Sidelink positioning reference signal measurement based on multiple measurement samples

Abstract

The disclosure relates to sidelink (SL) positioning measurements based on multiple measurement samples. In particular, a location server requests a receive (RX) device to report SL positioning measurements that have been made by a plurality of measurement samples. The RX UE requests a transmit (TX) UE to transmit a plurality of SL positioning reference signals (PRSs) over a plurality of SL PRS resources such that the RX UE can obtain a plurality of SL positioning measurement samples. Therefore, the SL positioning performance can be improved. This solution allows for high precision measurements and thus achieves high precision SL positioning.

Description

[0001] Cross references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 586,477, filed on September 29, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for sidelink (SL) positioning measurements based on multiple measurement samples. Background Art

[0004] Location awareness is a fundamental aspect of wireless communication networks and will enable a large number of positioning services in different applications. As the accuracy of the technology increases, the integration and utilization of location information in daily applications will grow significantly. Many positioning techniques that rely on techniques such as time of arrival (TOA), time difference of arrival (TDOA) and angle of arrival (AOA) require line of sight (LOS) propagation between a reference point (such as a network device) and the mobile device to be located. In some cases, the user equipment (UE) can help locate the device. Therefore, it is worth studying SL (Line of Sight) positioning. Summary of the invention

[0005] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the first device to: receive a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement based on multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples or multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources from a second device; send a second request for multiple sidelink positioning reference signals sent on the multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources used to combine the multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples to a third device; obtain the multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples based on the multiple sidelink positioning reference signals received from the third device; and determine the sidelink positioning measurement based on the multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0006] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the second device to: send a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources to a first device; and receive a measurement report indicating the sidelink positioning measurement from the first device.

[0007] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a third device is provided. The third device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the third device to: receive from a first device a second request for multiple sidelink positioning reference signals sent on multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources for combining multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples; and send multiple sidelink positioning reference signals to the first device via the multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources.

[0008] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources from a second device; sending a second request for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals sent on a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources for combining the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples to a third device; obtaining a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples based on the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals received from the third device; and determining a sidelink positioning measurement based on the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0009] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: sending a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources to a first device; and receiving a measurement report indicating the sidelink positioning measurement from the first device.

[0010] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving from a first device a second request for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals sent on a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources for combining a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples; and sending the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals to the first device via the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources.

[0011] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0012] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the fifth aspect.

[0013] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the sixth aspect.

[0014] It should be understood that the abstract is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0017] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram for SL positioning measurement based on multiple measurement samples according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing transmission of SL control information according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method implemented at a receiving device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 5 A flowchart of a method implemented at a server device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 6 A flowchart of a method implemented at a sending device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 7 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0023] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the ways described below.

[0026] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0027] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0028] It should be understood that, although the terms "first", "second" etc. in front of nouns etc. can be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, and they do not limit the order of nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element can be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed terms.

[0029] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions (wherein a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) refer to at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0030] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not mean performing the step immediately after “A” occurs, but may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0031] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "include", "comprise", "have", "have", "include" and / or "include" specify the presence of features, elements and / or parts, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, parts and / or combinations thereof.

[0032] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0033] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., implementation only in analog and / or digital circuits), and

[0034] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0035] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0036] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions; and

[0037] (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor that requires software (eg, firmware) for operation, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0038] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0039] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, for example, New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0040] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE toward a parent node, and a DU portion of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0041] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback facility, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless user equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automatic processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0042] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the spatial domain, a resource in the code domain, or any other combination of time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain and / or code domain resources to achieve communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0043] As used herein, the term "target device / target UE" may refer to a device to be positioned. The term "anchor device / anchor UE" may refer to a device that supports positioning of a target device. For example, an anchor device may send and / or receive reference signals for positioning via an SL interface (such as a PC5 interface). The anchor device may also provide positioning-related information. The functionality of an anchor UE (i.e., anchor node) may be similar to uplink / downlink (UL / DL)-based positioning, in which a gNB acting as an anchor transmits / receives reference signals to / from a target UE for positioning.

