordinating UE may then provide the calculation results in an SLPP Provide Location Information message, as shown by arrow 1135. Otherwise, the coordinating UE may return the measurements to the LS in the SLPP Provide Location Information message at arrow 1135, in which case the LS may then determine the location (or range and / or orientation) of the coordinating UE and / or other UEs, as shown by box 1140. In either case, the LS may then provide the location determination to an external client or AF (not shown). For delayed (periodic or triggered) positioning, the SLPP positioning performed by the coordinating UE and the return of the positioning results to the LS may be repeated.

[0154] Fig.12 Shows something like Fig.11 The SLPP positioning session is 1200. However, in Fig.12 In the example, LS actively assists the SLPP positioning of four UEs. Fig.10 That is, Fig.12 The SLPP positioning session 1200 may be similar to Fig.11 , as previously described. Fig.12 In the process 1205, the operation shown by arrows 1210, 1215 and 1220 may be similar to the operation shown by Fig.10 The operations shown by arrows 1025, 1030 and 1035 are as described above. The positioning calculation at box 1225, the SLPP at arrow 1230 providing position information, and / or the positioning calculation at box 1235 can be similar to Fig.11 The corresponding steps are implemented as previously described.

[0155] In some embodiments, the LS may indicate to the coordinating UE whether to use the LS for such active assistance. For example, according to some embodiments, the LS may indicate in the supplementary service request (at arrow 1240) whether no LS assistance is preferred (e.g., Fig.11 ), or whether auxiliary (such as Fig.12 shown).

[0156] It can be noted that although Figures 8 to 12 The process shown in is described herein as a SLPP positioning "session", but the embodiments are not limited thereto. In an alternative embodiment, Figures 8 to 12The procedures shown in the figure may not necessarily be performed within a SLPP positioning session (e.g., with an established session ID, etc.). In some embodiments, some operations of the procedures (e.g., communication between UE and LS and initiating / coordinating UE and LS) may be performed outside the SLPP positioning session, while other operations may be performed within the SLPP positioning session (e.g., communication between UEs, such as operations within the SPRF).

[0157] Depending on the desired functionality, embodiments may utilize SL positioning in conjunction with Uu positioning (eg, utilizing one or more base stations) to provide hybrid Uu and SL positioning. Fig. 20 Describe an example of this hybrid positioning approach.

[0158] Fig.13 1 is a flow chart of a method 1300 for locating multiple UEs using SL communication according to an embodiment. The functions shown in the blocks of the method 1300 may be performed, for example, by a UE in the multiple UEs. Fig.16 Example software and / or hardware components of a UE that may be used to perform these functions are provided in .

[0159] At box 1310, the function includes exchanging a plurality of SLPP messages with other UEs of a plurality of UEs, the plurality of SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages includes a request capability message, in which a first UE of the plurality of UEs requests a capability to support positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs, at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages includes a provide capability message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs indicates a capability to support positioning using SL communication, at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages includes a provide assistance data message, the provide assistance data message includes data for the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs, the data assisting the one or more additional UEs in performing positioning using SL communication, at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages includes a request location information message, in which the first UE requests a location measurement for positioning using SL communication from the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs, and at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages includes a provide location information message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides a location measurement for positioning using SL communication. Figures 8 to 12 Examples are described of how multiple SLPP messages may be exchanged, including a request capability message, a provide capability message, a provide assistance data message, a request location information message, and / or a provide location information message.

[0160] According to some embodiments, the exchange of multiple SLPP messages and the execution of positioning occur within a SLPP positioning session and / or may be part of a positioning procedure or transaction that is separate from the SLPP positioning session. In some embodiments of method 1300, the first UE may transmit a message providing auxiliary data to one or more additional UEs in the multiple UEs. In such an embodiment, the content of the auxiliary data provided may be based at least in part on configuration information received by the first UE from the server. The configuration information received by the first UE from the server may be based at least in part on capability information provided by the first UE to the server, which capability information is based at least in part on the provision of capability messages. According to some embodiments, before exchanging multiple SLPP messages with other UEs in the multiple UEs, the first UE may exchange multiple preliminary SLPP messages with the server, wherein the exchange of multiple SLPP messages with other UEs in the multiple UEs is based on the exchange of multiple preliminary SLPP messages. In such an embodiment, the multiple preliminary SLPP messages may include a request capability message from the server. Additionally or alternatively, the multiple preliminary SLPP messages may include a request location information message from the server. In such an embodiment, the positioning request may be included in a supplementary service request message.

[0161] Means for performing the functionality at block 1310 may include a bus 1605, processor(s) 1610, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1620, a wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., a transceiver), a memory 1660, and / or other components of the UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0162] The functionality at block 1320 includes performing positioning based at least in part on a plurality of positioning messages. Figures 8 to 12 As described, an initiating or coordinating UE may perform one or more positioning calculations based on measurements made during a positioning session. As explained with respect to these figures, these measurements may be coordinated and provided to such an initiating or coordinating UE by other UEs using various messages described in block 1310.

[0163] Means for performing functionality at block 1320 may include a bus 1605, processor(s) 1610, DSP 1620, wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., transceiver), memory 1660, and / or other components of UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0164] As shown in the above embodiments, one or more of the following features may be included based on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling. According to some embodiments, method 1300 may include: before exchanging multiple SLPP messages, participating in a discovery process (e.g., Figures 8 to 12 ) to determine one or more other UEs to participate in positioning. According to some embodiments of method 1300, the multiple SLPP messages may include a unicast message transmitted to one of the multiple UEs, a multicast message transmitted by one of the multiple UEs to all other UEs in the multiple UEs, a broadcast message transmitted to a UE in the multiple UEs and a UE not in the multiple UEs, or any combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the UE (e.g., executing method 1300) may include the first UE or a UE in one or more additional UEs.

[0165] Fig.14 1400 is a flow chart of a method 1400 for positioning using SL communication at a first UE according to an embodiment. Here, the first UE may include an initiating or coordinating UE, as described in the embodiments of this document. The functions shown in the blocks of method 1400 may be implemented by software and / or hardware components of the UE (such as in Fig.16 1400) is performed by the SLPP positioning session, which is described below. Any direct wireless SL communication used to perform one or more functions of method 1400 may use user plane signaling and / or control plane signaling. In addition, one or more of the functions of method 1400 may be performed in a SLPP positioning session.

[0166] At block 1410, the functionality includes transmitting one or more request capability messages from a first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, each request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL-PRS configuration and SL-PRS measurement. Figures 8 to 12 As described, the request capability message may be transmitted after device and service discovery and / or after initiating an SLPP positioning session. Thus, some embodiments of method 1400 may include: prior to transmitting one or more request capability messages, performing a discovery process by the first UE to identify one or more additional UEs. As mentioned, the request capability message may be communicated to each of the one or more additional UEs via unicast, or, in the case where the one or more additional UEs include a plurality of additional UEs, via multicast (or broadcast).

[0167] Means for performing the functionality at block 1410 may include a bus 1605, processor(s) 1610, DSP 1620, wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., transceiver), memory 1660, and / or other components of UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0168] At block 1420, the functionality includes receiving, at the first UE, one or more provide capabilities messages from one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, wherein the one or more additional UEs respond to one or more request capabilities messages. Again, this capability exchange may be part of an SLPP positioning session, e.g. Figures 8 to 12 The SLPP positioning session shown in , as previously described.

[0169] Means for performing functionality at block 1420 may include a bus 1605, processor(s) 1610, DSP 1620, wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., transceiver), memory 1660, and / or other components of UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0170] At block 1430, the functionality includes obtaining a SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capabilities messages. As previously described in embodiments described herein, obtaining the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs may include: (i) determining the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs using the first UE, or (ii) transmitting data from the one or more provide capabilities messages from the first UE to a location server (e.g., LMF), and receiving the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs from the location server at the first UE.

