Signaling method for sidelink positioning of heterogeneous user equipment

Abstract

In some implementations, a target user equipment (UE) may receive a discovery request corresponding to an SL positioning session from an initiator UE via an SL interface, where the target UE includes a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs). The target UE may determine, according to the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE. In response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRP with the target UE, the target UE may participate in the SL positioning session with the target UE by either (i) using only one of the plurality of TRP during the SL positioning session, or (ii) using each of the plurality of TRP such that each TRP operates as a different UE.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 17 / 932,891, filed on September 16, 2022, and entitled “SIGNALING METHODS FOR SIDELINKPOSITIONING FOR HETEROGENEOUS USER EQUIPMENTS,” which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining the location of a user equipment (UE) using radio frequency (RF) signals.

[0005] 2. Related technologies

[0006] In a data communication network, various positioning techniques may be used to determine the location of a mobile device (referred to herein as a UE). Some of these positioning techniques may involve determining distance and / or angle information of RF signals received by one or more other UEs that are communicatively coupled to the data communication network. In the fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), direct communication between UEs (including the transmission of RF signals for positioning) may be referred to as a side link (SL). Positioning sessions between UEs may be conducted to perform positioning measurements using SL RF signals, and the UEs may coordinate such SL positioning sessions to ensure efficient use of bandwidth and other wireless resources. Since a UE may have multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs), there may be time periods when heterogeneous UEs (single TRP UEs and multi-TRP UEs) perform positioning on each other. Currently, the SL protocol does not address such heterogeneous positioning. Summary of the invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, an example method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning may include: receiving a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE at a target user equipment (UE), wherein the target UE includes multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs). The method may also include: determining, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE. The method may also include: in response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE, participating in the SL positioning session with the target UE in any of the following ways: (i) using only one of the multiple TRPs during the SL positioning session, or (ii) using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, an example method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning may include: transmitting a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator user equipment (UE) to a target user equipment (UE), wherein the initiator UE includes multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs). The method may also include: transmitting the discovery request includes: transmitting a message from each of the multiple TRPs. For each of the multiple TRPs, the corresponding message may include: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP. The method may also include: receiving a response to the discovery request from the target UE at the initiator UE. The method may also include: based on the response to the discovery request, determining any one of the following: the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, or the target UE can associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, an example method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning may include: receiving a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE at a target user equipment (UE), wherein receiving the discovery request includes: receiving a message from each of a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the initiator UE; and for each of the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP. The method may also include: associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE based on the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP. The method may also include: transmitting a response to the discovery request from the target UE to the initiator UE.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, an example target user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning may include: a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE via the transceiver, wherein the target UE includes multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs). The one or more processors may be further configured to determine, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE. The one or more processors may be further configured to participate in the SL positioning session with the target UE in response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE in any of the following ways: (i) using only one of the multiple TRPs during the SL positioning session, or (ii) using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, an example initiator user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning may include: a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session to a target UE via the transceiver, wherein: the initiator UE includes multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs); transmitting the discovery request includes: transmitting a message from each of the multiple TRPs; and for each of the multiple TRPs, the corresponding message includes: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP. The one or more processors may be further configured to receive a response to the discovery request from the target UE via the transceiver. The one or more processors may be further configured to determine, based on the response to the discovery request, any of the following: the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, or the target UE can associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

[0012] According to the present disclosure, an example target user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning may include: a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE via the transceiver, wherein: receiving the discovery request includes: receiving a message from each of a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the initiator UE. The one or more processors may be further configured such that for each of the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP. The one or more processors may be further configured to associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE based on the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP. The one or more processors may be further configured to transmit a response to the discovery request to the initiator UE via the transceiver.

[0013] This summary is neither intended to identify key features 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 disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing and other features and examples will be described in more detail in the following description, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a simplified illustration of a positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 according to an implementation scheme.

[0016] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C is a simplified illustration of a scenario in which sidelink (SL) positioning may be used to determine the location of a target user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating how a positioning session may be performed via a SL according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagrammatic example of possible heterogeneous UE positioning according to an implementation scheme.

[0019] Figure 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an implementation of a method for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE having a single transmit / receive point (TRP) and a target UE having a first TRP and a second TRP.

[0020] Figure 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating another implementation of a method for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE having a single TRP and a target UE having a first TRP and a second TRP.

[0021] Figure 8 is a signal flow chart illustrating an implementation of a method for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE having a first TRP and a second TRP and a target UE having a single TRP.

[0022] Fig. 9 is a signal flow chart illustrating an implementation of a method for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE having a first TRP and a second TRP and a target UE having a first TRP and a second TRP.

[0023] Fig.10 is a flowchart of a first method for performing SL positioning according to an implementation scheme.

[0024] Fig.11 is a flowchart of a second method for performing SL positioning according to an implementation scheme.

[0025] Fig.12 is a flowchart of a third method for performing SL positioning according to an implementation scheme.

[0026] Fig.13 is a block diagram of an implementation scheme of a UE.

[0027] Similar reference symbols in the various drawings indicate similar elements according to certain example implementations. In addition, multiple instances of an element may be indicated by adding a letter or hyphen and a second digit after the first digit of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 may be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc. or 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When only the first digit is used to refer to such an element, any instance of the element should be understood (for example, element 110 in the previous example will refer to elements 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 or to elements 110a, 110b and 110c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following description is directed to certain specific implementations for the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of each embodiment. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a variety of different ways. The described specific implementations can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of sending and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communication standard, such as any of the following: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 standard for ultra-wideband (UWB), the IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as Wi-Fi 802.11, Wi-Fi 802.15.4 ... ® technology standards), Bluetooth ® Standard, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Revision A, EV-DO Revision B, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), or other known signals used to communicate within a wireless, cellular or Internet of Things (IoT) network, such as a system utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G or further implementations thereof.

[0029] As used herein, "RF signals" include electromagnetic waves that transmit information through the space between a transmitter (or a transmitter device) and a receiver (or a receiver device). As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of each RF signal through multiple channels or paths, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal.

[0030] Additionally, unless otherwise specified, references to "reference signals," "positioning reference signals," "reference signals for positioning," and the like may be used to refer to signals used for positioning user equipment (UE) in 5G New Radio (NR) networks. As described in more detail herein, such signals may include any of a variety of signal types, but may not necessarily be limited to positioning reference signals (PRS) as defined in relevant wireless standards.

[0031] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the term "positioning" as used herein may include absolute position determination, relative position determination, ranging, or a combination thereof. For the purpose of location or sensing services, 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).

[0032] The positioning determination of the UE may be based at least in part on measurements of signals sent and / or received by one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the UE via a side link (SL). As noted, since the UE may have multiple TRPs (mTRPs), there may be time periods when heterogeneous UEs (UEs including a single TRP and UEs including multiple TRPs) perform positioning. Single-TRP UEs may operate on a version of the relevant 3GPP side link protocol (e.g., Release 18) that does not address the ability to perform a positioning session with an mTRP UE. However, a period of heterogeneous positioning may occur between these single-TRP capable UEs and mTRP capable UEs. The embodiments herein provide techniques for resolving positioning between heterogeneous UEs. Following a description of the related art, this document provides details about the embodiments.

[0033] Figure 1 is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 according to an embodiment, in which a mobile device 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein to locate the mobile device 105. The techniques described herein can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include: a mobile device 105; one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as spacecraft (SV)) for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (such as a global positioning system (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou); a base station 120; an access point (AP) 130; a location server 160; a network 170; and an external client 180. In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of the mobile device 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the mobile device 105 and the known locations of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) that send and / or receive RF signals. Additional details about specific location estimation techniques are discussed below.

[0034] It should be pointed out that Figure 1 Only a generalized illustration of the various components is provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be repeated as needed. Specifically, although only one mobile device 105 is illustrated, it should be understood that many mobile devices (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include more than one mobile device 105. Figure 1A greater or lesser number of base stations 120 and / or APs 130 are illustrated. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the positioning 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. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0035] Depending on the desired functionality, the network 170 may include any of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks. The network 170 may, for example, include any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks, etc. In addition, the network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, the network 170 may include, for example, a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of the network 170 include a long-term evolution (LTE) wireless network, a fifth-generation (5G) wireless network (also known as a new radio (NR) wireless network or a 5G NR wireless network), a Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network. In a wireless cellular network (e.g., LTE or 5G), the mobile device 105 may be referred to as a user equipment (UE)

[0036] The base station 120 and the access point (AP) 130 may be communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base station 120 may be owned, maintained and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described herein below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base station 120 may include a node B, an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a transceiver base station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), an NR node B (gNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. In the case where the network 170 is a 5G network, the base station 120 as a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC). In view of the open radio access network (O-RAN) and / or virtualized radio access network (V-RAN or vRAN) in 5G or higher networks, the functionality performed by the base station 120 in the earlier networks (e.g., 3G and 4G) may be divided into different functional components (e.g., radio unit (RU), distributed unit (DU), central unit (CU)) and layers (e.g., L1 / L2 / L3), which may be executed on different devices at different locations connected, for example, via fronthaul connection, midhaul connection, and backhaul connection. As described herein, a "base station" (or ng-eNB, gNB, etc.) may include any one or all of these functional components. For example, AP 130 may include a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth AP. ® AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, mobile device 105 can transmit and receive information with network connectivity devices (such as location server 160) by accessing network 170 via base station 120 using first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, because AP 130 can also be communicatively coupled with network 170, mobile device 105 can communicate with network connectivity and Internet connectivity devices (including location server 160) using second communication link 135 or via one or more other mobile devices 145.

[0037] As used herein, the term "base station" may generally refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple co-located physical transmission points that may be located at a base station 120. A transmit receive point (TRP) (also referred to as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term "TRP" may be used interchangeably with the terms "gNB," "ng-eNB," and "base station" herein. In some cases, a base station 120 may include multiple TRPs—for example, where each TRP is associated with a different antenna or a different antenna array of the base station 120. As used herein, the transmit functionality of a TRP may be performed using a transmit point (TP), and / or the receive functionality of a TRP may be performed by a receive point (RP), which may be physically separate or distinct from the TP. That is, a TRP may include both a TP and an RP. A physical transmission point may include an antenna array of a base station 120 (for example, as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or where the base station employs beamforming). The term "base station" may additionally refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0038] As used herein, the term "cell" may generally refer to a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station 120, and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different 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 protocols) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0039] Satellites 110 may be used to locate mobile device 105 in one or more ways. For example, satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) may be part of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as a global positioning system (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou. Positioning using RF signals from GNSS satellites may include measuring multiple GNSS signals at a GNSS receiver of mobile device 105 to perform code-based and / or carrier-based positioning, which may be highly accurate. Additionally or alternatively, satellites 110 may be used for non-terrestrial network (NTN) based positioning, where satellites 110 may be functionally operable as TRPs (or TPs) of a network (e.g., LTE and / or NR networks) and may be communicatively coupled with network 170. Specifically, reference signals (e.g., PRSs) transmitted by satellites 110 for NTN based positioning may be similar to those transmitted by base stations 120 and may be coordinated by location server 160. In some embodiments, satellites 110 used for NTN based positioning may be different from those used for GNSS based positioning.