[0044] The term "SL positioning" used herein may preferably use a reference signal transmitted via the SL (i.e., PC5 interface) to locate the terminal device to obtain an absolute position, a relative position, or ranging information. The term "ranging" used herein may refer to determining the distance and / or direction between a terminal device and another entity (e.g., an anchor UE). The term "sidelink (SL) positioning reference signal (PRS)" used herein may refer to a reference signal for positioning purposes transmitted via the SL. The term "SL PRS configuration" used herein may refer to a set of configuration parameters for the SL PRS, such as time-frequency resources including its bandwidth and periodicity, and direction-related parameters (e.g., beam direction, beam width, and number of beams). The SL PRS (pre) configuration may also refer to the (pre) configured parameters of the SL PRS, such as transmit power. In addition, the SL PRS configuration in coverage or partial coverage may be determined by the network (e.g., by a location management function (LMF) or a gNB), and the coverage outside the coverage may be pre-configured and / or autonomously determined by the UE. SL synchronization considerations during anchor UE selection may also involve roadside units (RSUs), where fixed infrastructure entities of UE type or gNB type support vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) applications. Absolute positioning may refer to estimating the position of the UE in 2D / 3D geographic coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, altitude) within a coordinate system. In addition, relative positioning may refer to estimating the position relative to other network elements or relative to other UEs. The term "measurement sample" used herein may refer to the result of a measurement. For example, an RX UE may receive multiple sidelink (SL) positioning reference signals (PRS) from multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources. From each SL PRS resource, the RX UE obtains SL positioning measurements, such as SL reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, which correspond to a single SL RSTD measurement sample. From multiple SL PRS resources, the Rx UE may obtain multiple SL RSTD measurement samples. If multiple SL PRSs from multiple SL PRS resources are transmitted by the same antenna port and the same Tx beam from the TX UE, the RX UE may combine multiple SLRSTD measurement samples. The term "antenna reference point (ARP)" may refer to the location of the phase center, represented by an average constant offset from a physical point on the antenna. The ARP may be used as a fixed vertical reference. An ARP may correspond to an antenna panel or an antenna. The ARP may also be distinguished as a transmit ARP or a receive ARP. The term "SL PRS resource" used herein may refer to the time-frequency resources within a time slot in a dedicated SL PRS resource pool for SL PRS transmission. Characteristics associated with SL PRS resources may include at least: SL PRS resource ID, SL PRS comb offset and associated SL PRS comb size (N), SL PRS start symbol and number of SL PRS symbols (M), SL PRS frequency domain allocation.

[0045] In Uu positioning, the DL PRS resource identification (ID) is unique within the DL PRS resource set, so when the UE reports DL positioning measurements, it can report measurements associated with the DL PRS resource ID even if it uses multiple samples of the DL PRS resource. For example, periodic and semi-persistent reference signals (RS) are periodic signals with a specific period. For example, if a periodic channel state information (CSI)-RS resource or PRS resource is configured with 10 periodic time slots, the UE performs a measurement for every 10 time slots. It can obtain multiple measurement samples, but the UE may report an average measurement.

[0046] For reference signal (RS) measurements, the UE may perform multiple measurements for periodic or semi-persistent RS resources to ensure measurement accuracy. For example, if a particular timing of a PRS resource or CSI-RS (resource) is in deep fading, the UE may not be able to obtain appropriate measurements. Therefore, typically, the UE measures multiple samples and averages the obtained samples to determine the specific measurement to report. The detailed behavior of the average depends on the implementation. It may be questionable how many samples the UE needs to obtain.

[0047] SL positioning is based on multiple anchor UEs transmitting SL PRS, which are received by the target UE, e.g., SL TDOA method, or SL PRS are exchanged between the anchor and target UEs, e.g., SL (multi)RTT method, in order to locate the target UE and / or range the target UE relative to a reference UE (e.g., anchor UE) within the precise delay and accuracy requirements of the corresponding SL positioning.

[0048] In the SL positioning scenario, the SL PRS resource can be identified by a SL PRS resource ID, which is unique within the time slot of the dedicated SLPRS resource pool. For SL-PRS transmission, it proposes (1) SL-PRS transmission with periodic reservation: SL-PRS transmission reserved using a mechanism similar to SL periodic resource reservation of another TB in SL communication; and (s) SL-PRS transmission without periodic reservation: SL-PRS transmission that transmits SL-PRS at least once without periodic reservation, and its mechanism is similar to SL communication of SL resources without periodic reservation.

[0049] However, SL PRS resources are unique only within a time slot, so periodic reservation does not guarantee periodic transmission of a specific SL PRS. Even if multiple SL PRS resources are transmitted by periodic reservation, the UE cannot average the measurements obtained from these resources. In addition, even if the SL PRS resources share the same ID, the RX UE cannot average the SL positioning measurements because the UE cannot assume that these SL PRS resources are transmitted from the same antenna port, RF chain and / or the same transmission beam.

[0050] In the solution, a measurement combination indicator is proposed to support RX UE, but it is limited from the following perspective. For example, the RX UE needs to choose whether to combine multiple SL PRS resources, although they may be combinable. For example, in the case of UE RX-TX time difference measurement, multiple received SL PRSs may be associated with a single TX SL PRS. In another embodiment, if the RX UE has moved while receiving multiple combinable SL PRSs, the RX UE cannot combine the SLPRS. In addition, the location management function (LMF) or the server UE cannot know whether the RX UE has obtained multiple or single measurement samples. The measurement indicator can be indicated to the UE, but the RX UE can still decide whether to combine multiple measurement samples based on the RX antenna reference point (ARP) ID or due to other reasons (such as channel conditions). Therefore, a solution for SL positioning measurements based on multiple measurement samples is needed.

[0051] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the location server requests the RX device to report the SL positioning measurements that have been performed by multiple measurement samples. The RX UE requests the TX UE to send multiple SL PRSs through multiple SL PRS resources so that the RX UE can obtain multiple SL positioning measurement samples. This can improve the SL positioning performance. This solution allows high-precision measurements and thus achieves high-precision SL positioning.