[0171] Means for performing functionality at block 1430 may include bus 1605, processor(s) 1610, DSP 1620, wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., transceiver), memory 1660, and / or other components of UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0172] At box 1440, the function includes transmitting one or more provide assistance data messages from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, the one or more provide assistance data messages including the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs. As described elsewhere herein, according to some embodiments of method 1400, before transmitting one or more request capability messages, the method may include exchanging multiple preliminary messages between the first UE and a location server (e.g., LMF), wherein transmitting the one or more request capability messages is a response to the exchange of the multiple preliminary messages. In such an embodiment, exchanging the multiple preliminary messages may include receiving the request capability message from the location server by the first UE. Additionally or alternatively, exchanging the multiple preliminary messages may include receiving a location request from the location server by the first UE. In such an embodiment, the positioning request may be included in a supplementary service request message.

[0173] Means for performing functionality at block 1440 may include a bus 1605, processor(s) 1610, DSP 1620, wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., transceiver), memory 1660, and / or other components of UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0174] Some embodiments of method 1400 may also include one or more additional features, as described in other embodiments detailed herein. For example, some embodiments of method 1400 may also include transmitting one or more request location information messages from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication and receiving one or more provide location information messages from the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication at the first UE, wherein each request location information message includes a request for positioning measurement data, wherein the one or more additional UEs provide positioning measurement data in the provide location information message. In such an embodiment, method 1400 may also include: performing SL-PRS measurements using the first UE according to the SL-PRS configuration of each UE in the one or more additional UEs. In addition or alternatively, method 1400 may further include performing positioning calculations and obtaining position results (e.g., relative position, direction, and / or range) of the first UE and the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the positioning measurement data of the one or more provide location information messages. In such an embodiment, method 1400 may also include transmitting one or more additional provide location information messages including position results from the first UE to the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication. Additionally or alternatively, obtaining a positioning calculation may include (i) determining a positioning calculation using the first UE, or (ii) transmitting positioning measurement data from the first UE to a location server (e.g., LMF) and receiving a positioning calculation position result from the location server at the first UE. In some embodiments, method 1400 may further include sending a provide location information message from the first UE to the location server (e.g., LMF), the provide location information message including (i) the positioning measurement data, or (ii) the positioning calculation position result determined by the first UE.

[0175] Additional or alternative features may be included in method 1400. For example, according to some embodiments, transmitting one or more request capability messages, receiving one or more provide capability messages, obtaining a SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs, and transmitting one or more provide assistance data messages occur within an S1PP positioning session. Additionally or alternatively, the one or more additional UEs include a plurality of UEs. In such embodiments, the one or more request capability messages, the one or more provide capability messages, or the one or more provide assistance data messages, or any combination thereof, include a multicast or broadcast message.

[0176] Fig.15 1 is a flow chart of a method 1500 for enabling a first UE to coordinate positioning using SL communication according to an embodiment. Some or all of the functionality shown in method 1500 may be performed by a first UE (eg, an initiating or coordinating UE, such as Figures 8 to 12 UE B in the communication) is in the second UE (e.g., Figures 8 to 12 The functions shown in the blocks of method 1500 may be performed by software and / or hardware components of the UE (such as UE A, C, and / or D in FIG. 1501 ). Fig.16 Again, any direct wireless SL communication used to perform one or more functions of method 1500 may use user plane signaling and / or control plane signaling. In addition, one or more of the functions of method 1500 may be performed in an SLPP positioning session.

[0177] At block 1510, the functionality includes receiving, at a second UE via direct wireless SL communication, a request capability message from a first UE, the request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL-PRS configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs other than the first UE for positioning using SL communication. Means for performing the functionality at block 1510 may include a bus 1605, a processor(s) 1610, a DSP 1620, a wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., a transceiver), a memory 1660, and / or other components of the UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0178] At block 1520, the functionality includes transmitting a provide capabilities message from the second UE to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication in response to the request capabilities message. As described in the previously described embodiments, the provide capabilities message may include capabilities regarding supporting SL positioning, transmitting and / or measuring SL-PRS, etc. The means for performing the functionality at block 1520 may include a bus 1605, (multiple) processors 1610, a DSP 1620, a wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., a transceiver), a memory 1660, and / or other components of the UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0179] At block 1530, the functionality includes receiving, at the second UE via direct wireless SL communication, a provide assistance data message from the first UE, the provide assistance data message including a SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capabilities message. Means for performing the functionality at block 1530 may include a bus 1605, a processor(s) 1610, a DSP 1620, a wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., a transceiver), a memory 1660, and / or other components of the UE 1600, such as Fig.16 This is shown in , which is described below.

[0180] Embodiments of method 1500 may include one or more additional functions, depending on the desired functionality. For example, some embodiments of method 1500 may include: receiving a request location information message from a first UE via direct wireless SL communication at a second UE; performing one or more measurements of the SL-PRS according to the SL-PRS configuration for the second UE; and sending a provide location information message from the second UE to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication, wherein the content of the provide location information message is based on the one or more measurements. In such an embodiment, the provide location information message may include a multicast message or a broadcast message. Additionally or alternatively, method 1500 may include performing a positioning calculation based on one or more measurements and obtaining a location result (e.g., relative position, direction, and / or range) for other UEs in the first UE, the second UE, and / or one or more additional UEs, wherein the provide positioning information message includes the location result. The provide location information message may include data indicating one or more measurements.

[0181] Fig.16 1600, which may be used as described above (e.g., in association with previously described figures, with respect to UE, mobile device, etc.). It should be noted that Fig.16 It is intended only to provide a general description of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. In addition, the functionality of the UE discussed herein may be provided by Fig.16 The invention may be implemented by one or more of the hardware and / or software components shown.

[0182] UE 1600 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via bus 1605 (or may communicate in other ways as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1610, which may include (but is not limited to) one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (e.g., DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or devices. Processor 1610 may include one or more processing units, which may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. Fig.16 As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1620, depending on the desired functionality. Position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communications may be provided in the processor 1610 and / or the wireless communication interface 1630 (discussed below). The UE 1600 may also include one or more input devices 1670, which may include but are not limited to one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 1615, which may include (but are not limited to) one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0183] UE 1600 may also include a wireless communication interface 1630, which may include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as a device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a WAN device and / or various cellular devices, etc.), etc., which may enable UE 1600 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 1630 may allow, for example, communication (e.g., sending and receiving) data and signaling with the TRPs of the network via eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, access point, various base stations and / or other access node types and / or other network components, computer systems and / or any other electronic devices communicatively coupled to the TRPs, as described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1632 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1634. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 1632 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof. Antenna 1632 may be capable of using beams (e.g., Tx beams and Rx beams) to send and receive wireless signals. Beamforming may be performed using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques and corresponding digital and / or analog circuits. Wireless communication interface 1630 may include such circuits.

[0184] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1630 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers to communicate with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers (such as wireless devices and access points). The UE 1600 may communicate with different data networks, which may include various network types. For example, one such network type may include a wireless wide area network (WWAN), which may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, and the like. A CDMA network may implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and so on. The 5G NR, LTE, LTE-Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The 5G NR, LTE, LTE-Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from a consortium named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. A wireless local area network (WLAN) may also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) may be a Bluetooth network, IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein may also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0185] UE 1600 may also include sensors 1640. Sensors 1640 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras, magnetometers, altimeters, microphones, proximity sensors, light sensors, barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain location-related measurements and / or other information.

[0186] Embodiments of UE 1600 may also include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver 1680 capable of receiving signals 1684 from one or more GNSS satellites using antenna 1682 (which may be the same as antenna 1632). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. GNSS receiver 1680 may extract the location of UE 1600 from GNSS satellites of a GNSS system using conventional techniques, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) on Japan, the IRNSS on India, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) of China, and the like. In addition, the GNSS receiver 1680 can be used with various augmentation systems, such as a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), which can be associated with or otherwise enabled to be used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geosynchronous Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and / or the Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN), among others.

[0187] It can be noted that although the GNSS receiver 1680 Fig.16 1610, DSP 1620, and / or a processor within the wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., in a modem)). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), a weighted least squares (WLS), a shadow filter, a particle filter, or the like. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors (e.g., processor 1610 or DSP 1620).