[0040] The location server 160 may include a server and / or other computer system configured to determine an estimated location of the mobile device 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “assistance data”) to the mobile device 105 to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination by the mobile device 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Home Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP), which may support the SUPL User Plane (UP) location solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and may support location services for the mobile device 105 based on subscription information for the mobile device 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Discovery SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also include an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) that uses a Control Plane (CP) location solution to support location of the mobile device 105 for LTE radio access of the mobile device 105. The location server 160 may also include a location management function (LMF) that supports location of the mobile device 105 using a control plane (CP) location solution for NR or LTE radio access of the mobile device 105 .

[0041] In the CP location solution, from the perspective of the network 170, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the mobile device 105 may use existing network interfaces and protocols and be exchanged as signaling between elements of the network 170 and with the mobile device 105. In the UP location solution, from the perspective of the network 170, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the mobile device 105 may be exchanged between the location server 160 and the mobile device 105 as data (e.g., data transmitted using the Internet Protocol (IP) and / or the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0042] As previously described (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated position of the mobile device 105 can be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted from and / or received by the mobile device 105. Specifically, these measurements can provide information about the relative distances and / or angles of the mobile device 105 and one or more components in the positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, APs 130, base stations 120). The estimated position of the mobile device 105 can be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angle measurements and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements along with the known positions of the one or more components.

[0043] Although ground components such as AP 130 and base station 120 may be fixed, embodiments are not limited thereto. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the location of mobile device 105 may be estimated based at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between mobile device 105 and one or more other mobile devices 145 (the one or more other mobile devices may be mobile or fixed). As illustrated, the other mobile devices may include, for example, mobile phone 145-1, vehicle 145-2, static communication / positioning device 145-3, or other static and / or mobile devices capable of providing wireless signals for positioning mobile device 105, or combinations thereof. Wireless signals from mobile device 145 for positioning mobile device 105 may include using, for example, Bluetooth. ® (including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), IEEE 802.11x (e.g., Wi-Fi ® ), ultra-wideband (UWB), IEEE 802.15x, or a combination thereof. The mobile device 145 may additionally or alternatively use non-RF wireless signals for positioning of the mobile device 105, such as infrared signals or other optical techniques.

[0044] Mobile devices 145 may include other mobile devices that are communicatively coupled to a cellular or other mobile network (e.g., network 170). When one or more other mobile devices 145 are used in a positioning determination for a particular mobile device 105, the mobile device 105 whose positioning is to be determined may be referred to as a "target mobile device" and each of the other mobile devices 145 used may be referred to as an "anchor mobile device". (In cellular / mobile broadband networks, the terms "anchor UE" and "target UE" may be used.) In order to make a positioning determination for a target mobile device, the corresponding positioning of the one or more anchor mobile devices may be known and / or determined jointly with the target mobile device. Direct communication between one or more other mobile devices 145 and mobile device 105 may include SL and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. SL is a form of D2D communication defined by 3GPP under cellular-based LTE and NR standards. UWB may be one such technology by which measurements from one or more anchor devices (e.g., mobile devices 145) may be used to facilitate positioning of a target device (e.g., mobile device 105).

[0045] According to some embodiments, such as when the mobile device 105 includes and / or is incorporated into a vehicle, a form of D2D communication used by the mobile device 105 may include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. V2X is a communication standard for vehicles to exchange information about the traffic environment with related entities. V2X may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between vehicles with V2X capabilities, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication between vehicles and infrastructure-based equipment (commonly referred to as roadside units (RSUs)), vehicle-to-person (V2P) communication between vehicles and nearby people (pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users), etc. In addition, V2X may use any of a variety of wireless RF communication technologies. For example, cellular V2X (CV2X) is a form of V2X that uses cellular-based communications in a direct communication mode defined by 3GPP, such as LTE (4G), NR (5G), and / or other cellular technologies. Figure 1The mobile device 105 illustrated in the figure may correspond to a component or device on a vehicle, RSU, or other V2X entity used to communicate V2X messages. In an embodiment in which V2X is used, the static communication / positioning device 145-3 (which may correspond to an RSU) and / or the vehicle 145-2 may therefore communicate with the mobile device 105 and may be used to determine the location of the mobile device 105 using techniques similar to those used by the base station 120 and / or AP 130 (e.g., using multi-angle and / or multilateration positioning). It may be further noted that according to some embodiments, the mobile device 145 (which may include a V2X device), the base station 120, and / or the AP 130 may be used together (e.g., in a WWAN positioning solution) to determine the location of the mobile device 105.

[0046] The estimated location of the mobile device 105 may be used in various applications, such as to assist a user of the mobile device 105 with direction finding or navigation or to assist another user (e.g., associated with an external client 180) in locating the mobile device 105. "Location" is also referred to herein as a "location estimate," "estimated location," "position," "position estimate," "position fix," "estimated position," "position fix," or "fix." The process of determining a location may be referred to as "positioning," "position determination," or "location determination," among others. The location of the mobile device 105 may include an absolute location of the mobile device 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude, and possibly altitude) or a relative location of the mobile device 105 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below, of some other known fixed location (including, for example, the location of a base station 120 or an AP 130) or some other location, such as the location of the mobile device 105 at some known previous time, or the location of a mobile device 145 (e.g., another mobile device) at some known previous time). The location may be specified as a geodetic location including coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined relative to a local area, such as a factory, warehouse, college campus, shopping mall, stadium, or convention center). The location may alternatively be a city location, and may then include one or more of a street address (e.g., including a country, state, county, city, road and / or street name or label, and / or road or street number) and / or a label or name of a place, a building, a portion of a building, a floor of a building, and / or a room within a building, etc. The location may also include an uncertainty or error indication, such as a horizontal and likely vertical distance that the location is expected to have error, or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) within which the mobile device 105 is expected to be located with a certain confidence level (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0047] The external client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with the mobile device 105 (e.g., accessible by a user of the mobile device 105), or may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to some other user or users, which may include obtaining and providing the location of the mobile device 105 (e.g., to enable services such as friend or relative locating or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain the location of the mobile device 105 and provide it to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc.

[0048] Figure 2 is a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 that illustrates an embodiment of a positioning system implementing 5G NR (which may correspond to at least a portion of a larger positioning system as described herein, such as Figure 1 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of a user equipment (UE) 205 by using access nodes to implement one or more positioning methods, and the access nodes may include NR Node Bs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to as gNBs 210 herein), ng-eNBs 214, and / or WLANs 216. The gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214 may correspond to base stations described elsewhere herein, and the WLANs 216 may correspond to one or more access points described elsewhere herein. Optionally, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may also be configured to determine the location of the UE 205 by using an LMF 220 (which may correspond to a location server as described elsewhere herein) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes a UE 205 and components of a 5G NR network, which includes a next generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G core network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network; the NG-RAN 235 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or NRRAN; and the 5G CN 240 may be referred to as an NG core network.

[0049] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also utilize information from satellites 207. As previously indicated, satellites 207 may include GNSS satellites from a GNSS system like the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additionally or alternatively, satellites 207 may include NTN satellites that may be communicatively coupled with LMF 220 and operatively used as TRPs (or TPs) in NG-RAN 235. Thus, satellites 207 may communicate with one or more gNBs 210.

[0050] It should be noted that Figure 2 Only generalized illustrations of various components are provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be repeated or omitted as desired. Specifically, although only one UE 205 is illustrated, it should be understood that many (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) UEs may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a larger (or smaller) number of GNSS satellites 207, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, wireless local area network (WLAN) 216, access and mobility management function (AMF) 215, external client 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 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.

[0051] UE 205 may include and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a terminal (SET) enabled with secure user plane location (SUPL), or some other name. In addition, UE 205 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal data assistant (PDA), a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not necessarily, UE 205 may support the use of one or more radio access technologies (RATs) such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi ® , Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX ™), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240), etc. UE 205 may also support wireless communications using WLAN 216, which (similar to one or more RATs as described elsewhere herein) may connect to other networks, such as the Internet. Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 205 (e.g., via Figure 2 Elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown in the figure, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) communicate with the external client 230 and / or allow the external client 230 to receive location information about the UE 205 (e.g., via the GMLC 225). Figure 2 The external client 230 may correspond to an external client as implemented in a 5G NR network or communicatively coupled with a 5G NR network.

[0052] UE 205 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network in which a user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and separate wired or wireless modems. The estimate of the location of UE 205 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate or position fix, and may be geodetic, thereby providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE 205, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below ground level, floor level or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 205 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a certain point or smaller area in a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 205 may also be expressed as a region or volume (geographically or municipally defined) within which the UE 205 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 205 may also be a relative location, including, for example, a distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates defined relative to some origin at a known location, which may be defined geodetically, in municipal form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates are typically solved, and then the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level) if necessary.

[0053] Figure 2The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG. 1 may correspond to base stations as described elsewhere herein and may include gNBs 210. Pairs of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1 ). Figure 2 The communication interface between the base stations (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may be referred to as an Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 205 via wireless communications between the UE 205 and one or more gNBs in the gNB 210, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 on behalf of the UE 205 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between the base station (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) and the UE 205 may be referred to as an Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. Figure 2 , it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 205 is gNB 210-1, but other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) may act as serving gNBs if UE 205 moves to another location, or may act as secondary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 205.