[0052] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which an example embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, there is a device 110. The device 110 may be, for example, a mobile phone or a vehicle. The communication environment 100 includes a set of devices 120-1, 120-2, ... and 120-N (collectively referred to as "devices 120"), where N may be an integer. Note that the device set 120 may include any suitable number of terminal devices. The communication environment 100 also includes a device 130, which may be a server terminal device or a network node (e.g., a location management function (LMF) node). The server terminal device may have some or all of the functionality of the LMF.

[0053] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described as having a device 110 operating as a target device and a device 120 operating as an anchor device. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the target device may be implemented at the anchor device, and the operations described in conjunction with the anchor device may be implemented at the target device. The device 110 may be referred to as the "target device 110", and the terminal device 120 may be referred to as the "anchor device 120" hereinafter.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the link between the target device 110 and the anchor device 120 is referred to as a SL (SL), and the link between the anchor devices is also referred to as a SL. In some example embodiments, the anchor device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the target device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In some other example embodiments, the target device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the anchor device 120 is an RX device (or receiver). It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices and their connections shown in is for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation.Communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implement example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] The communication in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0056] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 2, which shows a signaling flow 200 for reference signal transmission alignment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The signaling flow 200 may involve an RX device 210, a TX device 220, and a device 130. In some example embodiments, for example, in a DL-like TDOA scenario, the RX device 210 may be the target device 110, and the TX device 220 may be the anchor device 120. In some other example embodiments, for example, in a UL link TDOA scenario, the RX device 210 may be the anchor device 120, and the TX device 220 may be the target device 110. Alternatively, in a multiple round trip time (RTT) scenario, both the target device 110 and the anchor device 120 may act as the RX device 210 and the TX device 220.

[0057] Device 130 may involve (2005) an anchor device (e.g., anchor device 120-1) having a positioning technology and a target device (e.g., target device 110) entering a SL positioning process. In some example embodiments, the positioning technology may include a DL-type TDOA, in which the anchor device sends a reference signal to the target device. In some other example embodiments, the positioning technology may include a UL-type TDOA, in which the target device sends a reference signal to the anchor device. Alternatively, the positioning technology may include multi-RTT, in which the target device and the anchor device transmit reference signals to each other and receive reference signals from each other.

[0058] In some example embodiments, the anchor device may report its SL positioning capabilities to device 130. Alternatively or additionally, the target device may also report its SL positioning capabilities to device 130. The SL positioning capabilities may include one or more of: SL positioning technology, measurement type, or number of TX / RX ARPs with their relative locations.

[0059] Device 130 sends (2010) a request for SL positioning measurement based on multiple SL positioning measurement samples or multiple SL PRS resources (hereinafter referred to as "first request") to RX device 210. In other words, RX device 210 receives the first request from device 130. For example, the first request may be used to request the RX device to report SL positioning measurements that have been performed by multiple measurement samples (e.g., at least more than N (>0) samples). In some example embodiments, the first request may also include a specific number of SL positioning measurement samples, such as N. In some example embodiments, if UL class TDOA is applied, the first request is sent to an anchor device that is RX device 120. Alternatively, if DL class TDOA is applied, the first request is sent to a target device that is RX device 120. In some other example embodiments, if multi-RTT is applied, the first request is sent to an anchor device and a target device.

[0060] In some example embodiments, device 130 may send (2015) to RX device 210 a request for a set of SL positioning measurements associated with a set of RX ARPs at RX device 210 (referred to as a "third request"). In other words, RX device 210 may receive the third request from device 130. For example, the third request may instruct RX device 210 to report M (>0) SL positioning measurements associated with M (>0) RX ARPs (such as each SL positioning measurement corresponds to each RX ARP), where M is an integer. For example, the set of SL positioning measurements may include one or more of the following: propagation time, RSTD (reference signal time difference), UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, RTOA (relative time of arrival) measurement, RSCP (reference signal carrier phase) measurement, RCPD (reference signal carrier phase difference) measurement, RSRP (reference signal received power) measurement, RSRPP (reference signal received power per signal path). Examples of these measurements are defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.215.

[0061] Alternatively, device 130 may send (2015) to RX device 210 a request for a set of SL positioning measurements for a target receive antenna reference point at RX device 210 (referred to as a "fourth request"). In other words, RX device 210 may receive the fourth request from device 130. For example, the fourth request may instruct RX device 210 to report SL positioning measurements for a specific RX ARP #ID. In some example embodiments, identification information of the RX ARP at RX device 210 may be pre-configured.

[0062] In another example embodiment, device 130 may send a request (referred to as a "sixth" request) to RX device 210 instructing RX device 210 to obtain a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples. In other words, RX device 210 may receive the sixth request from device 130. In some example embodiments, the sixth request may be included in the first request, for example, as an indication in the first request.

[0063] RX device 210 sends (2020) to TX device 220 a request for multiple SL PRSs transmitted on multiple PRS resources that can be used to combine multiple SL positioning measurement samples (referred to as a "second request"). In other words, TX device 220 receives the second request from RX device 210. That is, the second request may indicate multiple SL PRS transmissions. In some example embodiments, the second request may indicate the number of measurement samples required by RX device 210 (i.e., the number of SL PRS transmissions). In this way, RX device 210 can obtain multiple SL positioning measurement samples, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0064] In some example embodiments, RX device 210 may send (2025) a request for a TX ARP (referred to as a "fifth request") to TX device 220. In other words, TX device 220 may receive a fifth request from RX device 210. For example, the fifth request may indicate a target ARP. As an example, the fifth request may include an ID of the target ARP. Alternatively, the fifth request may indicate a group of TX ARPs for multiple SL PRSs at TX device 220. For example, the fifth request may include an ID of the group of TX ARPs. This may enable efficient use of multiple SL PRS resources.