[0188] UE 1600 may also include and / or be in communication with memory 1660. Memory 1660 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0189] The memory 1660 of the UE 1600 may also include software elements ( Fig.16 1600), including an operating system, a device driver, an executable repository, and / or other code, such as one or more applications, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one or more processes described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 1660, which may be executed by UE 1600 (and / or processor 1610 or DSP 1620 within UE 1600). Then, in some embodiments, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0190] Fig.171700 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system 1700 that may be used in whole or in part to provide the functionality of one or more components and / or devices (including a location server, such as an LMF) as described in the embodiments herein. This may include, for example, a computer server, a personal computer, a personal electronic device, etc. It should be noted that Fig.17 It is intended only to provide a generalized description of the various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. Fig.17 It is broadly shown how the various system elements can be implemented in a relatively separate or relatively more integrated manner. In addition, it can be noted that Fig.17 The components shown may be localized to a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located at different geographical locations.

[0191] The computer system 1700 is shown to include hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus 1705 (or may communicate in other ways as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1710, which may include (but is not limited to) one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (e.g., digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and / or the like), and / or other processing structures that may be configured to perform one or more of the methods described herein. The computer system 1700 may also include one or more input devices 1715, which may include (but is not limited to) a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, and / or the like; and one or more output devices 1720, which may include (but is not limited to) a display device, a printer, and / or the like.

[0192] The computer system 1700 may further include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1725, which may include (but are not limited to) local and / or network accessible storage devices, and / or may include (but are not limited to) disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data storage may include databases and / or other data structures for storing and managing messages and / or other information to be transmitted to one or more devices via the hub, as described herein.

[0193] The computer system 1700 may also include a communication subsystem 1730, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communication interface 1733, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communication, universal serial bus (USB), etc.). The wireless communication interface 1733 may include one or more wireless transceivers, which may transmit and receive wireless signals 1755 (e.g., signals according to 5G NR or LTE) via a wireless antenna 1750. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1730 may include a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset, etc., which may enable the computer system 1700 to communicate with any device on any or all communication networks described herein, including user equipment (UE), base stations and / or other transmission reception points (TRPs) and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1730 may be used to receive and send data, as described in the embodiments of this document.

[0194] In many embodiments, the computer system 1700 will further include a working memory 1735, which may include a RAM or ROM device, as described above. The software elements shown as being located within the working memory 1735 may include an operating system 1740, device drivers, executable repositories, and / or other code, such as one or more application programs 1745, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more programs described with respect to the methods discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or a processor within a computer); then, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adjust a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the described methods.

[0195] The set of these instructions and / or codes may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storage device(s) 1725 described above. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system (e.g., computer system 1700). In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as an optical disk), and / or provided in an installation package such that the storage medium may be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer having the instructions / code stored thereon. The instructions may take the form of executable code that may be executed by the computer system 1700, and / or may take the form of source and / or installable code that, after being compiled and / or installed on the computer system 1700 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

[0196] One limitation of the Sidelink (PC5) User Plane with Broadcast and Multicast is that the Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) process may not be supported at the Radio Link Control (RLC) level, which may result in the loss of SLPP messages - for example, when the distance between the transmitting UE and the receiving UE increases above a certain threshold (e.g., 1 km), or if some obstacle (e.g., a building, vehicle, tree, or mountain) between the transmitting UE and the receiving UE blocks the transmission. This may also occur with PC5 User Plane Signaling (PC5-U) or PC5 Control Plane Signaling (PC5-S) if RLC is not used in acknowledged mode (with ARQ), or if ARQ is used but the lost RLC level packets cannot be successfully retransmitted. This possible message loss at the transport level is not unprecedented, as Uu operation may also lose LPP messages when the MME or AMF does not successfully forward the LPP message and therefore the LPP itself contains acknowledgement and retransmission capabilities. According to some embodiments, this acknowledgement and retransmission capability may be supported by SLPP (for PC5-U or PC5-S SLPP message transmission) and used, for example, when a small number of UEs are communicating. In this case, if the original SLPP message was delivered using broadcast or multicast, the SLPP acknowledgment and possible retransmissions may use unicast delivery, possibly with ARQ support at the RLC level for higher reliability. Fig.18 An example of such acknowledgement and retransmission capability for SLPP messages is provided in .

[0197] Fig.18 1800 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of acknowledgement and retransmission capabilities for SLPP messages that may be used in accordance with some embodiments. Fig.18 In a similar Figure 8 and Fig. 9In the scenario, there are four UEs (UE A, B, C, and D), where UE B is the initiator UE that sends messages to UE A, C, and D. However, unlike other attached Figure 1 Sample, Fig.18 are provided as non-limiting examples. Other scenarios may have a greater or lesser number of UEs and may implement Fig.18 A variation of the process shown in .

[0198] The process may start with the operation shown by arrow 1810, where UE B sends a SLPP message using unicast, broadcast, or groupcast (also referred to as multicast). In the case of using unicast, UE B will send the SLPP message to UE A, C, and D individually, so there will be three separate transmissions of the SLPP message. In the case of using broadcast or multicast, UE B will only send the SLPP message to UE A, C, and D once, so there will be only one transmission of the SLPP message. In this example, the SLPP message may include any SLPP message (e.g., as described herein) sent from UE B to multiple other UEs to enable SLPP positioning. UE B may know the UEs (UE A, C, and D) to which the SLPP message is directed, and may therefore know the UEs from which it may expect confirmation. However, as shown in block 1812, UE A does not receive the SLPP message sent by UE B. On the other hand, UE C and D receive the SLPP message, as shown in blocks 1814 and 1816, respectively. Therefore, both UE D and UE C may provide confirmation to UE B, as shown in arrows 1820 and 1830, respectively. In accordance with some embodiments, acknowledgments may be sent using unicast messaging and possibly with error correction (e.g., using automatic repeat request (ARQ) at the radio link control (RLC) protocol level), which may help ensure that UE B receives the acknowledgment (e.g., given the retransmission process used for unicast messaging).

[0199] The remaining operations in flowchart 1800 illustrate how retransmissions may occur in accordance with some embodiments. At block 1850, UE B determines (e.g., after a timeout period) that it has not received an acknowledgment (ACK) from UE A. Based on this, UE B may retransmit the SLPP message transmitted at arrow 1810. Although in some embodiments, UE B may retransmit using broadcast or multicast (e.g., if multiple UEs fail to provide acknowledgments), unicast retransmissions, and may have error correction (e.g., using ARQ at the RLC protocol level) may help ensure that the SLPP message is received by UE A. Therefore, as shown, UE B performs a retransmission of the SLPP message, as shown by arrow 1860, and UE A provides an acknowledgment of receipt of the SLPP message, as shown by arrow 1870. More generally, in the event that one or more UEs fail to provide an acknowledgment of the sender's SLPP message, the sender may send a unicast retransmission of the SLPP message to each of the one or more UEs, or a broadcast or multicast retransmission of the SLPP message to all of the one or more UEs.

[0200] For a large number of UEs, such as with V2X, acknowledgments and retransmissions may not be so efficient. For these cases, the SLPP process can be designed with redundancy and (e.g., optionally) tolerance to transmission failures. With redundancy, a UE can transmit a SLPP request or an information message containing SLPP information to a group of UEs, where each UE in the group of UEs then responds - for example, acknowledging receipt of the information or acknowledging that some requested operation (e.g., such sending and / or measuring sidelink reference signals) has been performed or can be performed later. If each response also carries the original information from the SLPP request message and is returned using multicast or broadcast, any UE that did not receive the SLPP request message but received at least one response message will be able to infer and reconstruct the original SLPP request, thereby overcoming the loss of the original SLPP message.

[0201] Fig.19 is a signal flow diagram 1900 illustrating an example of how the SLPP process may include redundancy for SLPP messages, which may be used in accordance with some embodiments. Fig.19 The scenario in FIG. 1 again uses a (non-limiting) scenario with four UEs (UE A, B, C, and D), where UE B is the initiator UE that sends messages to UEs A, C, and D. Other scenarios may have a greater or lesser number of UEs and may implement Fig.19 A variation of the process shown in .