[0054] Figure 2 The base stations in the illustrated NG-RAN 235 may additionally or alternatively include a next generation evolved Node B (also referred to as ng-eNB) 214. The ng-eNB 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235—e.g., directly, or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 214 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 205. Figure 2Some of the gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNBs 214 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons that may transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or may broadcast assistance data to assist in positioning UE 205, but may not receive signals from UE 205 or other UEs. Some of the gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNBs 214 may be configured to function as detection-only nodes that may scan for signals containing, for example, PRS data, assistance data, or other location data. Such detection-only nodes may not transmit signals or data to the UE, but may transmit signals or data (related to, for example, PRS, assistance data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., one or more components of 5G CN 240, external clients 230, or a controller), which may receive and store the data or use the data to locate at least UE 205. It should be noted that although Figure 2 Only one ng-eNB 214 is shown in FIG, but some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may communicate directly with each other via an Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base stations may communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 (such as LMF 220 and AMF 215).

[0055] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that may be connected to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5GCN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 205 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., access points as described elsewhere herein). Here, the N3IWF 250 may be connected to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 may support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 may provide support for secure access of the UE 205 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or may support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 205 with one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240 (such as the AMF 215). For example, the N3IWF 250 may support: IPSec tunnel establishment with the UE 205, termination of the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE 205, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces with the 5G CN 240 for the control plane and the user plane, respectively, and relay of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling across the N1 interface between the UE 205 and the AMF 215. In some other embodiments, the WLAN 216 may be directly connected to elements in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., Figure 2 215) and not via the N3IWF 250. For example, a direct connection of the WLAN 216 to the 5GCN 240 may occur when the WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN to the 5GCN 240 and may use a trusted WLAN interworking function (TWIF) ( Figure 2 It should be noted that although Figure 2 Only one WLAN 216 is shown in FIG. 2 , but some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216 .

[0056] The access node may include any of a variety of network entities that enable communication between the UE 205 and the AMF 215. As noted, this may include a gNB 210, an ng-eNB 214, a WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, the access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include a cellular network entity that enables communication with the UE 205 and the AMF 215. Figure 2An entity that communicates with any of a variety of RATs not illustrated in the specification (which may include non-cellular technologies). Therefore, as used in the embodiments described below, the term "access node" may include but is not necessarily limited to gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216.

[0057] In some embodiments, an access node (such as a gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to: in response to receiving a request for location information from the LMF 220, obtain a location measurement for an uplink (UL) signal received from the UE 205) and / or obtain from the UE 205 a DL location measurement obtained by the UE 205 for a downlink (DL) signal received by the UE 205 from one or more access nodes. As noted, although Figure 2 The access nodes (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and WLAN 216) are depicted as being configured to communicate in accordance with 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, but access nodes configured to communicate in accordance with other communication protocols may be used, such as, for example, a Node B using a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using an LTE protocol for an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or using Bluetooth for WLAN. ® For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to UE 205, the RAN may include an E-UTRAN, which may include base stations including eNBs supporting LTE wireless access. The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where Figure 2 , E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 235 and EPC corresponds to 5GCN 240. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining the municipal location of UE 205 may be applicable to such other networks.

[0058] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 may communicate with the AMF 215, which communicates with the LMF 220 for positioning functionality. The AMF 215 may support mobility of the UE 205, including cell changes and handovers of the UE 205 from an access node of a first RAT (e.g., a gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216) to an access node of a second RAT. The AMF 215 may also participate in supporting signaling connections with the UE 205 and may support data and voice bearers for the UE 205. The LMF 220 may support positioning the UE 205 using a CP location solution when the UE 205 accesses the NG-RAN 235 or the WLAN 216, and may support positioning procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (which may be referred to as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round Trip Signal Propagation Delay (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF 220 may also process a location service request for the UE 205 received, for example, from the AMF 215 or from the GMLC 225. The LMF 220 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225. In some embodiments, the network (such as 5GCN 240) may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL location platform (SLP). It should be noted that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including determining the location of UE 205) may be performed at UE 205 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals sent by wireless nodes (such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214 and / or WLAN 216), and / or using assistance data provided to UE 205 by LMF 220, for example).

[0059] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for the UE 205 received from the external client 230, and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding by the AMF 215 to the LMF 220. A location response (e.g., including a location estimate for the UE 205) from the LMF 220 may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225 directly or via the AMF 215, and the GMLC 225 may then return the location response (e.g., including the location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0060] A network exposure function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events regarding the 5GCN 240 and the UE 205 to the external client 230, which may therefore be referred to as an access function (AF) and may enable secure provisioning of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225 for obtaining a location (e.g., a municipal location) of the UE 205 and providing the location to the external client 230.

[0061] like Figure 2 As further illustrated, LMF 220 may communicate with gNB 210 and / or with ng-eNB 214 using NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be communicated between gNB 210 and LMF 220 and / or between ng-eNB 214 and LMF 220 via AMF 215. Figure 2 As further illustrated in 3GPP TS 37.355, LMF 220 and UE 205 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transferred between UE 205 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 of UE 205. For example, LPP messages may be transferred between LMF 220 and AMF 215 using messages for service-based operations (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and may be transferred between AMF 215 and UE 205 using 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 205 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 205 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA), and / or may be used by LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0062] In the case where the UE 205 accesses the WLAN 216, the LMF 220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of the UE 205 in a manner similar to that just described for the UE 205 accessing the gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Thus, NRPPa messages may be passed between the WLAN 216 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of the UE 205 and / or to pass other location information from the WLAN 216 to the LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be passed between the N3IWF 250 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of the UE 205 based on location-related information and / or location measurements that are known or accessible to the N3IWF 250 and passed from the N3IWF 250 to the LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be passed between UE 205 and LMF 220 via AMF 215, N3IWF 250, and serving WLAN 216 of UE 205 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of UE 205 by LMF 220, as will be described in more detail below.

[0063] The positioning of UE 205 in the 5G NR positioning system 200 may also utilize measurements between UE 205 and one or more other UEs 255 via SL connection SL 260. Figure 2As shown in , the one or more other UEs 255 may include any of a variety of different device types, including mobile phones, vehicles, roadside units (RSUs), other device types, or any combination thereof. One or more positioning measurement signals are transmitted from the one or more other UEs 205 to the UE 255, from the UE 205 to the one or more other UEs 255, or both via the SL 260. Various signals may be used for positioning measurements, including SL PRS (also referred to as "SL-PRS"). In some cases, the positioning of at least one of the one or more other UEs 205 may be determined simultaneously with the positioning of the UE 255 (e.g., in the same positioning session). In some embodiments, the LMF 220 may coordinate the sending of positioning signals via the SL 260 between the UE 205 and the one or more other UEs 255. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 205 and the one or more other UEs 255 may coordinate a positioning session between them without the LMF 220 or even a Uu connection 239 to an access node of the NG-RAN 235. To this end, the UE 205 and one or more other UEs 255 may communicate messages via the SL 260 using the SL Positioning Protocol (SLPP). In some scenarios, the one or more other UEs 255 may have a Uu connection 239 with an access node of the NG-RAN 235 and / or a Wi-Fi connection with the WLAN 216 (when the UE 205 does not have such a connection). In such cases, the one or more other UEs 255 may operate as relay devices, thereby relaying communications from the UE 205 to the network (e.g., LMF 220). In such cases, multiple other UEs 255 may form a chain between the UE 205 and the access node.

[0064] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods may be classified as "UE-assisted" or "UE-based". This may depend on where the request to determine the location of the UE 205 originates. For example, where the request originates from the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" executed by the UE), the positioning method may be classified as UE-based. On the other hand, where the request originates from an external client 230, LMF 220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method may be classified as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0065] With UE-assisted positioning methods, the UE 205 may obtain location measurements and transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) for use in computing a location estimate for the UE 205. For RAT-dependent positioning methods, the location measurements may include one or more of the following for one or more access points of the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), round trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time of arrival (TOA), AoA, receive time-transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or timing advance (TA). Additionally or alternatively, similar measurements may be made on SL signals sent by other UEs, which may be used as anchor points for positioning the UE 205 if the locations of these other UEs are known. The position measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements for RAT-independent positioning methods, such as GNSS (eg, GNSS pseudoranges for GNSS satellites 207 , GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase), WLAN, and the like.

[0066] Using the UE-based positioning method, the UE 205 can obtain a position measurement (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurement of the UE-assisted positioning method), and the position of the UE 205 can be further calculated (e.g., with the aid of auxiliary data received from a location server such as LMF 220, SLP or broadcast by gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216).

[0067] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN 216), or N3IWF 250 may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA) for signals sent by UE 205, and / or may receive measurements obtained by UE 205 or, in the case of N3IWF 250, by APs in WLAN 216, and may transmit the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) for use in calculating a position estimate for UE 205.

[0068] Positioning of UE 205 may also be classified as UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based, depending on the type of signal used for positioning. For example, in the case where positioning is based only on signals received at UE 205 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), the positioning may be classified as DL-based. On the other hand, in the case where positioning is based only on signals sent by UE 205 (which may be received by, for example, a base station or other UE), the positioning may be classified as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning based on signals sent and received by UE 205, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning includes signals communicated between UE 205 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning as described herein may be able to use SL signaling as a supplement or replacement for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0069] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based), the type of reference signals used may be different. For example, for DL-based positioning, these signals may include PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by a base station or SL-PRS transmitted by other UEs), which may be used for TDOA measurement, AoD measurement, and RTT measurement. Other reference signals that may be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) may include: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Synchronization Signal (e.g., Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Synchronization Signal (SS)), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), etc. In addition, the reference signals may be transmitted in a Tx beam and / or received in an Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which may affect angle measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0070] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C is a simplified illustration of a scenario in which SL positioning may be used to determine the location of a target UE 305 according to some embodiments. One or more anchor UEs 310 may be used to transmit and / or receive reference signals via the SL. As illustrated, one or more base stations 320 (Uu interface) may also be used to determine positioning. However, it will be understood that the signals used for positioning of the UE 305 may vary depending on the desired functionality. More specifically, some types of positioning may utilize signals other than, for example, FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Signals other than RTT / TDOA illustrated in .

[0071] Figure 3AThe diagram of illustrates a configuration in which positioning of a target UE 305 may include RTT and / or TDOA measurements between the target UE 305 and three base stations 320. In this configuration, the target UE 305 may be within the coverage of a DL and / or UL signal via a Uu connection with the base station 320. Additionally, an anchor UE 310 at a known location may be used to improve positioning determination of the target UE 305 by providing an additional anchor. As illustrated, ranging may be performed between the target UE 305 and the anchor UE 310 by performing RTT measurements via a SL connection between the target UE 305 and the anchor UE 310.