[0065] TX device 220 may send (2030) SL control information (SCI) to RX device 210. In other words, RX device 210 may receive SCI from TX 220. In some example embodiments, the SCI may indicate that the SL PRS scheduled by the SCI is associated with a previous SLPRS resource and a TX ARP. For example, the SCI may indicate that the SL PRS transmitted in the current time slot is a repetition or periodic transmission of a previously transmitted SLPRS resource. In some example embodiments, for a multi-RRT scenario, since both the anchor device and the target device may act as TX device 220, both the anchor device and the target device may send SCI to indicate whether the current SL PRS transmission is a repetition of a previous SL PRS resource.

[0066] As an example, the SL PRS resource sent by the most recent N SCIs indicates that it is a repetition of SL PRS resource #1, where SL PRS resource #1 is scheduled / configured from the first SCI. Figure 3 As shown, the TX device 220 may send an SCI 310-1 to the RX device 210 for scheduling the SL PRS on the SL PRS resource 320-1. The TX device 220 may also send an SCI 310-2 to the RX device 210 for scheduling the SL PRS on the SLPRS resource 320-2, an SCI 310-3 to the SL PRS on the SL PRS resource 320-3, and an SCI 310-4 to the RX device 210 for scheduling the SL PRS on the SL PRS resource 320-4. In this case, the SCIs 310-2, 310-3, and 310-4 may indicate that the SL PRS resources 320-2, 310-2, and 320-4 are repetitions of the SL PRS resource 310-1, respectively. Note that Figure 3 The numbers of SCI and SL PRS resources shown in are examples only and are not limiting.

[0067] In some other example embodiments, the SCI may indicate the SL PRS resource identification information of the previous SL PRS. Alternatively, the SCI may indicate the timestamp of the previous SL PRS. The SCI may also indicate the TX APR information of the previous SL PRS.

[0068] TX device 220 sends (2035) one or more SL PRSs to RX device 210. In other words, RX device 210 receives one or more SL PRSs from TX device 220. For example, TX device 220 may send SL PRSs on SL PRS resources 320-1, 320-2, 320-3, and 320-4. In some example embodiments, TX device 220 may send the associated one or more SL PRSs using at least one of the following: the same RF chain, the same beam, the same transmit power, or the same antenna port. For example, the SL PRSs on SL PRS resources 320-1, 320-2, 320-3, and 320-4 may be sent using one or more of the following: the same RF chain, the same beam, the same transmit power, or the same antenna port of device 220. In this case, in some example embodiments, RX device 210 may determine that the plurality of SLPRSs are sent by a third device using at least one of the following through the association indicated by the SCI: the same RF chain, the same beam, the same transmit power, or the same antenna port of device 220. In some example embodiments, such as multi-RTT, RX device 210 may send 2040 the SCI and SL PRS scheduled by the SCI to TX device 220 .

[0069] In some example embodiments, TX device 220 may send (2045) information indicating one or more of the following: TX ARP information for a plurality of SL PRSs or location information of a TX ARP for SL PRS transmissions to device 130. In other words, device 130 may receive TX ARP information for SL PRS transmissions and location information about the TX ARP from TX device 220.

[0070] The RX device 210 determines (2050) multiple SL positioning measurement samples based on multiple SL PRSs received from the TX device 220. For example, the RX device 210 may measure the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the multiple SL PRSs. As an example, the RX device 210 may measure the RSRP on the SL PRS sent on the SL PRS resource 320-1. The RX device 210 may also measure the RSRP on the SL PRS sent on the SLPRS resources 320-2, 320-3, and 320-4. Alternatively, the RX device 210 may measure multiple SL relative arrival times (RTOA) based on the multiple SL PRSs. Note that the RX device 210 may obtain any appropriate metric based on the multiple SL PRSs that can be used for positioning. In some example embodiments, for a multi-RRT scenario, both the target device and the anchor device may send the SL PRS and perform SL positioning measurements. As an example, if a plurality of SLPRS from a plurality of SL PRS resources are transmitted by the same antenna port and the same Tx beam from the TX device 210, the RX device 210 may combine a plurality of SLRS TD measurement samples.

[0071] The RX device 210 determines (2055) a SL positioning measurement based on the plurality of SL positioning measurement samples (obtained at 2050). For example, the RX device 210 may determine whether to use all repeated SL PRS transmissions for the SL positioning measurement. For example only, the RX device 210 may determine whether to combine all SL PRS transmissions on the SL PRS resources 320-2, 320-3, and 320-4 that are repetitions of the SL PRS transmission on the SL PRS resource 320-1.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the RX device 210 may determine how many measurement samples to use to determine the SL positioning measurement. For example, in a case where the RX device 210 has moved between identical PRS transmissions having multiple repetitions, the RX device 210 may determine to report the SL positioning measurement based on a single measurement sample. Note that the device 130 uses the reported measurements and the specific coordinates of the RX device, so the RX device 210 may not mix multiple measurement samples if the RX device 210 has been at different locations. In some other example embodiments, the RX device 210 may determine the number of measurement samples to use to determine the SL positioning measurement value, for example, based on the first request, for example, based on a specific number of SL positioning measurement samples indicated in the first request.

