Discovery of passive radio devices

Abstract

Disclosed is a method comprising: receiving association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radios and respective radios to which they are allocated, where the radios are configured to transmit activation signals to the passive radios to which they are allocated; determining a category of a passive radio device included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function with respect to activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device allocated to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, where the request indicates a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to the activation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following exemplary embodiments relate to wireless communications and connections with passive radio devices. Background Art

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

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

[0004] According to a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising components for performing the following operations: receiving association information, the association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining categories of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

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

[0006] According to a second aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the respective radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determine categories of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determine a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and send a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices to which they are assigned; determining categories of passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

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

[0009] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following operations: receive association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices to which they are assigned; determine categories of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determine a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and send a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising a computer program stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving association information, the association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining categories of passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving association information, the association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining categories of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

[0012] According to a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving association information, the association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining categories of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

[0013] According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving association information, the association information comprising information about a plurality of passive radio devices and the corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining categories of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and sending a request to the radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the radio device.

[0014] According to a ninth aspect, a system is provided, which includes at least a first radio device, a second radio device and a third radio device, wherein the system includes components for performing the following operations: receiving, by the first radio device, association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and to which of the second radio device or the third radio device they are assigned, wherein the second radio device and the third radio device are configured to send an activation signal to the passive radio device assigned to them; determining, by the first radio device at least in part based on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices, that a plurality of passive radio devices are to be activated; A category of passive radio devices; determining, by a first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the second radio device, and determining, by the first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the third radio device; and sending, by the first radio device, a request to the second radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device, and sending, by the first radio device, another request to the third radio device, wherein the another request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device.

[0015] According to a tenth aspect, a system is provided, which includes at least a first radio device, a second radio device and a third radio device, wherein the system is configured to: receive, by the first radio device, association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and to which of the second radio device or the third radio device they are assigned, wherein the second radio device and the third radio device are configured to send an activation signal to the passive radio device assigned to them; determine, by the first radio device at least in part based on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices, which passive radio device is included in the plurality of passive radio devices. a class of devices; determining, by a first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by a second radio device based on a class determined for a passive radio device assigned to the second radio device, and determining, by the first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by a third radio device based on a class determined for a passive radio device assigned to the third radio device; and sending, by the first radio device, a request to the second radio device, wherein the request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device, and sending, by the first radio device, another request to the third radio device, wherein the another request indicates the function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device.

[0016] According to an eleventh aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising components for performing the following operations: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by the apparatus relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and performing the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device.

[0017] In some example embodiments according to the eleventh aspect, the component includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause execution of the device.

[0018] According to a twelfth aspect, a device is provided, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to: receive a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by the device relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determine whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determine characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and perform the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device.

[0019] According to a thirteenth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by an apparatus relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and performing the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device.

[0020] In some example embodiments according to the thirteenth aspect, the method is a computer-implemented method.

[0021] According to a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving a request from another radio device indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by the apparatus relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and performing the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device.

[0022] According to a fifteenth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by the apparatus relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and performing the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device.

[0023] According to a sixteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by the apparatus relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and performing the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device.

[0024] According to a seventeenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following operations: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function regarding activation to be performed by the apparatus relative to a passive radio device; based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics regarding sending the activation signal; and performing the function regarding activation relative to the passive radio device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

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

[0027] Figure 2 An example embodiment of activating and discovering a passive radio device is shown.

[0028] Figure 3 A signaling diagram according to an example embodiment is shown.

[0029] Figure 4 and Figure 5 An example embodiment of an apparatus is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to "one", "an" or "some" embodiments at several locations in the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference refers to the same (one or more) embodiments, or that a particular feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" refers to all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementations only, such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuits only, (b) combinations of circuits and software (and / or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of (one or more) processors, or (ii) portions of (one or more) processors / software, including (one or more) digital signal processors, software, and (one or more) memories, which work together to enable the device to perform various functions, and (c) circuits, such as (one or more) microprocessors or portions of (one or more) microprocessors, which require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of the term in this application. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would also cover implementations of only a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuitry" would also cover (for example and if applicable to the particular element) a baseband integrated circuit or application processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or another network device. The embodiments of the circuitry described above may also be considered to be embodiments of providing means for performing embodiments of the methods or processes described in this document.