[0072] Figure 3B The diagram of illustrates a configuration in which the positioning of the target UE 305 may be SL-only positioning / ranging. In this configuration, the target UE 305 may perform RTT measurements via a SL connection between multiple anchor UEs 310. In this example, the target UE 305 may not be in the UL coverage of the base station 320, and therefore each anchor UE 310 may report RTT measurement information to the network via a Uu connection between each anchor UE 310 and the base station 320. (In the case where the UE relays information between a remote UE and a base station, the UE may be referred to as a "relay" UE.) Such a scenario may exist when the target UE 305 has a weaker transmit power than the anchor UE 310 (for example, the target UE 305 includes a wearable device and the anchor UE includes a larger cellular phone, an IOT device, etc.). In other scenarios in which the target UE 305 is within the UL coverage of the base station 320, the target UE 305 may report the RTT measurement directly to the base station 320. In some implementations, no base station 320 may be used, in which case one of the UEs (eg, one of the anchor UEs 310 or the target UE 305 ) may receive the RTT measurement information and determine the location of the target UE 305 .

[0073] Figure 3C 305 may include a configuration in which the positioning of the target UE 305 and the anchor UE 310 receive a reference signal (DL-PRS) from the base station 320 and the target UE 305 transmits a reference signal (SL-PRS) to the anchor UE 310. The positioning of the target UE may be determined based on the known positioning of the base station 320 and the anchor UE 310 and a time difference between the time when the anchor UE 310 receives the reference signal from the base station 320 and the time when the anchor UE 310 receives the reference signal from the target UE 305.

[0074] As previously discussed, SL positioning (e.g., SL-only positioning or Uu / SL positioning, such as FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CThe use of a resource pool (RP-P) for positioning may be utilized. The RP-P may be communicated to the UE via the SL configuration (e.g., using the techniques described below), and may specify a specific resource pool for SL reference signals in different scenarios. A resource pool includes a set of resources (e.g., frequency and time resources in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme used by 4G and 5G cellular technologies) that may be used to send RF signals via the SL for positioning. Each resource pool may also include a specific subcarrier spacing (SCS), a cyclic prefix (CP) type, a bandwidth (BW) (e.g., subcarriers, bandwidth portions, etc.), a time domain position (e.g., periodicity and slot offsets). The resource pool may include, for example, a Tx resource pool for “Mode 1” SL positioning, where SL positioning is performed using one or more network-connected UEs, in which case the network-connected UEs may receive network-based resource allocations via a Uu interface with a base station (e.g., via downlink control information (DCI) or radio resource control (RRC)). Tx resource pools for "Mode 2" SL positioning, where autonomous resource selection is performed by the UE in the absence of network-based resource allocation. The resource pools may also include Rx resource pools, which may be used in Mode 1 or Mode 2 SL positioning. Each RP-P configuration may be relayed via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), which may retain one or more SL-PRS configurations. Each of the one or more SL-PRS configurations in the RP-P may include corresponding specific physical layer characteristics, such as the number of symbols, comb type, comb offset, number of subchannels, a certain channel size, and a starting resource block (RB). The RP-P configuration may also include sensing configuration, power control and / or channel busy rate (CBR).

[0075] Figure 4A and Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating how a positioning session may be performed via a SL according to some embodiments. Figure 1 Sample, Figure 4A and Figure 4B These are provided as non-limiting examples.Alternative embodiments may include additional or alternative features or components.

[0076] Figure 4A A SL positioning session (also referred to herein as a "ranging session" or simply "ranging") between two UEs, an initiator UE 405 and a target UE 410, is illustrated. Optional operations are illustrated with dashed lines. As illustrated, a SL session may begin with a discovery process 415, in which the initiator UE 405 and the target UE 410 may determine which UEs are nearby, thereby discovering each other without already knowing each other's presence.

[0077] Note that for a positioning session involving an “initiator” UE and a “target” UE (e.g. Figure 4A and Figure 4B ), the term "target UE" may have a slightly different meaning from previous usage. Whereas previous usage referred to the UE of the desired location as the "target UE", a "target UE" in a positioning session with an initiator UE may refer to a UE that responds to the initiator UE in the positioning session. In this latter case, the location of the target UE may or may not be the desired one. (For example, in some cases, the target UE may have a known location and may be used as an anchor to find the location of the initiator UE.)

[0078] At operation 420, the initiator UE 405 provides the target UE 410 with pre-PRS information, which may convey session parameters (e.g., timing, frequency, etc. of PRS transmission), to which the target UE 410 may optionally respond at operation 425. The response may include an acknowledgement or negotiation of different session parameters, etc. The initiator UE 405 and the target UE 410 may then transmit the PRS, as indicated at operation 430. As noted, in some embodiments, this may occur in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., an intelligent transmission system (ITS) spectrum), which may provide greater bandwidth, resulting in greater accuracy. The transmission of the PRS at operation 430 may be based on the session parameters provided in the pre-PRS at operation 420. Finally, at operation 435, the initiator UE 405 and the target UE 410 may transmit post-PRS information. The post-PRS information may include, for example, measurement information (e.g., ToA measurement for RTT determination), a determined distance (e.g., between the initiator UE 405 and the target UE 410), a determined positioning (e.g., of the initiator UE 405 and / or the target UE 410), or any combination thereof.

[0079] Figure 4B 4 is a diagram of a simplified scenario in which a single initiator UE 450 may perform a positioning session with multiple target UEs 460-1, 460-2, and 460-N (collectively and generally referred to herein as target UEs 460). As shown, the initiator UE 450 may communicate with any number of target UEs 460 (e.g., N target UEs). For example, for each target UE 460, the initiator UE 450 may perform the following: Figure 4A The positioning session shown in . Figure 4A As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the transmission of the PRS (operation 430) and the transmission of the PRS post (operation 435) may not be limited to the pair of the initiator UE 405 and the target UE 410, but may be broadcast or multicast to multiple receiver UEs. Figure 4BAll UEs in the scenario shown in FIG. 4 can receive positioning information from all other participating UEs. The known positions of the UEs can also be shared, which may result in an absolute positioning determination. If the UE positions are unknown, the inter-UE distances can still be shared. In order to coordinate among multiple target UEs 460, the initiator UE 450 can Figure 4A The dual UE session shown in is expanded to indicate the PRS transmission time of each participating UE (e.g., the order in which the participating UEs transmit the PRS) to each target UE 460 participating in the SL positioning session (e.g., before the PRS at operation 420).

[0080] In the current version of the 3GPP standard for SL positioning, it is assumed that each UE has a single TRP. However, this may not always be the case. A vehicle UE (VUE) is a type of UE that may include multiple TRPs (mTRPs). For example, an mTRP VUE may include one TRP in front of the vehicle and another TRP behind the vehicle. Other types of UEs may also include multiple TRPs, with some of them having more than two TRPs. However, the adoption of UE versions with mTRP capability is likely to be gradual. During the rollout of a new version of the SL standard with mTRP capability, there may be a phase where there is a heterogeneous mixture of UEs: a UE capable of performing a positioning session with a single-TRP UE may have to coexist with UEs with mTRP capability. The design of a SL protocol that is operable across different versions arises from the case where (i) a first UE may have only one TRP installed and a second UE may have more than one TRP installed (i.e., different capability UEs), and (ii) all UEs may have the same number of TRPs but different UEs may enable different numbers of TRPs during their SL measurements. About Figure 5A and Figure 5B Examples of these situations are discussed further.

[0081] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating a UE (specifically, a VUE) from an overhead perspective, which provides an example of possible heterogeneous UE positioning between a single-TRP UE and an mTRP UE. Figure 5A A first scenario 500A is shown, where the initiator UE 510 has a single TRP 515, and the target UE 520 has two TRPs: a first TRP 525 (in front of the vehicle) and a second TRP 530 (behind the vehicle).

[0082] In the first scenario 500A, the initiator UE 510 initiates a SL positioning session with the target UE 520. If the initiator UE 510 has only single TRP capability (e.g., cannot perform a positioning session with an mTRP UE), one possible way that the target UE 520 can operate in this scenario 500A to ensure compatibility may be to enable only a single TRP (e.g., its second TRP 530) so that a conventional sidelink protocol can be used. However, this scheme fails to utilize the mTRP capability of the target UE to perform enhanced sidelink ranging. That is, a SL positioning session using only one TRP will not be able to utilize the multiple spatial ranging measurements that can be performed between TRP 515 and each of TRP 525 and TRP 530. On the other hand, if the target UE 520 transmits multiple post-PRS measurements / pre-PRS measurements belonging to each of TRP 525 and TRP 530 during the SL positioning session with the initiator UE 510, the initiator UE 510 may not understand the measurements if it is only able to perform a positioning session with a single TRP UE.

[0083] Figure 5B A second scenario 500B is illustrated where the initiator UE 550 has multiple TRPs (a first TRP 555 and a second TRP 560) and the target UE 570 has a single TRP 575. Again, if the target UE 570 is not capable of performing a SL positioning session with an mTRP UE, the capabilities in this scenario 500B are limited. For example, the initiator UE 550 may enable only a single TRP to be compatible with the target UE 570, which in turn may fail to utilize both the TRP 555 and TRP 560 of the initiator UE 550, which may result in reduced accuracy of the SL positioning session. If the initiator UE 550 uses an mTRP, this may result in PRS being sent from both the TRP 555 and TRP 560, which the target UE 570 may not understand.

[0084] According to the embodiments herein, these questions can be, for example, Figures 6 to 9 The various ways to solve it are shown in .

[0085] Figure 6 The present invention includes a signal flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method 600 for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE 605 having a single TRP and a target UE 610 having a first TRP 615 and a second TRP 620. For example, the setting may reflect Figure 5A Scenario 500A. In this example, the target UE 610 may emulate the functionality of a UE with a single TRP.

[0086] Method 600 may begin with a discovery request transmitted by initiator UE 605, as shown at operation 625, which is responded to by target UE 610 with a discovery response, as shown at operation 630. Here, target UE 610 may learn the limited capabilities of initiator UE 605 from the discovery request message received at operation 625. As discussed in more detail below, this information may be conveyed via an explicit marking (e.g., indicating that initiator UE 605 has or does not have mTRP capability) and / or via another indication (e.g., a version number corresponding to a version with or without mTRP capability). With this knowledge, target UE 610 may send a discovery response at operation 630, behaving as if it only has a single TRP if the initiator UE has a single TRP. In addition, target UE 610 may also learn the limited capabilities of initiator UE 605 based on a PRS sequence sent by initiator UE 605, which may be conveyed in a PRS header sent at operation 635.