[0073] RX device 210 may send (2060) a measurement report indicating the SL positioning measurements to device 130. In other words, device 130 may receive a measurement report indicating the SL positioning measurements from RX device 210. In some example embodiments, if a third request is received for a set of SL positioning measurements associated with a set of RX ARPs, the measurement report may include the set of SL positioning measurements. Alternatively, if a fourth request is received for a set of SL positioning measurements for a target RX ARP, the measurement report may include the set of SL positioning measurements.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the measurement report may also include one or more of the following: a SL positioning type related to the SL positioning measurement, identification information associated with multiple SL PRS resources, ARP information associated with multiple SL PRSs, an actual number of SL positioning measurement samples used to determine the SL positioning measurement, or the number of at least one PRS used for the SL positioning measurement. For example, the RX device 210 may provide {SL positioning measurement, SL PRS resource #ID, RX ARP information, number of measurement samples} in the measurement report to the device 130. For example, the RX device 210 may then send {SL RTOA, (SL PRS resource #1, RX ARP #1), (SL PRS resource #2, RX ARP #1), (SL PRS resource #3, RX ARP #1)} to the device 130 in the measurement report. In some example embodiments, the identification information of the SL PRS resources may be configured by a network device, such as the device 130.

[0075] In some example embodiments, for a multi-RRT scenario, the RX device 210 may report the SL UE RX-TX time difference measurement, the number of measurement samples used, its associated two SL PRS resource IDs for transmission and reception, the RX ARPID and / or the TX ARP ID. For example, even if the RX device 210 uses the same ARP for SL PRS transmission and reception, the RX device 210 is still able to report the UE RX-TX time difference measurement for each ARP. For the same SL PRS resource transmitted from the TX UE, the RX device 210 may report a different number of measurement samples based on the ARP. For SL PRS reception of the same SL PRS resource, the RX UE can report the following: (1) UE RX-TX time difference measurement #1, RX ARP ID #1, SL PRS resource #ID sent to TX device 220 (from the RX device), the number of measurement samples used, and timestamp #1; (2) UE RX-TX time difference measurement #2, RX ARP ID #1, SL PRS resource #ID sent to TX device 220 (from the RX device), the number of measurement samples used, and timestamp #2.

[0076] Device 130 may determine (2065) an estimate of the location of the target device based at least on SL positioning measurements. For example, if device 130 receives information about (SL positioning measurements, SL PRS resource #ID, Rx ARP information, number of measurement samples), device 130 may determine which measurements to use to estimate the location of the target device based at least on the measurement samples. For example, if multiple devices (e.g., N devices) report SL positioning measurements, device 130 may select M devices (M < N), and if M SL positioning measurements are made based on a sufficient number of measurement samples, then select the M SL positioning measurements. For example, anchor devices 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3 may report SL RTOA measurements to device 130. If SL RTOA measurements from anchor devices 120-1 and 120-2 are made based on 4 samples, but SL RTOA measurements from anchor device 120-3 are made based on a single sample, then device 130 may select anchor devices 120-1 and 120-2 and their reported SL RTOA measurements.

[0077] Figure 4 A flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a first device acting as an RX device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0078] At block 410, the first device receives a first request for sidelink positioning measurements from a second device, the sidelink positioning measurements being based on multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples or multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources. In the present disclosure, sidelink positioning measurements include at least propagation time, RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference), UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, RTOA (Relative Time of Arrival) measurement, RSCP (Reference Signal Carrier Phase) measurement, RCPD (Reference Signal Carrier Phase Difference) measurement, RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) measurement, RSRPP (Reference Signal Received Power per Signal Path). Examples of these measurements are defined in 3GPP TS 38.215.

[0079] At block 420, the first device sends a second request for multiple sidelink positioning reference signals to a third device, the multiple sidelink positioning reference signals being sent on multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources, the multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources being used to combine multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0080] At block 430, the first device obtains multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples based on the multiple sidelink positioning reference signals received from the third device.

[0081] At block 440, the first device performs sidelink positioning measurements based on the multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the method 400 further comprises sending a measurement report indicating the sidelink positioning measurement to the second device.

[0083] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes receiving, from the second device, a third request for a set of side link positioning measurements associated with a set of receive antenna reference points at the first device, and sending, to the second device, a measurement report including the set of side link positioning measurements.

[0084] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes receiving, from the second device, a fourth request for a set of sidelink positioning measurements for a target receive antenna reference point at the first device, and sending to the second device a measurement report including the set of sidelink positioning measurements.

[0085] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes sending a fifth request to a third device, the fifth request indicating a target transmit antenna reference point or a set of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals at the third device.