[0202] This process can be similar to Fig.1819, where UE B uses broadcast or multicast to send a SLPP message, as shown by arrow 1910. Again, UE A does not receive the SLPP message from UE B, as shown by box 1912, but UEs C and D both receive the SLPP message, as shown by boxes 1914 and 1916. However, with Fig.18 Instead, UE C and UE D both use broadcast or multicast to provide SLPP responses (e.g., acknowledgments or other messages). Each SLPP response may include information that is redundant with (i.e., included within) the SLPP message (e.g., information for sending and / or measuring sidelink reference signals), which may enable UE A to reconstruct the SLPP message sent by UE B. Thus, if Fig.19 As further shown in FIG. 1 , UE A receives a SLPP response from UE C and / or UE D, as shown in block 1940, and further reconstructs a SLPP message from UE B based on the SLPP response, as shown in block 1950. Using the reconstructed SLPP message, UE A may then send a SLPP response via broadcast / multicast (similar to UE C and D), as shown in arrow 1960.

[0203] As previously described, some embodiments may take advantage of this redundancy as well as tolerance to transmission failures. With respect to tolerance to transmission failures, the sender of a SLPP request message to a group of UEs (e.g., using unicast, broadcast, or multicast and PC5-U or PC5-S) may expect that not all UEs may receive the request message (or successfully return a response), and therefore when the SLPP response message is not received from all UEs, the sender may take appropriate actions, such as resending the SLPP request message at a later time, or not expecting the UE from which the response was not received to take any requested actions. Supporting acknowledgments with retransmissions, redundancy, and / or tolerance to transmission failures may add some signaling and process overhead that would not be required if all signaling were based on reliable unicast (e.g., using ARQ). However, higher efficiency and lower latency (e.g., for V2X) may greatly compensate for this. It should also be noted that if preferred (e.g., for a pair of UEs), the sidelink / PC5 user plane (PC5-U) can still be used in unicast mode with transmission reliability with additional ARQ support.

[0204] Fig. 20is a signal flow diagram 2000 illustrating an example hybrid positioning method that utilizes SL positioning in conjunction with Uu positioning (e.g., utilizing one or more base stations) to provide hybrid (or "joint") Uu and SL positioning for a group of UEs (UEs A, B, C, D in this example). The basic SLPP transaction types (capability transfer, assistance data transfer, location information transfer) applicable to supporting in-coverage, partial coverage, and out-of-coverage link positioning and ranging scenarios may also be applied to support joint sidelink-Uu positioning. This may be accomplished simply by jointly executing the SLPP, LPP, and NRPPa procedures for the desired positioning method, such as Fig. 20 For Uu positioning, LPP and / or NRPPa are used for UE positioning operations of UE A (e.g., for multi-RTT), but if Fig. 20 If the LS in the UE can access each of these UEs, then Uu positioning using LPP and / or NRPPa can also or alternatively be used for any one of UE B, UE C and UE D. For SL positioning, Fig. 20 UE A in Fig. 20 LS interaction in UE, for example, similar to Figures 10 to 12 Described interaction between LS and UE B. For joint Uu and SL positioning, any combination of LPP, SLPP and NRPPa may be used, depending on the desired positioning method (UL, DL, SL positioning).

[0205] In some embodiments, it may be useful for a first UE to notify another UE, a group of UEs, or a location server (e.g., LMF) of a certain transient or semi-permanent state or condition of the first UE to enable more accurate, more reliable, more efficient, more secure support of positioning procedures (e.g., using SLPP and / or LPP), or to have some other benefit in terms of performance or results. Examples of transient or semi-permanent states or conditions of a UE may include any of the following:

[0206] (a) transmitting signaling (e.g., SLPP or LPP messages and / or other messages) by a UE to another entity (such as another UE, a network, or an LMF) using another relay UE (e.g., where the relay UE forwards signaling from the UE to the other entity and forwards signaling from the other entity to the UE);

[0207] (b) used by a satellite UE (or satellite access) to transmit signaling (e.g., SLPP or LPP messages and / or other messages) to another entity, such as another UE, a network, or an LMF;

[0208] (c) Used by a UE of a WiFi access point to transmit signaling (e.g., SLPP or LPP messages and / or other messages) to another entity, such as another UE, the network, or an LMF;

[0209] (d) high interference levels at the UE or some other radio condition that may prevent transmission of signaling, position measurement and / or reference signals; and

[0210] (e) The UE has no access to the network (eg, the UE is out of network coverage or has no subscription to access the network).

[0211] In some embodiments, a bit string may be used to indicate one or more status items or conditions, where a bit is set to, for example, binary one to indicate that a particular status or condition exists and is set to, for example, binary zero to indicate that a particular status or condition does not exist. Then, an indication of one or more status items or conditions (e.g., a bit string) may be included in a SLPP or LPP message sent by the UE, such as a SLPP or LPP Provide Capability message, a SLPP or LPP Request Assistance Data message, and / or a SLPP or LPP Request Location Information message. For example, in this document, the indication of one or more status items or conditions (e.g., a bit string) may be included in a SLPP or LPP message sent by the UE, such as a SLPP or LPP Provide Capability message, a SLPP or LPP Request Assistance Data message, and / or a SLPP or LPP Request Location Information message. Figures 8 to 12 Any of the described SLPP messages and LPP messages may include additional state items or conditions (e.g., represented by a bit string) indicating a specific transient or semi-permanent state or condition of the sending UE for the SLPP or LPP message. If any of the state items or conditions exist when the UE transmits the LPP message or SLPP message, or if any of the state items or conditions have changed since the last time the LPP or SLPP message was transmitted to the receiving entity containing the state item or condition, the UE may first include the additional state item or condition in the LPP message or SLPP message sent to a certain receiving entity. One or more receiving entities may take appropriate actions based on the received state items or conditions. For example, if the state item or condition indicates that the UE is using a satellite or WiFi AP to send signaling to another entity, the other entity may call a positioning method suitable for such signaling (e.g., GPS or GNSS for satellite access or WiFi positioning for WiFi access). If the state item or condition indicates that the UE is using a relay UE to transmit signaling to another entity, the other entity may not call a positioning method that relies on the UE having direct access to the network or to another entity.

[0212] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial variations may be made depending on specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may also be used and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed.

[0213] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the components that may include memory may include non-temporary machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may involve providing instructions / codes to a processor and / or other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / codes. In many embodiments, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with hole patterns, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or box, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or codes.

[0214] The methods, systems and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may appropriately omit, replace or add various processes or components. For example, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the accompanying drawings provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. In addition, technological developments, and therefore many elements are examples that do not limit the scope of this disclosure to those specific examples.

[0215] It has proven convenient at times, primarily for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, digits, etc. It will be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as will be apparent from the above discussion, it will be understood that throughout this specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "correlating," "measuring," "performing," etc., refer to the actions or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities within a memory, register, or other information storage device, transmission device, or display device of the special purpose computer or similar special purpose electronic computing device.

[0216] The terms "and" and "or" as used herein may include multiple meanings, which are also expected to depend at least in part on the context in which the terms are used. Typically, "or", if used in an associative list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C (used here in an inclusive sense), as well as A, B, or C (used here in an exclusive sense). In addition, the term "one or more" as used herein may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe a certain combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. In addition, if used in an associative list (such as A, B, or C), the term "at least one of" may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0217] Several embodiments have been described, and various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may be merely components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. In addition, multiple steps may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0218] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. Embodiment examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0219] Clause 1. A method for positioning multiple user equipments (UEs) using sidelink (SL) communication, the method being performed by a UE among the multiple UEs, the method comprising: exchanging multiple SL positioning protocol (SLPP) messages with other UEs among the multiple UEs, the multiple SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the multiple SLPP messages comprises a request capability message, in which a first UE among the multiple UEs requests a capability to support positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages comprises a provide capability message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs indicates a capability to support positioning using SL communication; At least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide assistance data message, which includes data for one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs, and the data assists the one or more additional UEs to perform positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a request location information message, in which the first UE requests location measurement for positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs; and at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide location information message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides location measurement for positioning using SL communication; and positioning is performed at least in part based on the multiple positioning messages.

[0220] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling.

[0221] Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1-2, further comprising: prior to exchanging the plurality of SLPP messages, participating in a discovery process to determine one or more of the other UEs to participate in positioning.

[0222] Clause 4. The method of any of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein the exchange of the plurality of SLPP messages and the performance of positioning occur within a SLPP positioning session.