[0087] The remainder of the method 600 may be performed as if the target UE 610 has a single TRP. That is, according to the PRS configuration for the positioning session (e.g., in the pre-PRS sent at operation 635), the initiator UE 605 may send a PRS at operation 640, which may be measured by the target UE 610. According to some embodiments, both the TRP 615 and the TRP 620 may measure the PRS from the initiator UE 605. The target UE may also send the PRS from the first TRP 615 or the second TRP 620, as indicated at operation 645. The decision of the target UE 610 as to whether to use the TRP 615 or the TRP 620 to measure the PRS at operation 640 and to send the PRS at operation 645 may be based on different factors, as described in more detail below. The initiator UE 605 and the target UE 610 may then exchange post-PRS information, as indicated at operations 650 and 655. Therefore, the method 600 may enable the initiator UE 605 to be unaware of the target UE 610 having more than one TRP.

[0088] Depending on the desired functionality, the target UE 610 may transmit the PRS using any of the various options at operation 645. For the purpose of discussing these options, the PRS transmitted by the TRP of the initiator UE 605 may be referred to as the PRS 11 , and the PRS sent by TRP615 and TRP 620 may be respectively referred to as PRS 21 and PRS 22 .like Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 6 , each TRP of the target UE 610 may receive a PRS from the initiator UE 605. 11In addition, for ranging operations performed in a SL positioning session, the transmission time and reception time can be measured and communicated. In this example, the initiator UE 605 sends a PRS 11 The time can be called , and TRP 615 and TRP 620 receive PRS 11 The time can be called and .

[0089] Considering these terms, a first option for transmitting the PRS by the target UE 610 at operation 645 may include utilizing the PRS measured at operation 640. 11 The PRS is sent from the earliest TRP that arrives from the initiator UE 605. That is, the target UE 610 is used to send the TRP of the PRS to the initiator UE 605 at operation 645. This can be determined by:

[0090] (1)

[0091] Another option for sending PRS by the target UE 610 may include sending from a TRP that is more likely to have a line-of-sight (LoS) path with the initiator UE 605. This may help ensure the accuracy of the ranging measurement. In this option, the target UE 610 may utilize one or more additional sensors such as a camera, radar, etc. to determine the probability of a LoS condition at either or both of the first TRP 615 or the second TRP 620. This may be done, for example, by identifying an obstruction, identifying the initiator UE 605, or some combination thereof. If both TRP 615 and TRP 620 are likely to have the same LoS condition (e.g., both TRP 615 and TRP 620 are equally obstructed / unobstructed), other factors may be used to determine which TRP to use (e.g., based on ToA and / or power measurements of the PRS sent by the initiator UE 605 at operation 640).

[0092] Another option for sending the PRS by the target UE 610 may include sending the PRS from a randomly selected TRP or a TRP that consumes less power / fewer antenna elements at operation 645. Depending on the desired functionality, additional factors and / or further factors may be used in selecting which TRP to use to send the PRS.

[0093] The information provided in the PRS transmitted by the target UE 610 at operation 655 may also vary depending on the desired functionality, including which TRP (TRP 615 or TRP 620) transmits the PRS at operation 645. For example, assuming that the target UE 610 transmits from the first TRP 615, the PRS transmission time of the first TRP 615 may be referred to as In this case, in order to obtain a processing time that can be included in the PRS post-message sent at operation 655, the arrival time at the target UE 610 is calculated using one of the three options, for example: In the first option, is calculated as the minimum of the arrival times over all TRPs. That is:

[0094] , (2)

[0095] in For PRS 11 The time at which the first TRP 615 is reached, and For PRS 11 Time to reach the second TRP 620.

[0096] According to the second option, Calculated as the mean of the arrival times of both TRP 615 and TRP 620.

[0097] According to the third option, is calculated based on which TRP (first TRP 615 or second TRP 620) is used to send the PRS to the initiator UE 605 at operation 645. For example, if the first TRP 615 is used, the time to arrive at the first TRP 615 may be used. .therefore = Otherwise, if the second TRP 620 is used, then = .

[0098] By using (e.g. using one of the options above) the arrival time , the target UE 610 may then calculate the processing time to be included in the post-PRS message (transmitted at operation 655) as This processing time may be used by the initiator UE 605 to determine an RTT measurement for ranging between the initiator UE 605 and the target UE 610 .

[0099] Figure 7A signal flow diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method 700 for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE 705 having a single TRP and a target UE 710 having a first TRP 715 and a second TRP 720 is included. Figure 6 , for example, this setting can reflect Figure 5A Scenario 500A. In this example, the target UE 710 may emulate the functionality of multiple UEs (e.g., UEs corresponding to each TRP).

[0100] The method may begin with a discovery request transmitted by the initiator UE 705, as shown at operation 725, which is responded to by a discovery response transmitted by each of the TRPs 715 and 720 of the target UE 710, as shown at operation 730. As previously described with respect to Figure 6 As explained, the target UE 710 may determine whether the initiator UE 705 has mTRP capability based on the format and / or content of the discovery request. With this knowledge, the target UE 710 may send a discovery response at operation 730, thereby simulating two different target UEs. In addition, the target UE 710 may also learn the limited capabilities of the initiator UE 705 based on the PRS sequence sent by the initiator UE 705, which may be conveyed in the PRS header sent at operation 735.

[0101] By transmitting two discovery responses at operation 730, the target UE 710 can effectively operate the second TRP 720 as a "virtual" UE. That is, after receiving the discovery response, the initiator UE 705 can treat each of the responding TRPs 715 and TRP 720 as separate UEs. More generally, a target UE with m TRPs can transmit m discovery response messages in response to a discovery request from an initiator UE. This option becomes useful for enhancing positioning with multiple TRPs of the target UE 710, while being able to communicate with other UEs such as Figure 7 The initiator UE 705 and other single TRP UEs coexist.

[0102] The remainder of the method 700 may be performed as if the TRP 715 and the TRP 720 are two separate UEs. That is, according to the PRS configuration for the positioning session (e.g., in the pre-PRS sent at operation 735), the initiator UE 705 may send a PRS at operation 740, which may be measured by each of the TRP 715 and the TRP 720. And at operation 745, the TRP 715 and the TRP 720 may each send their PRS. Each of the TRP 715 and the TRP 720 of the initiator UE 705 and the target UE 710 may then exchange post-PRS information, as indicated at operations 750 and 755. Therefore, the method 700 may make the initiator UE 705 unaware of the target UE 710 having more than one TRP.

[0103] The PRS provided by the target UE 710 may be direct. Figure 6 Compared to method 600, method 700 may only involve sending a PRS post message for each TRP (first TRP 715 and second TRP 720), wherein the PRS post message for each TRP contains the PRS transmitted by the initiator UE 705 at the corresponding TRP. 11 The processing time corresponding to the difference between the arrival time of and the corresponding sending time of this TRP.

[0104] By appearing as a single TRP UE (e.g., as in method 600) or appearing as multiple single TRP UEs (e.g., as in method 700), the target UE can help ensure backward compatibility with a single TRP capable initiator UE that may not be able to conduct a positioning session with an mTRP UE. According to some embodiments, the target UE may determine whether to implement method 600 or method 700 based on any of a variety of factors. Because method 700 utilizes multiple TRPs, it may result in higher accuracy ranging. Therefore, the target UE may decide to implement method 700 (rather than method 600) based on the accuracy requested by the initiator UE (e.g., quality of service (QoS)). Additional or alternative factors for deciding whether to implement method 600 (appearing as a single UE) or method 700 (appearing as multiple UEs) may include available timing / scheduling resources, available processing resources, whether one or more TRPs of the target UE are blocked, or any combination thereof.

[0105] Figure 8 The present invention includes a signal flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method 800 for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE 805 having a first TRP 810 and a second TRP 815 and a target UE 820 having a single TRP. For example, the setting may reflect Figure 5B Scene 500B.

[0106] The method 800 may begin at operation 830, where each TRP 810 and TRP 815 of the initiator UE 805 transmits a discovery request to the target UE 820. Since the initiator UE 805 may be a higher version UE (e.g., capable of SL positioning with an mTRP UE), it may act in this manner rather than sending a discovery request based on a lower version. With this in mind, the discovery request transmitted at operation 830 may enable (i) a lower version target UE to understand the discovery request, and (ii) a higher version (mTRP-capable) target UE to understand the higher capabilities of the initiator UE 805 from the discovery request. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the first TRP 810 and the second TRP 815 may each include an index or other identifier (e.g., within an identifier of the respective TRP) that indicates to the target UE 820 that the separate discovery requests received at operation 830 were transmitted from different TRPs of the initiator UE 805. As shown in FIG. Figure 8 As shown in , the discovery request from the first TRP 810 includes the index "IDX-1", and the discovery request from the second TRP a 15 includes the index "IDX-2". In this way, the target UE 820 (if it has mTRP capability) can associate each discovery request with the corresponding TRP.

[0107] To implement this functionality, a common "basic ID" may be used. For example, a higher-version target UE may identify a common basic ID (e.g., "IDX") with each discovery request in each discovery request, which indicates that each discovery request is from a common initiator UE. Since the basic ID has different extensions (e.g., "-1" and "-2", which may represent bits of the TRP identifier used for extended information in the higher-version UE), the higher-version target UE may recognize and distinguish the discovery requests from each sender TRP. (An example of this is shown in Fig. 9 and described below.)

[0108] However, if the target UE 820 includes a lower version (single TRP capable) UE, the discovery request will only be considered as being sent by a different initiator UE. That is, the lower version UE will not recognize the common basic ID with different extensions, but can only recognize that the identifier in each discovery request is different. Therefore, the lower version target UE 820 will think that each discovery message comes from a different initiator UE. Figure 8 The method 800 illustrates an example method including a target UE 820 of a lower version UE.

[0109] Continuing with method 800, the target UE 820 in this case comprises a UE with single TRP capability. And therefore, the target UE will respond individually to each discovery request transmitted at operation 830, as if the first TRP 810 and the second TRP 815 of the initiator UE 805 were separate UEs. Therefore, the target UE will transmit a first discovery response to the first TRP 810 at operation 835-1, and transmit a second discovery response to the second TRP 815 at operation 835-2. The remainder of the method may then continue as if the first TRP 810 and the second TRP 815 were separate UEs, with each TRP transmitting a respective pre-PRS message at operation 840, sending a respective PRS at operation 845, and receiving a PRS from the target UE 820 at operation 850. In addition, each TRP 810 and TRP 815 may exchange post-PRS information with the target UE 820, as indicated at operations 855 and 860.