[0086] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 400 further includes receiving sidelink control information from a third device, the sidelink control information indicating that a sidelink positioning reference signal scheduled by the sidelink control information is associated with a previous sidelink positioning reference signal resource and a transmit antenna reference point.

[0087] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes receiving sidelink control information from a third device, the sidelink control information indicating at least one of: sidelink positioning reference signal resource identification information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal, a timestamp for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal, or transmit antenna reference point information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0088] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes determining, based on an association indicated by the side link control information, that a plurality of side link positioning reference signals are sent by a third device using at least one of: the same RF link, the same beam, the same transmission power, or the same antenna port.

[0089] In some exemplary embodiments, the method 400 further includes determining a number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal for sidelink positioning measurements.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the measurement report also includes at least one of: a sidelink positioning type related to the sidelink positioning measurement, identification information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources, antenna reference point information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signals, an actual number of sidelink positioning measurement samples used to determine the sidelink positioning measurement, or the number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the first request also includes a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0092] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a receiving terminal device that serves as an anchor terminal device or a target terminal device, the second device includes a sending terminal device that serves as a target terminal device or an anchor terminal device, and the third device includes a network device or a terminal device.

[0093] Figure 5 A flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a second device as a server UE or LMF according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0094] At block 510 , the second device sends a first request to the first device for a sidelink positioning measurement based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources.

[0095] At block 520, the second device receives a measurement report from the first device indicating a sidelink positioning measurement.

[0096] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes sending a third request to the first device for a set of sidelink positioning measurements associated with a set of receive antenna reference points at the first device, and receiving a measurement report from the first device including the set of sidelink positioning measurements.

[0097] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes sending a fourth request to the first device for a set of side link positioning measurements for a target receive antenna reference point at the first device, and receiving a measurement report from the first device including the set of side link positioning measurements.

[0098] In some example embodiments, method 500 further includes receiving, from a third device, information indicating at least one of transmit antenna reference point information for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals, or position information of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the measurement report also includes at least one of: a sidelink positioning type related to the sidelink positioning measurement, identification information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources, antenna reference point information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signals, an actual number of sidelink positioning measurement samples used to determine the sidelink positioning measurement, or the number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises determining an estimate of a location of a target device based at least on the sidelink positioning measurements, wherein the target device is the first device or the third device.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the first request also includes a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further includes sending a sixth request to the first device, the sixth request instructing the first device to obtain a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0103] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a receiving terminal device that serves as an anchor terminal device or a target terminal device, the second device includes a sending terminal device that serves as a target terminal device or an anchor terminal device, and the third device includes a network device or a terminal device.

[0104] Figure 6 A flow chart of an example method 600 implemented at a third device as a TX device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0105] At block 610, the third device receives a second request from the first device for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals sent on a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources used to combine a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0106] At block 620 , the third device sends a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals to the first device via a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further includes receiving a fifth request from the first device, the fifth request indicating a target transmit antenna reference point or a set of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals at the third device.

[0108] In some exemplary embodiments, method 600 further includes sending sidelink control information to the first device, the sidelink control information indicating that a sidelink positioning reference signal scheduled by the sidelink control information is associated with a previous sidelink positioning reference signal resource and a transmit antenna reference point.

[0109] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes sending sidelink control information to the first device, the sidelink control information indicating at least one of: sidelink positioning reference signal resource identification information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal, a timestamp for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal, or transmit antenna reference point information for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises sending the associated multiple sidelink positioning reference signals using at least one of: the same radio frequency chain, the same beam, the same transmission power, or the same antenna port.

[0111] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes sending to the first device information indicating at least one of transmit antenna reference point information for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals, or information of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals.

[0112] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a receiving terminal device that serves as an anchor terminal device or a target terminal device, the second device includes a sending terminal device that serves as a target terminal device or an anchor terminal device, and the third device includes a network device or a terminal device.

[0113] In some example embodiments, any of the methods in method 400 (e.g., Figure 1 The first device (target device 110 or anchor device 120 in the embodiment of the present invention) may include components for performing the corresponding operations of method 400. The device may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the device may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the target device 110 or the anchor device 120.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: a component for receiving a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement from a second device, the sidelink positioning measurement being based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; a component for sending a second request for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals to a third device, the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals being sent on a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources, the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources being used to combine the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples; and a component for determining the sidelink positioning measurement based on the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for sending a measurement report indicating the sidelink positioning measurement to the second apparatus.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further includes components for receiving, from the second apparatus, a third request for a set of sidelink positioning measurements associated with a set of receive antenna reference points at the first device, and components for sending, to the second apparatus, a measurement report including the set of sidelink positioning measurements.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the first device also includes: a component for receiving a fourth request for a set of side link positioning measurements from the second device, the set of side link positioning measurements being for a target receive antenna reference point at the first device; and a component for sending a measurement report including the set of side link positioning measurements to the second device.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for sending a fifth request to the third apparatus, the fifth request indicating a target transmit antenna reference point or a set of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals at the third apparatus.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the first device further comprises: a component for receiving sidelink control information from a third device, the sidelink control information indicating that a sidelink positioning reference signal scheduled by the sidelink control information is associated with a previous sidelink positioning reference signal resource and a transmit antenna reference point.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the first device also includes: a component for receiving sidelink control information from a third device, the sidelink control information indicating at least one of the following: sidelink positioning reference signal resource identification information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal, a timestamp for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal, or transmit antenna reference point information for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises a component for determining, based on an association indicated by the side link control information, that a plurality of side link positioning reference signals are sent by a third device using at least one of: the same radio frequency link, the same beam, the same transmission power, or the same antenna port.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for determining a number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal for sidelink positioning measurements.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the measurement report also includes at least one of: a sidelink positioning type related to the sidelink positioning measurement, identification information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources, antenna reference point information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signals, an actual number of sidelink positioning measurement samples used to determine the sidelink positioning measurement, or the number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the first request also includes a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0125] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a receiving terminal device that serves as an anchor terminal device or a target terminal device, the second device includes a sending terminal device that serves as a target terminal device or an anchor terminal device, and the third device includes a network device or a terminal device.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 400 or the target device 110 or the anchor device 120. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of the first apparatus.