[0223] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1-4, wherein the provide assistance data message is transmitted from the first UE to one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs.

[0224] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein providing content of the assistance data is based at least in part on configuration information received by the first UE from a server.

[0225] Clause 7. The method of Clause 6, wherein the configuration information received by the first UE from the server is based at least in part on capability information provided by the first UE to the server, the capability information being based at least in part on the provide capabilities message.

[0226] Clause 8. A method as described in any of clauses 5-7, wherein, before exchanging the multiple SLPP messages with other UEs of the multiple UEs, multiple preliminary SLPP messages are exchanged between the first UE and the server, wherein the exchanging the multiple SLPP messages with the other UEs of the multiple UEs is based on the exchange of the multiple preliminary SLPP messages.

[0227] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages comprises a request capabilities message from the server.

[0228] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 8-9, wherein the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages comprises a request location information message from the server.

[0229] Clause 11. The method of Clause 10, wherein the request location information message is included in a supplementary service request message.

[0230] Clause 12. A method as described in any of clauses 1-11, wherein the multiple SLPP messages include: a unicast message transmitted to one UE among the multiple UEs, a multicast message transmitted by one UE among the multiple UEs to all other UEs among the multiple UEs, a broadcast message transmitted to a UE among the multiple UEs and a UE that is not among the multiple UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0231] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 1-12, wherein the UE comprises a first UE.

[0232] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 1-12, wherein the UE comprises a UE in one or more additional UEs.

[0233] Clause 15. A method as described in any of clauses 1-12, wherein at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a SLPP message transmitted from a first UE to two or more additional UEs of a plurality of UEs using a unicast, multicast, or broadcast message without lower layer error correction; and an acknowledgment of the SLPP message is received by the first UE, the acknowledgment being transmitted from at least one of the two or more additional UEs using a unicast message with lower layer error correction.

[0234] Clause 16. A method as described in Clause 15, wherein the first UE determines a specific UE among two or more additional UEs from which an acknowledgment of the SLPP message was not received; and in response to determining that an acknowledgment of the SLPP message was not received from the specific UE, a retransmission of the SLPP message is transmitted from the first UE to the specific UE using a unicast message with lower layer error correction.

[0235] Clause 17. A method as described in any of clauses 1-16, wherein: at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a SLPP message transmitted from a first UE to two or more additional UEs among a plurality of UEs using a multicast or broadcast message without lower layer error correction, the SLPP message having SLPP information for performing a SLPP process; and a response message transmitted from at least one of the two or more additional UEs is received by the first UE, wherein: the response message is transmitted using multicast or broadcast messaging, and the response message includes the SLPP information.

[0236] Clause 18. A method as described in Clause 17, wherein a second UE among the two or more additional UEs transmits a response message to the first UE in response to receiving a SLPP message transmitted from the first UE; and a third UE among the two or more additional UEs transmits a second response message to the first UE in response to receiving a response message transmitted from the second UE, wherein the third UE does not receive the SLPP message transmitted from the first UE.

[0237] Clause 19. A method as described in any of clauses 1-18, wherein: at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a SLPP message transmitted from a first UE to two or more additional UEs among a plurality of UEs using unicast, multicast, or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction, the SLPP message being related to performing a SLPP process; the first UE receives a set of one or more responses to the SLPP message, wherein: a set of one or more responses to the SLPP message is received from each UE in a first part of the two or more additional UEs, and no response to the SLPP message is received from a second part of the two or more additional UEs; and based on the set of one or more responses to the SLPP message received from each UE in the first part of the two or more additional UEs, the SLPP process is continued.

[0238] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein a number of UEs in the first portion of the two or more additional UEs exceeds a minimum threshold number of UEs for performing the SLPP procedure.

[0239] Clause 21. A method for positioning using sidelink (SL) communication at a first user equipment (UE), the method comprising: transmitting one or more request capability messages from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, each request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL position reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement; receiving one or more provide capability messages from the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication at the first UE, in which the one or more additional UEs respond to the one or more request capability messages; obtaining an SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capability messages; and transmitting one or more provide assistance data messages including the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs from the first UE to the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication.

[0240] Clause 22. The method as in Clause 21 further includes: transmitting one or more request location information messages from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, each request location information message including a request for positioning measurement data; and receiving one or more provide location information messages from one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication at the first UE, wherein one or more additional UEs provide positioning measurement data in the one or more provide location information messages.

[0241] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, further comprising: utilizing the first UE to perform SL-PRS measurements according to the SL-PRS configuration of the first UE.

[0242] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 22-23, further comprising obtaining a positioning calculation based at least in part on one or more positioning measurement data providing the location information message.

[0243] Clause 25. The method of clause 18, further comprising transmitting one or more additional provide location information messages including positioning calculations from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication.

[0244] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 24 to 25, wherein obtaining the positioning calculation comprises (i) determining the positioning calculation using the first UE, or (ii) transmitting positioning measurement data from the first UE to a server and receiving the positioning calculation from the server at the first UE.

[0245] Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 22-26, further comprising transmitting, from the first UE to the server, a provide location information message, the provide location information message comprising (i) positioning measurement data, or (ii) positioning calculations determined by the first UE.

[0246] Clause 28. A method as described in any of clauses 21-27, wherein obtaining the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs includes: (i) determining the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs using the first UE, or (ii) transmitting data from one or more provide capability messages from the first UE to a server, and receiving the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs from the server at the first UE.

[0247] Clause 29. The method of any of clauses 21-28, wherein the direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling.

[0248] Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 21-29, further comprising: prior to transmitting the one or more request capability messages, performing a discovery process with the first UE to identify one or more additional UEs.

[0249] Clause 31. A method as described in any of clauses 21-30, wherein transmitting one or more request capability messages, receiving one or more provide capability messages, obtaining SL-PRS configuration for each UE in one or more additional UEs, and transmitting one or more provide assistance data messages occur within a SL Positioning Protocol (SLPP) positioning session.

[0250] Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 21-31, wherein the one or more additional UEs comprises a plurality of UEs.

[0251] Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein the one or more request capability messages, the one or more provide capability messages, or the one or more provide assistance data messages, or any combination thereof comprise a multicast or broadcast message.

[0252] Clause 34. The method of any of clauses 21-33, further comprising: exchanging a plurality of preliminary messages between the first UE and the server prior to transmitting the one or more request capability messages, wherein transmitting the one or more request capability messages is in response to the exchange of the plurality of preliminary messages.

[0253] Clause 35. The method of clause 34, wherein exchanging the plurality of preliminary messages comprises receiving, by the first UE, a request capabilities message from the server.

[0254] Clause 36. The method of any of clauses 34-35, wherein exchanging the plurality of preliminary messages comprises receiving, by the first UE, a location request from a server.

[0255] Clause 37. The method of clause 36, wherein the positioning request is included in a supplementary service request message.

[0256] Clause 38. A method for enabling a first user equipment (UE) to coordinate positioning using sidelink (SL) communication, the method comprising: receiving, at a second UE, a request capability message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication, the request capability message comprising a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL position reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs other than the first UE for positioning using SL communication; in response to the request capability message, transmitting, from the second UE to the first UE, a provide capability message via direct wireless SL communication; and receiving, at the second UE, a provide assistance data message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication, the provide assistance data message comprising an SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capability message.

[0257] Clause 39. The method as in Clause 38 further includes: receiving a request location information message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication at the second UE; performing one or more measurements of the SL-PRS according to the SL-PRS configuration for the second UE; and transmitting a provide location information message from the second UE to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication, wherein the content of the provide location information message is based on one or more measurements.

[0258] Clause 40. The method of clause 39, wherein providing the location information message comprises a multicast message or a broadcast message.

[0259] Clause 41. The method of any of clauses 39-40, further comprising determining a positioning calculation based on the one or more measurements, wherein providing the location information message comprises the positioning calculation.

[0260] Clause 42. The method of any of clauses 39-41, wherein providing the location information message includes data indicative of one or more measurements.

[0261] Clause 43. The method of any of clauses 39-42, wherein the direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling.