[0110] In one case, the RSU informs the UE that only lower version UEs exist in the geographical location. Upon receiving this information, the initiator UE uses a single TRP and behaves like a single TRP UE.

[0111] In one case, there is a pre-configuration provided to all UEs (eg based on geographical location) about the capabilities / versions that the UE should comply with.In a first position, the initiator UE behaves as a lower version UE, and in a second position, the initiator UE behaves as a higher version UE.

[0112] Fig. 9 A signal flow diagram illustrating an implementation of a method 900 for performing SL positioning between an initiator UE 905 having a first TRP 910 and a second TRP 915 and a target UE 920 having a first TRP 925 and a second TRP 930 is included. Thus, both the initiator UE 905 and the target UE 920 may include mTRP UEs, including higher version UEs capable of performing SL positioning with other mTRP UEs.

[0113] Method 800 may begin at operations 935-1 and 935-2, where the first TRP 910 and the second TRP 915 of the initiator UE 905 send discovery requests respectively. Figure 8In the method 800, the discovery request here can include identifiers of the TRP 910 and TRP 915 in a format that indicates to the higher version target UE that each TRP 910 and TRP 915 belongs to a common initiator UE 905. Since the target UE 920 has mTRP capability, it can recognize that the discovery request transmitted in operation 935 belongs to two separate TRPs of a single initiator UE 905. This inference of the target UE 920 is shown at operation 940 of the method 900.

[0114] At this point, the remainder of method 900 may proceed according to the mTRP positioning protocol. For example, communications between target UE 920 and initiator UE 905 may be performed according to a higher version of the protocol and may include formats and content according to such protocols. In addition, non-PRS communications between initiator UE 905 and target UE 920 may be integrated into a single TRP. Fig. 9 As shown in , this may include providing a discovery response to the higher version request, which may include an indication to the initiator UE 905 that the target UE 920 has mTRP capability, as indicated at operation 945. Then, as shown at operation 950, the initiator UE 905 may then transmit a higher version confirmation (CNF) to the target UE 920.

[0115] The pre-PRS exchange at operation 955, the PRS transmission at operation 960, and the post-PRS exchange at operation 965 may each proceed according to the relevant mTRP protocol. (To avoid clutter, these operations are represented by boxes rather than separate arrows.) This may include one or more of: consolidating information exchanges between each UE into a single TRP, transmitting a PRS from each TRP, utilizing each TRP to measure each transmitted PRS, or any combination thereof.

[0116] According to some embodiments, a UE with mTRP capability may perform according to the functionality of a higher version based on different factors. That is, according to one or more factors, a higher version UE with more than one TRP may perform Figures 6 to 9 , the UE performs as a single-TRP capable UE in some cases and as an mTRP capable UE in other cases. For example, geographic location may be one such factor. For example, an mTRP capable UE (either as an initiator UE or as a target UE) may perform as a single-TRP capable UE in some locations and as an mTRP capable UE in other cases.

[0117] Fig.101 is a flow chart of a method 1000 for performing SL positioning according to an embodiment. For example, aspects of the method 1000 may reflect the Figure 7 The functionality of the target UE described in Fig.10 Functional components illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in may be executed by hardware components and / or software components of a UE (eg, a target UE as described in the embodiments herein). Fig.13 Example components of a UE are illustrated in FIG, and are described in more detail below.

[0118] At block 1010, the functionality includes receiving, at a target UE, a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE (e.g., via an SL interface), wherein the target UE includes a plurality of TRPs. As noted herein, the discovery request received from the initiator UE may indicate a version of the initiator UE and a corresponding capability of the initiator UE to perform a positioning session with a target UE having a plurality of TRPs. Means for performing the functionality at block 1010 may include a bus 1305, a processor 1310, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1320, a wireless communication interface 1330, a memory 1360, and / or other components of the UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0119] At block 1020, the functionality includes determining, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE. Figure 7 As noted, the determination may be based on an explicit flag and / or a version number. Thus, according to some embodiments of method 1000, determining that the initiator UE is unable to associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE is based on the discovery request including an indication that the initiator UE uses a version of a wireless standard that is incapable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, a flag indicating that the initiator UE is incapable of mTRP positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0120] Means for performing the functionality at block 1020 may include bus 1305, processor 1310, DSP 1320, wireless communication interface 1330, memory 1360, and / or other components of UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0121] At box 1030, the functionality includes: in response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE, participating in the SL positioning session with the target UE by either: (i) using only one of the multiple TRPs during the positioning session, or (ii) using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE. As previously noted herein, the response can help ensure backward compatibility with an initiator UE that is unable to perform a positioning session with a target UE having multiple TRPs. According to some embodiments, using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE may include: transmitting positioning reference signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or any combination thereof from each of the multiple TRPs.

[0122] As described herein, when only one TRP is utilized, different embodiments may do so in different ways. For example, according to some embodiments, utilizing only one TRP of multiple TRPs during a positioning session may include using the one TRP to transmit pre-positioning reference signal (PRS) information, PRS, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof. Such embodiments may also include: utilizing the target UE to select the one TRP from the multiple TRPs based on: the time at which the one TRP receives the PRS from the initiator UE, determining whether there is an unobstructed line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE, power consumption of the one TRP, or any combination thereof. In addition, according to some embodiments, determining whether the one TRP has an unobstructed line of sight with the initiator UE may be based on sensor information from one or more sensors of the target UE. Additionally or alternatively, an implementation may include: including in the PRS post-information information information indicating an arrival time of the PRS from the initiator UE at the target UE, wherein the arrival time includes: the earliest time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at any TRP among the multiple TRPs, the mean or average time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at each TRP among the multiple TRPs, or the time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at the one TRP.

[0123] Means for performing the functionality at block 1030 may include a bus 1305, a processor 1310, a DSP 1320, a wireless communication interface 1330, a memory 1360, and / or other components of the UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0124] Fig.11 is a flowchart of another method 1100 for performing SL positioning according to an embodiment. For example, aspects of the method 1100 may reflect the Figure 8 The functionality of the initiator UE is described. Fig.11 The functional means illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in may be performed by hardware components and / or software components of a UE (eg, an initiator UE as described in the embodiments herein). Fig.13 Example components of a UE are illustrated in FIG, and are described in more detail below.

[0125] At block 1110, the functionality includes transmitting a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE to a target UE (e.g., via a SL interface), wherein the initiator UE includes a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs), transmitting the discovery request includes transmitting a message from each of the plurality of TRPs, and for each of the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: (i) an identifier of the initiator UE and (ii) an identifier of the corresponding TRP. Figure 8 As described, according to some embodiments, both the identifier of the initiating UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP may be embedded in the identifier field within the discovery request. For example, in a higher version of the standard, the first portion of the bits used for the identifier may be dedicated as a "basic ID" to identify the UE, and the second portion of the bits used for the identifier may be dedicated as an "extension" used as a TRP identifier. (In Figure 8 , the basic ID is represented as "IDX" and the extensions are represented as "-1" and "-2". ) Therefore, according to some embodiments of method 1100, for each TRP of the multiple TRPs, both the identifier of the initiating UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP may be included in the UE identification field.

[0126] Means for performing the functionality at block 1110 may include a bus 1305, a processor 1310, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1320, a wireless communication interface 1330, a memory 1360, and / or other components of the UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0127] At block 1120, the functionality includes receiving, at the initiator UE, a response to the discovery request from the target UE. This may be in accordance with a standard discovery protocol, and as described herein, the content and / or format of the response to the discovery request may indicate whether the target UE is capable of conducting a positioning session with the initiator UE having multiple TRPs. Means for performing the functionality at block 1120 may include bus 1305, processor 1310, DSP 1320, wireless communication interface 1330, memory 1360, and / or other components of UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0128] At block 1130, the functionality includes: determining, based on the response to the discovery request, either of: (i) the target UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE, or (ii) the target UE can associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE. Means for performing the functionality at block 1130 may include bus 1305, processor 1310, DSP 1320, wireless communication interface 1330, memory 1360, and / or other components of UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0129] As described in the embodiments herein, depending on the decision made at box 1130, the initiator UE may subsequently behave in different manners. For example, method 1100 may also include: in response to determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, participating in the SL positioning session by using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE. In such cases, using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE may include: transmitting positioning reference signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or any combination thereof from each of the multiple TRPs. According to some embodiments, determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE may be based on the response to the discovery request, the response including a response message to each of the multiple TRPs. Additionally or alternatively, an embodiment of method 1100 may further include: in response to determining that the target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, participating in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information of the multiple TRPs, the TRP information including: pre-PRS information, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, determining that the target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE may be based on the response to the discovery request, the response including an acknowledgement of each of the multiple TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0130] Fig.12 1 is a flowchart of another method 1200 for performing SL positioning according to an embodiment. For example, aspects of the method 1200 may reflect the Fig. 9 The functionality of the target UE described in Fig.12Functional components illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in may be executed by hardware components and / or software components of a UE (eg, a target UE as described in the embodiments herein). Fig.13 Example components of a UE are illustrated in FIG, and are described in more detail below.

[0131] At box 1210, the functionality includes: receiving, at a target UE, a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE (e.g., via a SL interface), wherein receiving the discovery request includes: receiving a message from each of a plurality of TRPs of the initiator UE; and for each of the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: (i) an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP. Again, as described elsewhere herein, according to some embodiments, both the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP may be embedded in an identifier field within the discovery request. For example, in higher versions of the standard, a first portion of the bits used for the identifier may be dedicated as a "basic ID" to identify the UE, and a second portion of the bits used for the identifier may be dedicated as an "extension" used as a TRP identifier. (In Fig. 9 , the base ID is represented as "IDX", and the extensions are represented as "-1" and "-2". )

[0132] Means for performing the functionality at block 1210 may include a bus 1305, a processor 1310, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1320, a wireless communication interface 1330, a memory 1360, and / or other components of the UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0133] At block 1220, the functionality includes associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE based on the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP. The association may be in the form of identification by the target UE that the plurality of TRPs belong to the initiator UE. According to some embodiments, subsequent communications to the initiator UE may be integrated as a result. Means for performing the functionality at block 1220 may include bus 1305, processor 1310, DSP 1320, wireless communication interface 1330, memory 1360, and / or other components of UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0134] At block 1230, the functionality includes transmitting a response to the discovery request from the target UE to the initiator UE (eg, via the SL interface). Fig. 9As described, this may include: transmitting a request to the initiator UE to participate in a higher version of positioning (e.g., where the two TRPs of the initiator UE are identified as such and communications between the UEs may be integrated as described herein). According to some embodiments, transmitting the response to the discovery request may include: transmitting an acknowledgment of each of the multiple TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the target UE may include a second plurality of TRPs, in which case transmitting the response to the discovery request may include: transmitting the response using a single TRP of the second plurality of TRPs. In embodiments where the target UE includes a second plurality of TRPs, participating in the SL positioning session may include: integrating TRP information from the second plurality of TRPs, wherein the TRP information includes pre-PRS information, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0135] Means for performing the functionality at block 1230 may include bus 1305, processor 1310, DSP 1320, wireless communication interface 1330, memory 1360, and / or other components of UE 1300, such as Fig.13 exemplified in .