[0127] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 500 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1 The second device of the device 130 in the method 500 may include means for performing the corresponding operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second means may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the device 130.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for sending a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement to the first device, the sidelink positioning measurement being based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; and a component for receiving a measurement report indicating the sidelink positioning measurement from the first device.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes: a component for sending a third request to the first device for a set of sidelink positioning measurements, the set of sidelink positioning measurements being associated with a set of receive antenna reference points at the first device; and a component for receiving a measurement report from the first device including the set of sidelink positioning measurements.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the second device further includes: a component for sending a fourth request to the first device for a set of side link positioning measurements, the set of side link positioning measurements being for the target receive antenna reference point at the first device; and a component for receiving a measurement report including the set of side link positioning measurements from the first device.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises a component for receiving information from a third device indicating at least one of transmit antenna reference point information for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals, or position information of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the measurement report also includes at least one of: a sidelink positioning type related to the sidelink positioning measurement, identification information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources, antenna reference point information associated with multiple sidelink positioning reference signals, an actual number of sidelink positioning measurement samples used to determine the sidelink positioning measurement, or the number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for determining an estimate of a position of a target device based at least on the sidelink positioning measurements, wherein the target device is the first device or the third device.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the first request also includes a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for sending a sixth request to the first apparatus, the sixth request instructing the first apparatus to obtain a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

[0136] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a receiving terminal device that serves as an anchor terminal device or a target terminal device, the second device includes a sending terminal device that serves as a target terminal device or an anchor terminal device, and the third device includes a network device or a terminal device.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of method 500 or apparatus 130. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of the second apparatus.

[0138] In some example embodiments, any of the methods in method 600 (e.g., Figure 1 The third device of the target device 110 or the anchor device 120 in the method 600 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 600. The device may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the device may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The third device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the target device 110 or the anchor device 120.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the third device includes: a unit for receiving a second request for multiple sidelink positioning reference signals sent on multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources for combining multiple sidelink positioning measurement samples from the first device; and a unit for sending the multiple sidelink positioning reference signals to the first device via the multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises means for receiving a fifth request from the first apparatus, the fifth request indicating a target transmit antenna reference point or a set of transmit antenna reference points for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals at the third apparatus.

[0141] In some exemplary embodiments, the third device also includes: a unit for sending sidelink control information to the first device, the sidelink control information indicating that the sidelink positioning reference signal scheduled by the sidelink control information is associated with a previous sidelink positioning reference signal resource and a transmit antenna reference point.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the third device further includes: a unit for sending sidelink control information to the first device, the sidelink control information indicating at least one of: sidelink positioning reference signal resource identification information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal, a timestamp for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal, or transmit antenna reference point information for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises: means for sending the associated multiple sidelink positioning reference signals using at least one of: the same radio frequency link, the same beam, the same transmission power, or the same antenna port.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the third device further comprises: a unit for sending information to the first device indicating at least one of: sending antenna reference point information for a plurality of side link positioning reference signals, or sending location information of a transmitting antenna reference point for a plurality of side link positioning reference signals.

[0145] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device includes a receiving terminal device that serves as an anchor terminal device or a target terminal device, the second device includes a sending terminal device that serves as a target terminal device or an anchor terminal device, and the third device includes a network device or a terminal device.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 600 or the target device 110 or the anchor device 120. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of the third apparatus.

[0147] Figure 7 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be used to implement a communication device, such as the target device 110, the anchor device 120, or the device 130. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0148] The communication module 740 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

[0149] As non-limiting examples, processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes a master processor.

[0150] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that do not persist during a power outage.

[0151] The computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0152] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730 so that the device 700 may execute the Figures 2 to 6 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage device accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0154] Figure 8 An example of a computer readable medium 800 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has a program 730 stored thereon.

[0155] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof in non-limiting examples.

[0156] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module, executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. The machine executable instructions for the program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0157] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0158] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0159] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0160] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or performing all of the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0161] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to: receiving, from a second device, a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; sending a second request for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals to a third device, the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals being sent on the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources, the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources being used to combine the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples; obtaining the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples based on the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals received from the third device; as well as The sidelink positioning measurement is determined based on the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device: Sending a measurement report indicating the sidelink positioning measurement to the second device.

3. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device: receiving, from the second device, a third request for a set of sidelink positioning measurements associated with a set of receive antenna reference points at the first device; and The measurement report including the set of sidelink positioning measurements is sent to the second device.

4. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device: receiving, from the second device, a fourth request for a set of sidelink positioning measurements for a target receive antenna reference point at the first device; and The measurement report including the set of sidelink positioning measurements is sent to the second device.

5. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first device: A fifth request is sent to the third device, the fifth request indicating a target transmit antenna reference point or a set of transmit antenna reference points for the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals at the third device.

6. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first device: Sidelink control information is received from the third device, the sidelink control information indicating that a sidelink positioning reference signal scheduled by the sidelink control information is associated with a previous sidelink positioning reference signal resource and a transmit antenna reference point.

7. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first device: Receive sidelink control information from the third device, the sidelink control information indicating at least one of the following: Sidelink positioning reference signal resource identification information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal; a timestamp for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal; or Transmit antenna reference point information for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal.

8. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first device: Based on the association relationship indicated by the side link control information, it is determined that the multiple side link positioning reference signals are sent by the third device using at least one of the following: the same radio frequency chain, the same beam, the same transmit power, and the same antenna port.

9. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first device: A number of at least one sidelink positioning reference signal for use in the sidelink positioning measurement is determined.

10. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the measurement report further includes at least one of the following: a sidelink positioning type associated with the sidelink positioning measurement; identity information associated with the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; antenna reference point information associated with the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals; an actual number of the sidelink positioning measurement samples used to determine the sidelink positioning measurement; or The number of the at least one sidelink positioning reference signal.

11. The first device according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the first request further comprises a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

12. A second device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to: sending a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement to a first device, the sidelink positioning measurement being based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; as well as A measurement report is received from the first device indicating the sidelink positioning measurement.

13. The second device according to claim 12, wherein the second device: sending a third request to the first device for a set of sidelink positioning measurements associated with a set of receive antenna reference points at the first device; and The measurement report including the set of sidelink positioning measurements is received from the first device.

14. The second device according to claim 12, wherein the second device: sending a fourth request to the first device for a set of sidelink positioning measurements for a target receive antenna reference point at the first device; and The measurement report including the set of sidelink positioning measurements is received from the first device.

15. The second device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the second device: receiving, from the third device, information indicating at least one of the following: transmit antenna reference point information for the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals; or Position information of transmit antenna reference points for the multiple sidelink positioning reference signals.

16. The second device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the measurement report further includes at least one of the following: a sidelink positioning type associated with the sidelink positioning measurement; identity information associated with the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; antenna reference point information associated with the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals; an actual number of the sidelink positioning measurement samples used to determine the sidelink positioning measurement; or The number of the at least one sidelink positioning reference signal.

17. The second device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the second device: An estimate of a position of a target device is determined based at least on the sidelink positioning measurements, wherein the target device is the first device or the third device.

18. The second device according to any one of claims 12-14, wherein the first request further comprises a specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

19. The second device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the second device: A sixth request is sent to the first device, where the sixth request instructs the first device to obtain the specific number of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

20. A third device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third device to: receiving, from the first device, a second request for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals sent on the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources used to combine the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples; as well as The multiple sidelink positioning reference signals are sent to the first device through the multiple sidelink positioning reference signal resources.

21. The third device according to claim 20, wherein the third device is caused to perform at least one of the following: receiving a fifth request from the first device, the fifth request indicating a target transmit antenna reference point or a set of transmit antenna reference points for the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals at the third device; and Sidelink control information is sent to the first device, the sidelink control information indicating that a sidelink positioning reference signal scheduled by the sidelink control information is associated with a previous sidelink positioning reference signal resource and a transmit antenna reference point.

22. The third device according to claim 20, wherein the third device: Sending sidelink control information to the first device, where the sidelink control information indicates at least one of the following: Sidelink positioning reference signal resource identification information for a previous sidelink positioning reference signal; a timestamp for the previous sidelink positioning reference signal, or The transmitting antenna reference point information of the previous sidelink positioning reference signal is sent.

23. The third device according to claim 20, wherein the third device: The associated multiple sidelink positioning reference signals are sent using at least one of the following: the same radio frequency chain, the same beam, the same transmit power, and the same antenna port.

24. The third device according to claim 20, wherein the third device: Sending information indicating at least one of the following to the first device: transmit antenna reference point information for the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals; or Position information of transmit antenna reference points for the multiple sidelink positioning reference signals.

25. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, from a second device, a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; sending a second request for a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals to a third device, the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals being sent on the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources, the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources being used to combine the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples; obtaining the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples based on the plurality of sidelink positioning reference signals received from the third device; as well as The sidelink positioning measurement is determined based on the plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples.

26. A method for communication, comprising: sending a first request for a sidelink positioning measurement to a first device, the sidelink positioning measurement being based on a plurality of sidelink positioning measurement samples or a plurality of sidelink positioning reference signal resources; as well as A measurement report is received from the first device indicating the sidelink positioning measurement.

Images