[0262] Clause 44. A user equipment (UE) comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: exchange a plurality of sidelink (SL) positioning protocol (SLPP) messages with other UEs of a plurality of UEs via the one or more transceivers, the plurality of SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a request capability message in which a first UE of the plurality of UEs requests from one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs a capability to support positioning using SL communication; at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a provide capability message in which the one or more additional UEs provide capability to support positioning using SL communication. At least one of the multiple SLPP messages indicates the ability to support positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide assistance data message, the provide assistance data message includes data for one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs, and the data assists the one or more additional UEs in performing positioning using SL communication; at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a request location information message, in which the first UE requests location measurement for positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs; and at least one of the multiple SLPP messages includes a provide location information message, in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides location measurement for positioning using SL communication; and positioning is performed at least in part based on the multiple positioning messages.

[0263] Clause 45. The UE of clause 44, wherein the one or more processors are configured to use user plane signaling or control plane signaling in the direct wireless SL communication.

[0264] Clause 46. The UE of any of clauses 44-45, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: prior to exchanging the plurality of SLPP messages, participate in a discovery process to determine one or more of the other UEs to participate in positioning.

[0265] Clause 47. The UE of any of clauses 44 to 46, wherein the one or more processors are configured to exchange a plurality of SLPP messages and perform positioning within the SLPP positioning session.

[0266] Clause 48. The UE of any of clauses 44-47, wherein the UE comprises a first UE, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit a provide assistance data message to one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs.

[0267] Clause 49. The UE of clause 48, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause providing content of the assistance data to be based at least in part on configuration information received from a server via the one or more transceivers.

[0268] Clause 50. The UE of clause 49, wherein the one or more processors are configured to exchange multiple preliminary SLPP messages with the server before exchanging multiple SLPP messages with other UEs of the multiple UEs, wherein the exchanging of the multiple SLPP messages with the other UEs of the multiple UEs is based on the exchange of the multiple preliminary SLPP messages.

[0269] Clause 51. The UE of clause 50, wherein, to exchange the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages with the server, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request capabilities message from the server.

[0270] Clause 52. The UE of any of clauses 50-51, wherein, to exchange the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages with the server, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request location information message from the server.

[0271] Clause 53. The UE of clause 52, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the request location information message in a supplementary service request message.

[0272] Clause 54. A UE as in any of clauses 44-53, wherein, in order to exchange multiple SLPP messages, one or more processors are configured to receive: a unicast message, a multicast message transmitted by one UE in the multiple UEs to all other UEs in the multiple UEs, a broadcast message transmitted to a UE in the multiple UEs and a UE that is not in the multiple UEs, or any combination thereof.

[0273] Clause 55. A UE as in any of clauses 44-54, wherein the UE comprises a UE in one or more additional UEs.

[0274] Clause 56. A UE as in any of clauses 44-54, wherein the UE includes a first UE, and wherein: in order to exchange multiple SLPP messages with a server, one or more processors are configured to transmit at least one message including the SLPP message to two or more additional UEs of the multiple UEs via one or more transceivers using unicast, multicast, or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction; and the one or more processors are configured to receive an acknowledgment of the SLPP message, which is transmitted from at least one of the two or more additional UEs using a unicast message with lower layer error correction.

[0275] Clause 57. A UE as in Clause 56, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine a specific UE among two or more additional UEs from which no confirmation of the SLPP message was received; and in response to determining that no confirmation of the SLPP message was received from the specific UE, transmit a retransmission of the SLPP message to the specific UE using a unicast message with lower layer error correction.

[0276] Clause 58. A UE as in any of clauses 44-54 or 56-57, wherein the UE includes a first UE, and wherein: in order to exchange multiple SLPP messages with a server, one or more processors are configured to: transmit at least one message including a SLPP message to two or more additional UEs among the multiple UEs via one or more transceivers, using multicast or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction, the SLPP message being related to performing a SLPP process; the one or more processors are configured to receive a set of one or more responses to the SLPP message, wherein: the set of one or more responses to the SLPP message is received from each UE in a first part of the two or more additional UEs, and no response to the SLPP message is received from a second part of the two or more additional UEs; and the one or more processors are configured to continue performing the SLPP process based on the set of one or more responses to the SLPP message received from each UE in the first part of the two or more additional UEs.

[0277] Clause 59. A first user equipment (UE) for positioning using sidelink (SL) communication at a first UE, the first UE comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit one or more request capability messages to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, each request capability message comprising a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL position reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement; receive one or more provide capability messages from the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, in which the one or more additional UEs respond to the one or more request capability messages; obtain an SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capability messages; and transmit one or more provide assistance data messages to the one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the one or more provide assistance data messages comprising the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs.

[0278] Clause 60. A first UE as in Clause 59, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: transmit one or more request location information messages to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via one or more transceivers, each request location information message including a request for positioning measurement data; and receive one or more provide location information messages from one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication via one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more additional UEs provide positioning measurement data.

[0279] Clause 61. The first UE of clause 60, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform SL-PRS measurements according to a SL-PRS configuration of the first UE via the one or more transceivers.

[0280] Clause 62. The first UE of any of clauses 60-61, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain a positioning calculation based at least in part on the one or more positioning measurement data providing the location information message.

[0281] Clause 63. The first UE of clause 62, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit, via the one or more transceivers, one or more additional provide location information messages including positioning calculations to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication.

[0282] Clause 64. A first UE as described in any of clauses 62 to 63, wherein, in order to obtain a positioning calculation, the one or more processors are configured to (i) determine the positioning calculation, or (ii) transmit positioning measurement data to a server via one or more transceivers and receive the positioning calculation from the server via one or more transceivers.

[0283] Clause 65. A first UE as in any of clauses 60 to 64, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit a location information message to a server via one or more transceivers, the location information message comprising (i) positioning measurement data, or (ii) positioning calculations determined by the first UE.

[0284] Clause 66. A first UE as described in any of clauses 59-65, wherein, in order to obtain a SL-PRS configuration for each of one or more additional UEs, the one or more processors are configured to (i) determine the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs, or (ii) transmit data from one or more provide capability messages to a server via one or more transceivers and receive the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs from the server via one or more transceivers.

[0285] Clause 67. The first UE of any of clauses 59-66, wherein the one or more processors are configured to use user plane signaling or control plane signaling in direct wireless SL communication.

[0286] Clause 68. The first UE of any of clauses 59-67, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: perform a discovery process to identify one or more additional UEs prior to transmitting the one or more request capabilities messages.

[0287] Clause 69. A first UE as described in any of clauses 59-68, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit one or more request capability messages, receive one or more provide capability messages, obtain SL-PRS configuration for each UE in one or more additional UEs, and transmit one or more provide assistance data messages within a SL Positioning Protocol (SLPP) positioning session.

[0288] Clause 70. A first UE as described in any of clauses 59-69, wherein the one or more processors are also configured to exchange multiple preliminary messages between the first UE and the server before transmitting the one or more request capability messages, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the one or more request capability messages in response to the exchange of the multiple preliminary messages.

[0289] Clause 71. The first UE of clause 70, wherein, to exchange the plurality of preliminary messages, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request capabilities message or a location request from the server via the one or more transceivers.

[0290] Clause 72. The first UE of clause 71, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive the positioning request in a supplementary service request message.

[0291] Clause 73. A method for enabling a first user equipment (UE) to coordinate positioning using sidelink (SL) communication with a second UE, the second UE comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive a request capability message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the request capability message including a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL position reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs other than the first UE for positioning using SL communication; in response to the request capability message, transmit a provide capability message to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers; and receive a provide assistance data message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the provide assistance data message including a SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capability message.

[0292] Clause 74. A second UE as in clause 73, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a request location information message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via one or more transceivers; perform one or more measurements of the SL-PRS according to the SL-PRS configuration for the second UE; and transmit a provide location information message to the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via one or more transceivers, wherein the content of the provide location information message is based on the one or more measurements.

[0293] Clause 75. The second UE of clause 74, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine a positioning calculation based on the one or more measurements, wherein providing the location information message includes the positioning calculation.

[0294] Clause 76. The second UE of any of clauses 74-75, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include data indicative of the one or more measurements in the provide location information message.