[0136] Fig.13 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a UE 1300, which may be utilized as described herein above (eg, in conjunction with the previously described figures). Thus, the UE may correspond to and / or be incorporated in Figure 1 Mobile devices 105, Figure 2 UE205 and / or any other UE described herein (including the initiator UE and / or the target UE). It should be noted that Fig.13 It is intended only to provide a generalized illustration 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.13 The system may be executed by one or more of the hardware components and / or software components illustrated in the specification.

[0137] UE 1300 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via bus 1305 (or may otherwise communicate, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include a processor 1310, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., application processors), one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or components. Processor 1310 may include one or more processing units, which may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or multiple ICs. Fig.13As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1320, depending on the desired functionality. Position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication (discussed below) may be provided in the processor 1310 and / or the wireless communication interface 1330. The UE 1300 may also include: one or more input devices 1370, which may include but are not limited to one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials and / or switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 1315, which may include but are not limited to one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light emitting diodes (LEDs) and / or speakers, etc.

[0138] UE 1300 may also include a wireless communication interface 1330, 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 Bluetooth ® Device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE 802.15.4 device, Wi-Fi device, WiMAX device, WAN device and / or various cellular devices, etc.), etc., the wireless communication interface may enable UE 1300 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 1330 may allow the TRP of the network to communicate (e.g., send and receive) data and signaling, such as 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 device communicatively coupled to the TRP, as described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1332 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1334. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna 1332 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof. The antenna 1332 may be able to use 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 with corresponding digital and / or analog circuitry. The wireless communication interface 1330 may include such circuitry.

[0139] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1330 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 1300 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 CDMA2000. ® , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), etc. CDMA2000 ® Includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network may employ Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), and the like. 5G NR, LTE, Advanced LTE, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). CDMA2000 ® Described in documents from an organization 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, while 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.

[0140] UE 1300 may also include sensors 1340. Sensors 1340 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, and barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to obtain positioning-related measurements and / or other information.

[0141] Embodiments of UE 1300 may also include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver 1380 that is capable of receiving signals 1384 from one or more GNSS satellites using antenna 1382 (which may be the same as antenna 1332). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. GNSS receiver 1380 may use conventional techniques to extract the location of UE 1300 from GNSS satellites of GNSS systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) over Japan, IRNSS over India, and / or BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) over China, etc. In addition, the GNSS receiver 1380 may be used with various augmentation systems, such as, for example, a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as, for example, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and / or the Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN), among others.

[0142] It may be pointed out that although Fig.13 GNSS receiver 1380 is illustrated as a different component in the figure, but the embodiments are not limited to this. As used herein, the term "GNSS receiver" may include hardware and / or software components configured to obtain GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Therefore, in some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may include a measurement engine executed by one or more processors (such as processor 1310, DSP 1320 and / or a processor within wireless communication interface 1330 (for example, in a modem)) (as software). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the positioning of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS) or a particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors such as processor 1310 or DSP 1320.

[0143] UE 1300 may also include and / or communicate with memory 1360. Memory 1360 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 and / or flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems and / or database structures, etc.

[0144] The memory 1360 of the UE 1300 may also include software elements ( Fig.13 1300 (and / or the processor 1310 or DSP 1320 within the UE 1300). Such code and / or instructions may then 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.

[0145] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized 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.

[0146] With reference to the accompanying drawings, components that may include memory may include non-transitory 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 causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may be involved when 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 specific implementations, 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 memory box, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or codes.

[0147] The methods, systems and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, replace or add various processes or components as appropriate. 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, technology may evolve, and therefore many elements are examples, which do not limit the scope of the present disclosure to those specific examples.

[0148] It turns out that it is convenient to sometimes refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers or digital symbols, etc., mainly for reasons of common usage. However, it should be understood that all of these or similar terms should be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise specifically stated, as is apparent from the above discussion, it should be understood that throughout this specification, discussions using terms such as "processing," "calculating," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "associating," "measuring," "performing," etc. refer to the actions or processes of a specific device such as a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device. Therefore, 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 in a memory, register, or other information storage device, a transmitting device, or a display device of a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device.

[0149] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" may include multiple meanings that are also intended to depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to represent A, B, and C (inclusive meanings are used here) as well as A, B, or C (exclusive meanings are used here). In addition, as used herein, the term "one or more" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular form, 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 subject matter claimed is not limited to this example. In addition, the term "at least one of...", if used in association with a list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted to represent any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0150] 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 components of a larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over the application of the various embodiments or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. In addition, several steps may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0151] In view of this description, various embodiments may include different combinations of features. Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0152] Clause 1. A method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: receiving, at a target user equipment (UE) from an initiator UE, a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session, wherein the target UE includes a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs); determining, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE; and in response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE, participating in the SL positioning session with the target UE in any of the following ways: (i) using only one of the plurality of TRPs during the SL positioning session, or (ii) using each of the plurality of TRPs such that each TRP operates as a different UE.

[0153] Clause 2. A method according to clause 1, wherein determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE is based on the discovery request, the discovery request comprising: an indication that the initiator UE uses a version of a wireless standard that cannot perform multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, a flag indicating that the initiator UE cannot perform mTRP positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0154] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein using only one of the multiple TRPs during the SL positioning session includes: using the one TRP to transmit: pre-positioning reference signal (PRS) information, PRS, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0155] Clause 4. The method according to Clause 3 further includes: using the target UE to select the one TRP from the multiple TRPs based on the following items: the time when the one TRP receives the PRS from the initiator UE, determining whether there is an obstructed line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE, the power consumption of the one TRP, or any combination thereof.

[0156] Clause 5. A method according to clause 4, wherein determining that the one TRP has an unobstructed line of sight with the initiator UE is based on sensor information from one or more sensors of the target UE.

[0157] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 3 further includes: including in the PRS post-information information information indicating the arrival time of the PRS from the initiator UE at the target UE, wherein the arrival time includes: the earliest time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at any TRP among the multiple TRPs, the mean or average time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at each TRP among the multiple TRPs, or the time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at the one TRP.

[0158] Clause 7. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE includes: transmitting from each of the multiple TRPs: positioning reference signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or any combination thereof.

[0159] Clause 8. A method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: transmitting a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator user equipment (UE) to a target user equipment (UE), wherein: the initiator UE includes multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs); transmitting the discovery request comprises: transmitting a message from each of the multiple TRPs; and for each of the multiple TRPs, the corresponding message comprises: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP; receiving a response to the discovery request from the target UE at the initiator UE; and based on the response to the discovery request, determining any one of the following: the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, or the target UE can associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

[0160] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein, for each TRP of the plurality of TRPs, both the identifier of the initiating UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP are included in a UE identification field.

[0161] Clause 10. According to the method described in any one of Clauses 8 to 9, the method further includes: in response to determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, participating in the SL positioning session by using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

[0162] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein using each of the plurality of TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE comprises: transmitting from each of the plurality of TRPs: pre-positioning reference signal (PRS) information, PRS, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0163] Clause 12. A method according to clause 10, wherein determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE is based on the response to the discovery request, the response including a response message to each of the multiple TRPs.

[0164] Clause 13. The method according to Clause 8 further includes: in response to determining that the target UE is able to associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, participating in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information of the multiple TRPs, the TRP information including: pre-PRS information, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0165] Clause 14. A method according to clause 13, wherein determining that the target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE is based on the response to the discovery request, the response comprising: confirmation of each of the multiple TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0166] Clause 15. A method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: receiving, at a target user equipment (UE) from an initiator UE, a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session, wherein: receiving the discovery request comprises: receiving a message from each of a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the initiator UE; and for each of the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message comprises: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP; associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE based on the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP; and transmitting a response to the discovery request from the target UE to the initiator UE.

[0167] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein transmitting the response to the discovery request comprises transmitting: an acknowledgement of each of the plurality of TRPs, an indication that the target UE utilizes a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0168] Clause 17. A method according to any one of clauses 15 to 16, wherein the target UE comprises a second plurality of TRPs, and wherein transmitting the response to the discovery request comprises: transmitting the response using a single TRP of the second plurality of TRPs.

[0169] Clause 18. The method according to Clause 17, further comprising: participating in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information from the second plurality of TRPs, the TRP information comprising: pre-PRS information, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0170] Clause 19. A target user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the target UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE via the transceiver, wherein the target UE comprises multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs); determine, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE; and in response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE, participate in the SL positioning session with the target UE in any of the following ways: (i) using only one of the multiple TRPs during the SL positioning session, or (ii) using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

[0171] Clause 20. A target UE according to clause 19, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the target UE based on the discovery request, the discovery request comprising: an indication that the initiator UE uses a version of a wireless standard that cannot perform multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, a flag indicating that the initiator UE cannot perform mTRP positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0172] Clause 21. A target UE according to any one of clauses 19 to 20, wherein, in order to use only one TRP of the multiple TRPs during the SL positioning session, the one or more processors are configured to use the one TRP to transmit positioning reference signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or any combination thereof.

[0173] Clause 22. A target UE according to clause 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to select the one TRP from the multiple TRPs based on: the time at which the one TRP receives the PRS from the initiator UE, determining whether there is an obstructed line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE, the power consumption of the one TRP, or any combination thereof.

[0174] Clause 23. A target UE according to clause 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform a determination of whether there is an obstructed line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE based on sensor information from one or more sensors.

[0175] Clause 24. A target UE according to Clause 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include in the post-PRS information information information indicating an arrival time of the PRS from the initiator UE at the target UE, wherein the arrival time comprises: the earliest time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at any TRP among the multiple TRPs, the mean or average time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at each TRP among the multiple TRPs, or the time when the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at the one TRP.