[0295] Clause 77. The second UE of any of clauses 73-76, wherein the one or more processors are configured to use user plane signaling or control plane signaling in direct wireless SL communication.

[0296] Clause 78. A device comprising one or more transceivers, one or more memories, and one or more processors communicatively linked to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform the method of any of clauses 1-43.

[0297] Clause 79. An apparatus having means for performing the method of any of clauses 1-43.

[0298] Clause 80. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions comprising code for performing the method of any of clauses 1-43.

Claims

1. A method for locating multiple user equipments (UEs) using sidelink (SL) communication, the method being performed by a UE among the multiple UEs, the method comprising: exchanging a plurality of SL Positioning Protocol (SLPP) messages with other UEs of the plurality of UEs, the plurality of SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a request capability message in which a first UE of the plurality of UEs requests a capability to support positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs; At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises an Provide Capabilities message in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs indicates a capability to support positioning using SL communications; At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a provide assistance data message, the provide assistance data message comprising data for the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs, the data assisting the one or more additional UEs in performing positioning using SL communication; At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a request location information message in which the first UE requests location measurements for positioning using SL communication from the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs; and at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a provide location information message in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides the location measurements for positioning using SL communications; and The positioning is performed based at least in part on the plurality of positioning messages.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Prior to exchanging the plurality of SLPP messages, a discovery process is engaged in to determine one or more of the other UEs to participate in the positioning.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Said exchanging of said plurality of SLPP messages and said performing of said positioning occur within a SLPP positioning session.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The provide assistance data message is transmitted from the first UE to the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The content of the provided assistance data is based at least in part on configuration information received by the first UE from a server.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The configuration information received by the first UE from the server is based at least in part on capability information provided by the first UE to the server, the capability information being based at least in part on the provide capabilities message.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: Prior to exchanging the plurality of SLPP messages with the other UEs among the plurality of UEs, a plurality of preliminary SLPP messages are exchanged between the first UE and the server, wherein the exchange of the plurality of SLPP messages with the other UEs among the plurality of UEs is based on the exchange of the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The plurality of preliminary SLPP messages includes a request capabilities message from the server.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The plurality of preliminary SLPP messages include a request location information message from the server.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The request location information message is included in a supplementary service request message.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The multiple SLPP messages include: a unicast message transmitted to one of the plurality of UEs, a multicast message transmitted by one of the plurality of UEs to all other UEs of the plurality of UEs, a broadcast message transmitted to UEs in the plurality of UEs and UEs not in the plurality of UEs, or Any combination thereof.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The UE includes the first UE.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The UE includes a UE among the one or more additional UEs.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a SLPP message transmitted from the first UE to two or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs using unicast, multicast, or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction; as well as An acknowledgement for the SLPP message is received by the first UE, the acknowledgement being transmitted from at least one of the two or more additional UEs using a unicast message with lower layer error correction.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein: The first UE determines a specific UE of the two or more additional UEs from which an acknowledgement of the SLPP message is not received; as well as In response to determining that an acknowledgement for the SLPP message is not received from the particular UE, a retransmission of the SLPP message is transmitted from the first UE to the particular UE using unicast messaging with lower layer error correction.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a SLPP message transmitted from the first UE to two or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs using unicast, multicast, or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction, the SLPP message having SLPP information for performing a SLPP procedure; as well as A response message transmitted from at least one of the two or more additional UEs is received by the first UE, wherein: The response message is transmitted using multicast or broadcast messaging, and The response message includes the SLPP information.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein: a second UE of the two or more additional UEs transmitting the response message to the first UE in response to receiving the SLPP message transmitted from the first UE; as well as A third UE of the two or more additional UEs transmits a second response message to the first UE in response to receiving the response message transmitted from the second UE, wherein the third UE does not receive the SLPP message transmitted from the first UE.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a SLPP message transmitted from the first UE to two or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs using multicast or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction, the SLPP message being related to performing a SLPP procedure; A set of one or more responses to the SLPP message is received by the first UE, wherein: The set of one or more responses to the SLPP message is received from each UE in a first portion of the two or more additional UEs, and receiving no response to the SLPP message from a second portion of the two or more additional UEs; as well as The SLPP procedure is continued based on the set of one or more responses to the SLPP message received from each UE in the first portion of the two or more additional UEs.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The number of UEs in the first portion of the two or more additional UEs exceeds a minimum threshold number of UEs for performing the SLPP procedure.

21. A method for positioning using sidelink (SL) communication at a first user equipment (UE), the method comprising: transmitting, from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless SL communication, one or more request capability messages, each request capability message comprising a request for one or more capabilities to support SL Position Reference Signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement; receiving, at the first UE via the direct wireless SL communication, one or more provide capabilities messages from one or more additional UEs, in which the one or more additional UEs respond to the one or more request capabilities messages; obtaining a SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capabilities messages; as well as One or more provide assistance data messages are transmitted from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication, the one or more provide assistance data messages including the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: transmitting, from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication, one or more request location information messages, each request location information message comprising a request for positioning measurement data; as well as One or more provide location information messages are received at the first UE from one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication, in which the one or more additional UEs provide the positioning measurement data.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: The first UE is utilized to perform SL-PRS measurement according to the SL-PRS configuration of the first UE.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising obtaining a positioning calculation based at least in part on positioning measurement data of the one or more providing location information messages.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising transmitting one or more additional Provide Location Information messages including the positioning calculation from the first UE to one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein: The obtaining the positioning calculation includes (i) determining the positioning calculation using the first UE, or (ii) transmitting the positioning measurement data from the first UE to a server and receiving the positioning calculation from the server at the first UE.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising: A Provide Location Information message is transmitted from the first UE to a server, the Provide Location Information message including (i) the positioning measurement data, or (ii) a positioning calculation determined by the first UE.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein: Obtaining the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs includes: (i) determining the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs using the first UE, or (ii) transmitting the data from the one or more provide capability messages from the first UE to a server, and receiving the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs from the server at the first UE.

29. The method according to claim 21, wherein: The direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising: Prior to transmitting the one or more request capability messages, a discovery procedure is performed with the first UE to identify the one or more additional UEs.

31. The method of claim 21, wherein: Said transmitting said one or more request capability messages, said receiving said one or more provide capability messages, said obtaining said SL-PRS configuration for each of said one or more additional UEs, and said transmitting said one or more provide assistance data messages occur within a SL Positioning Protocol SLPP positioning session.

32. The method of claim 21, wherein: The one or more additional UEs include a plurality of UEs.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: The one or more request capability messages, the one or more provide capability messages, or the one or more provide assistance data messages, or any combination thereof, comprise a multicast or broadcast message.

34. The method of claim 21, further comprising: Prior to said transmitting said one or more request capability messages, a plurality of preliminary messages are exchanged between said first UE and a server, wherein transmitting said one or more request capability messages is in response to said exchanging said plurality of preliminary messages.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein: The exchanging the plurality of preliminary messages includes receiving, by the first UE, a request capabilities message from the server.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein: The exchanging the plurality of preliminary messages includes receiving, by the first UE, a location request from the server.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein: The positioning request is included in a supplementary service request message.

38. A method for enabling a first user equipment UE to coordinate positioning using sidelink SL communication, the method comprising: receiving, at a second UE via direct wireless SL communication, a request capability message from the first UE, the request capability message comprising a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL position reference signal SL-PRS configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs other than the first UE for positioning using SL communication; In response to the request capabilities message, transmitting a provide capabilities message from the second UE to the first UE via the direct wireless SL communication; and A provide assistance data message is received at a second UE from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication, the provide assistance data message including a SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capability message.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising: receiving, at a second UE, a request location information message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication; performing one or more measurements of the SL-PRS according to the SL-PRS configuration for the second UE; and A provide location information message is transmitted from the second UE to the first UE via the direct wireless SL communication, wherein content of the provide location information message is based on the one or more measurements.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein: The message for providing location information includes a multicast message or a broadcast message.

41. The method of claim 39, further comprising: A positioning calculation is determined based on the one or more measurements, wherein the provide location information message includes the positioning calculation.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein: The Provide Location Information message comprises data indicative of the one or more measurements.

43. The method of claim 38, wherein: The direct wireless SL communication uses user plane signaling or control plane signaling.

44. A user equipment UE, comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: exchanging a plurality of sidelink SL positioning protocol SLPP messages with other UEs of the plurality of UEs via the one or more transceivers, the plurality of SLPP messages being exchanged via direct wireless SL communication, wherein: at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a request capability message in which a first UE of the plurality of UEs requests a capability to support positioning using SL communication from one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs; At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises an Provide Capabilities message in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs indicates a capability to support positioning using SL communications; At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a provide assistance data message, the provide assistance data message comprising data for the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs, the data assisting the one or more additional UEs in performing positioning using SL communication; At least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a request location information message in which the first UE requests location measurements for positioning using SL communication from the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs; and at least one of the plurality of SLPP messages comprises a provide location information message in which at least one of the one or more additional UEs provides the location measurements for positioning using SL communications; and The positioning is performed based at least in part on the plurality of positioning messages.

45. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to use user plane signaling or control plane signaling in the direct wireless SL communication.

46. ​​The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to, prior to exchanging the plurality of SLPP messages, participate in a discovery process to determine one or more of the other UEs to participate in the positioning.

47. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to exchange the plurality of SLPP messages and perform the positioning within a SLPP positioning session.

48. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The UEs include the first UE, and wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the provide assistance data message to the one or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs.

49. The UE according to claim 48, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to cause the providing of content of the assistance data to be based at least in part on configuration information received from a server via the one or more transceivers.

50. The UE according to claim 49, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to exchange a plurality of preliminary SLPP messages with the server before exchanging the plurality of SLPP messages with the other UEs among the plurality of UEs, wherein the exchange of the plurality of SLPP messages with the other UEs among the plurality of UEs is based on the exchange of the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages.

51. The UE according to claim 50, wherein: To exchange the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages with the server, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request capabilities message from the server.

52. The UE according to claim 50, wherein: To exchange the plurality of preliminary SLPP messages with the server, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request location information message from the server.

53. The UE according to claim 52, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to receive the request location information message in a supplementary service request message.

54. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: To exchange the plurality of SLPP messages, the one or more processors are configured to receive: Unicast messages, a multicast message transmitted by one of the plurality of UEs to all other UEs of the plurality of UEs, a broadcast message transmitted to UEs in the plurality of UEs and UEs not in the plurality of UEs, or Any combination thereof.

55. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The UE includes a UE among the one or more additional UEs.

56. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The UE includes the first UE, and wherein: To exchange the plurality of SLPP messages with the server, the one or more processors are configured to transmit at least one message including the SLPP message to two or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs via the one or more transceivers using unicast, multicast, or broadcast messaging without lower layer error correction; and The one or more processors are configured to receive an acknowledgment of the SLPP message, the acknowledgment transmitted from at least one of the two or more additional UEs using unicast messaging with lower layer error correction.

57. The UE according to claim 56, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: determining a particular UE of the two or more additional UEs from which no acknowledgement of the SLPP message was received; as well as In response to determining that an acknowledgement for the SLPP message is not received from the particular UE, a retransmission of the SLPP message is transmitted to the particular UE using a unicast message with lower layer error correction.

58. The UE according to claim 44, wherein: The UE includes the first UE, and wherein: To exchange the plurality of SLPP messages with the server, the one or more processors are configured to transmit, via the one or more transceivers, at least one message including a SLPP message to two or more additional UEs of the plurality of UEs using a multicast or broadcast message without lower layer error correction, the SLPP message being related to performing a SLPP procedure; The one or more processors are configured to receive a set of one or more responses to the SLPP message, wherein: The set of one or more responses to the SLPP message is received from each UE in a first portion of the two or more additional UEs, and receiving no response to the SLPP message from a second portion of the two or more additional UEs; and The one or more processors are configured to continue performing the SLPP procedure based on a set of one or more responses to the SLPP message received from each UE in the first portion of the two or more additional UEs.

59. A first user equipment UE, comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmitting, via the one or more transceivers, one or more request capability messages to one or more additional UEs via direct wireless side link (SL) communication, each request capability message comprising a request for one or more capabilities to support SL position reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement; receiving, via the one or more transceivers, from one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication, one or more provide capabilities messages in which the one or more additional UEs respond to the one or more request capabilities messages; obtaining a SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs based at least in part on the one or more provide capabilities messages; and One or more provide assistance data messages are transmitted to one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the one or more provide assistance data messages including the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs.

60. The first UE according to claim 59, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: transmitting, via the one or more transceivers, via the direct wireless SL communication, to one or more additional UEs, one or more request location information messages, each request location information message comprising a request for positioning measurement data; as well as One or more provide location information messages are received from one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, in which the one or more additional UEs provide the positioning measurement data.

61. The first UE according to claim 60, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to perform SL-PRS measurements according to the SL-PRS configuration of the first UE via the one or more transceivers.

62. The first UE according to claim 60, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to obtain a position calculation based at least in part on the positioning measurement data of the one or more providing position information messages.

63. The first UE according to claim 62, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to transmit, via the one or more transceivers, one or more additional provide location information messages including the positioning calculation to one or more additional UEs via the direct wireless SL communication.

64. The first UE according to claim 62, wherein: To obtain the positioning calculation, the one or more processors are configured to (i) determine the positioning calculation, or (ii) transmit the positioning measurement data to a server via the one or more transceivers and receive the positioning calculation from the server via the one or more transceivers.

65. The first UE according to claim 60, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a provide location information message to a server, the provide location information message comprising (i) the positioning measurement data, or (ii) a positioning calculation determined by the first UE.

66. The first UE according to claim 59, wherein: In order to obtain the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs, the one or more processors are configured to: (i) determine the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs, or (ii) transmit data from the one or more provide capability messages to a server via the one or more transceivers, and receive the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs from the server via the one or more transceivers.

67. The first UE according to claim 59, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to use user plane signaling or control plane signaling in the direct wireless SL communication.

68. The first UE according to claim 59, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to, prior to transmitting the one or more request capabilities messages, perform a discovery process to identify the one or more additional UEs.

69. The first UE according to claim 59, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to transmit the one or more request capability messages, receive the one or more provide capability messages, obtain the SL-PRS configuration for each of the one or more additional UEs, and transmit the one or more provide assistance data messages within a SL Positioning Protocol (SLPP) positioning session.

70. The first UE according to claim 59, wherein: The one or more processors are also configured to: exchange multiple preliminary messages between the first UE and the server before transmitting the one or more request capability messages, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit the one or more request capability messages in response to the exchange of the multiple preliminary messages.

71. The first UE according to claim 70, wherein: To exchange the plurality of preliminary messages, the one or more processors are configured to receive a request capabilities message or a location request from the server via the one or more transceivers.

72. The first UE according to claim 71, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to receive the location request in a supplementary service request message.

73. A second user equipment UE, comprising: one or more transceivers; one or more memories; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, via the one or more transceivers, a request capability message from a first UE via direct wireless side link (SL) communication, the request capability message comprising a request for one or more capabilities for supporting SL position reference signal (SL-PRS) configuration and SL-PRS measurement, wherein the second UE is one of one or more additional UEs other than the first UE for positioning using SL communication; transmitting, via the one or more transceivers, a provide capabilities message to the first UE via the direct wireless SL communication in response to the request capabilities message; and A provide assistance data message is received from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication via the one or more transceivers, the provide assistance data message comprising a SL-PRS configuration for the second UE, the SL-PRS configuration being based at least in part on the provide capabilities message.

74. The second UE according to claim 73, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to: receiving, via the one or more transceivers, a request location information message from the first UE via direct wireless SL communication; performing one or more measurements of the SL-PRS according to the SL-PRS configuration for the second UE; and Transmitting a provide location information message to the first UE via the one or more transceivers via the direct wireless SL communication, wherein content of the provide location information message is based on the one or more measurements.

75. The second UE according to claim 74, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to determine a positioning calculation based on the one or more measurements, wherein the provide location information message includes the positioning calculation.

76. The second UE according to claim 74, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to include data indicative of the one or more measurements in the Provide Location Information message.

77. The second UE according to claim 73, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to use user plane signaling or control plane signaling in the direct wireless SL communication.

Images