[0176] Clause 25. A target UE according to any one of clauses 19 to 24, wherein, in order to use each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE, the one or more processors are configured to transmit positioning reference signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or any combination thereof from each of the multiple TRPs.

[0177] Clause 26. An initiator user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the initiator UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmit a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session to a target UE via the transceiver, wherein: the initiator UE comprises multiple transmit / receive points (TRPs); wherein, in order to transmit the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to transmit a message from each of the multiple TRPs; and for each of the multiple TRPs, the corresponding message comprises: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of the corresponding TRP; receive a response to the discovery request from the target UE via the transceiver; and determine any one of the following: the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, or the target UE can associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

[0178] Clause 27. An initiator UE according to Clause 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include both the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP in a UE identification field for each TRP in the plurality of TRPs.

[0179] Clause 28. An initiator UE according to any one of clauses 26 to 27, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, in response to determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, participate in the SL positioning session by using each of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

[0180] Clause 29. An initiator UE according to Clause 28, wherein, in order to use each TRP of the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE, the one or more processors are configured to transmit positioning reference signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or any combination thereof from each TRP of the multiple TRPs.

[0181] Clause 30. An initiator UE according to any one of clauses 28 to 29, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE based on the response to the discovery request, and the response includes a response message to each of the multiple TRPs.

[0182] Clause 31. An initiator UE according to any one of clauses 26 to 30, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to participate in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information of the multiple TRPs in response to determining that the target UE is able to associate each TRP of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, the TRP information comprising: pre-PRS information, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0183] Clause 32. An initiator UE according to clause 31, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE based on the response to the discovery request, the response comprising: a confirmation of each of the multiple TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0184] Clause 33. A target user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the target UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE via the transceiver, wherein: in order to receive the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to receive a message from each of a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the initiator UE; and for each of the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message comprises: an identifier of the initiator UE and an identifier of a corresponding TRP; associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE based on the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP; and transmitting a response to the discovery request to the initiator UE via the transceiver.

[0185] Clause 34. A target UE according to clause 33, wherein, in order to transmit the response to the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to transmit: an acknowledgement of each of the multiple TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or any combination thereof.

[0186] Clause 35. A target UE according to any one of clauses 33 to 34, wherein the target UE comprises a second plurality of TRPs, and wherein, in order to transmit the response to the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to use a single TRP of the second plurality of TRPs to transmit the response.

[0187] Clause 36. A target UE according to any one of clauses 33 to 35, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to participate in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information from the second plurality of TRPs, the TRP information comprising: pre-PRS information, post-PRS information, or any combination thereof.

[0188] Clause 37. An apparatus having means for performing the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 36.

[0189] Clause 38. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions comprising code for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 36.

Claims

1. A method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: receiving, at a target user equipment (UE), a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE, wherein the target UE includes a plurality of transmission / reception points (TRPs); determining, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE; as well as In response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE, participating in the SL positioning session with the target UE by any one of the following ways: (i) using only one TRP of the plurality of TRPs during the SL positioning session, or (ii) Using each TRP among the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE is based on the discovery request, the discovery request comprising: an indication that the initiating UE uses a version of a radio standard that is not capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, A flag indicating that the initiating UE cannot perform mTRP positioning, or Any combination of them.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein using only one of the plurality of TRPs during the SL positioning session comprises: Use the one TRP to transmit: Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: Selecting, by the target UE, the one TRP from the plurality of TRPs based on: The time at which the one TRP receives the PRS from the initiator UE, Determine whether there is any obstructed line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE, The power consumption of one TRP, or Any combination of them.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein determining whether there is an obstruction in the line of sight between the one TRP and the initiating UE is based on sensor information from one or more sensors of the target UE.

6. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: The PRS post-information includes information indicating an arrival time at which the PRS from the initiator UE is received at the target UE, wherein the arrival time includes: the earliest time at which the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at any of the TRPs in the plurality of TRPs, the mean or average time of arrival of the PRS from the initiating UE at each of the plurality of TRPs, or The time when the PRS from the initiating UE arrives at the one TRP.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein using each of the plurality of TRPs such that each TRP operates as a different UE comprises: Transmitted from each TRP of the plurality of TRPs: Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

8. A method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: A discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session is transmitted from an initiator user equipment (UE) to a target user equipment (UE), wherein: The initiator UE includes a plurality of transmission / reception points (TRPs); Transmitting the discovery request comprises: transmitting a message from each of the plurality of TRPs; and For each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: The identifier of the initiating UE, and The identifier of the corresponding TRP; receiving, at the initiator UE, a response to the discovery request from the target UE; and Based on the response to the discovery request, determine any of the following: (i) the target UE is unable to associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE, or (ii) The target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: For each TRP of the multiple TRPs, both the identifier of the initiating UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP are included in a UE identification field.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: In response to determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, each TRP operates as a different UE by using each of the multiple TRPs to participate in the SL positioning session.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein using each of the plurality of TRPs such that each TRP operates as a different UE comprises: Transmitted from each TRP of the plurality of TRPs: Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE is based on the response to the discovery request, the response comprising a response message to each of the multiple TRPs.

13. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: In response to determining that the target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE, participating in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information of the multiple TRPs, the TRP information comprising: Pre-PRS information, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining that the target UE is capable of associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE is based on the response to the discovery request, the response comprising: confirmation of each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or Any combination of them.

15. A method for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the method comprising: A discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session is received at a target user equipment (UE) from an initiator UE, wherein: Receiving the discovery request includes: receiving a message from each of a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the initiator UE; and For each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: The identifier of the initiating UE, and The identifier of the corresponding TRP; associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the originator UE based on the identifier of the originator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP; and A response to the discovery request is transmitted from the target UE to the initiator UE.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein transmitting the response to the discovery request comprises transmitting: confirmation of each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or Any combination of them.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the target UE comprises a second plurality of TRPs, and wherein transmitting the response to the discovery request comprises: The response is transmitted using a single TRP from the second plurality of TRPs.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: Participating in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information from the second plurality of TRPs, the TRP information comprising: Pre-PRS information, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

19. A target user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the target UE comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, via the transceiver, a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE, wherein the target UE includes a plurality of transmission / reception points (TRPs); determining, based on the discovery request, that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE; as well as In response to determining that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE, participating in the SL positioning session with the target UE by any one of the following ways: (i) using only one TRP of the plurality of TRPs during the SL positioning session, or (ii) Using each TRP among the multiple TRPs so that each TRP operates as a different UE.

20. The target UE of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the initiator UE cannot associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the target UE based on the discovery request, the discovery request comprising: an indication that the initiating UE uses a version of a radio standard that is not capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, A flag indicating that the initiating UE cannot perform mTRP positioning, or Any combination of them.

21. The target UE according to claim 19, wherein: In order to use only one TRP of the plurality of TRPs during the SL positioning session, the one or more processors are configured to transmit, using the one TRP: Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

22. The target UE of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to select the one TRP from the plurality of TRPs based on: The time at which the one TRP receives the PRS from the initiator UE, Determine whether there is any obstructed line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE, The power consumption of one TRP, or Any combination of them.

23. The target UE according to claim 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform a determination of whether there is an obstruction in the line of sight between the one TRP and the initiator UE based on sensor information from one or more sensors.

24. The target UE of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include, in the post-PRS information, information indicating an arrival time at which the PRS from the initiator UE is received at the target UE, wherein the arrival time comprises: the earliest time at which the PRS from the initiator UE arrives at any of the TRPs in the plurality of TRPs, the mean or average time of arrival of the PRS from the initiating UE at each of the plurality of TRPs, or The time when the PRS from the initiating UE arrives at the one TRP.

25. The target UE according to claim 19, wherein: To use each of the plurality of TRPs such that each TRP operates as a different UE, the one or more processors are configured to transmit from each of the plurality of TRPs: Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

26. An initiator user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the initiator UE comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmitting, via the transceiver, to a target UE a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session, wherein: The initiator UE includes a plurality of transmission / reception points (TRPs); wherein, to transmit the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to transmit a message from each of the plurality of TRPs; and For each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: The identifier of the initiating UE, and The identifier of the corresponding TRP; receiving, via the transceiver, a response to the discovery request from the target UE; and Based on the response to the discovery request, determine any of the following: The target UE is unable to associate each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE, or The target UE is capable of associating each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

27. An initiator UE according to claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to include both the identifier of the initiator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP in a UE identification field for each TRP in the multiple TRPs.

28. An initiator UE according to claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to participate in the SL positioning session by using each of the multiple TRPs to enable each TRP to operate as a different UE in response to determining that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE.

29. The initiator UE according to claim 28, wherein: To use each of the plurality of TRPs such that each TRP operates as a different UE, the one or more processors are configured to transmit from each of the plurality of TRPs: Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) pre-information, PRS, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

30. An initiator UE according to claim 28, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the target UE cannot associate each of the multiple TRPs with the initiator UE based on the response to the discovery request, and the response includes a response message to each of the multiple TRPs.

31. The initiator UE of claim 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to participate in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information of the plurality of TRPs in response to determining that the target UE is able to associate each TRP of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE, the TRP information comprising: Pre-PRS information, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

32. The initiator UE of claim 31 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the target UE is capable of associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the initiator UE based on the response to the discovery request, the response comprising: confirmation of each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or Any combination of them.

33. A target user equipment (UE) for performing sidelink (SL) positioning, the target UE comprising: Transceiver; Memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, via the transceiver, a discovery request corresponding to a SL positioning session from an initiator UE, wherein: To receive the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to receive a message from each of a plurality of transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the initiator UE; and For each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, the corresponding message includes: The identifier of the initiating UE, and The identifier of the corresponding TRP; associating each of the plurality of TRPs with the originator UE based on the identifier of the originator UE and the identifier of the corresponding TRP; and A response to the discovery request is transmitted to the initiator UE via the transceiver.

34. The target UE according to claim 33, wherein: To transmit the response to the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to transmit: confirmation of each TRP in the plurality of TRPs, an indication that the target UE uses a version of a wireless standard capable of multi-TRP (mTRP) positioning, or Any combination of them.

35. The target UE of claim 33, wherein the target UE comprises a second plurality of TRPs, and wherein, To transmit the response to the discovery request, the one or more processors are configured to transmit the response using a single TRP of the second plurality of TRPs.

36. The target UE of claim 35, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to participate in the SL positioning session by integrating TRP information from the second plurality of TRPs, the TRP information comprising: Pre-PRS information, PRS post-information, or Any combination of them.

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