[0032] The techniques and methods described herein can be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques can be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the (one or more) devices of the embodiment can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, it can be implemented by a module (e.g., a process, a function, etc.) of at least one chipset that performs the functions described herein. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit can be implemented within or outside the processor. In the latter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via any suitable means. In addition, the components of the system described herein can be rearranged and / or supplemented by additional components to facilitate the implementation of the various aspects described therein, etc., and as will be understood by those skilled in the art, they are not limited to the precise configurations set forth in the given figures.

[0033] The embodiments described herein may be implemented in a communication system, such as in at least one of the following: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) or any other second generation cellular communication system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), a high speed packet access (HSPA), a long term evolution (LTE), an advanced LTE, a system based on the IEEE 802.11 specification, a system based on the IEEE 802.15 specification, and / or a fifth generation (5G) mobile or cellular communication system. However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, but those skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems having the necessary properties.

[0034] Figure 1 An example of a simplified system architecture is depicted showing some elements and functional entities, which are all logical units, the implementation of which may differ from what is shown. Figure 1 The connections shown in are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the system may also include Figure 1 Other functions and structures than those shown. Figure 1 The example of FIG. 1 shows a portion of an exemplary radio access network.

[0035] Figure 1 Terminal devices 100 and 102 are shown, which are configured to be wirelessly connected to an access node (such as (e / g)NodeB) 104 providing the cell on one or more communication channels in the cell. Access node 104 may also be referred to as a node. The wireless link from the terminal device to the (e / g)NodeB is referred to as an uplink or reverse link, and the wireless link from the (e / g)NodeB to the terminal device is referred to as a downlink or forward link. It should be understood that the (e / g)NodeB or its functions can be implemented by using any node, host, server or access point suitable for such purpose. It should be noted that although one cell is discussed in the present exemplary embodiment, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, in some exemplary embodiments, multiple cells may be provided by one access node.

[0036] The communication system may include more than one (e / g)NodeB, in which case the (e / g's)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links designed for this purpose. These links may be used for signaling transmission purposes. (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. (e / g)NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point or any other type of interface device, including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. (e / g)NodeB includes a transceiver or is coupled to a transceiver. Starting from the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB, a connection to an antenna unit is provided, which establishes a bidirectional radio link to a user equipment. The antenna unit may include multiple antennas or antenna elements. (e / g)NodeB is also connected to a core network 110 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side may be a serving gateway (S-GW, used for routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW) for providing a connection of a terminal device (UE) to an external packet data network, or a mobile management entity (MME), etc.

[0037] The terminal device (also referred to as UE, user equipment, user terminal, user device, etc.) shows a type of device to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned, and therefore, any features described herein about the terminal device can be implemented with a corresponding device (such as a relay node). An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) toward a base station. Another example of such a relay node is a layer 2 relay. Such a relay node may include a terminal device part and a distributed unit (DU) part. The CU (centralized unit) can coordinate DU operations via, for example, an F1AP interface.

[0038] A terminal device may refer to a portable computing device, including a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM) or an embedded SIM, i.e., an eSIM, including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile stations (mobile phones), smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices, devices using wireless modems (alarms or measuring devices, etc.), laptops and / or touch screen computers, tablets, game consoles, notebook computers, and multimedia devices. It should be understood that a user device may also be an exclusive or almost exclusive uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips to a network. A terminal device may also be a device with the ability to operate in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, in which an object is provided with the ability to transmit data over a network without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The terminal device may also utilize the cloud. In some applications, the terminal device may include a small portable device (such as a watch, headphones, or glasses) with a radio component, and the calculation is performed in the cloud. The terminal device (or in some embodiments, a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more user device functions.

[0039] The various techniques described herein may also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (a system of computing elements that coordinately control physical entities). CPS may enable the implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber-physical systems, in which the physical systems in question have inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic products transported by humans or animals.

[0040] Furthermore, although the apparatus is described as a single entity, different units, processors and / or memory units may be implemented. Figure 1 Not all are shown).

[0041] 5G enables the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in cooperation with smaller stations, and various radio technologies depending on service requirements, use cases and / or available spectrum. 5G mobile communications support a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of sharing data and various forms of machine-type applications (such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC)), including vehicle safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely sub-6GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and can also be integrated with existing traditional radio access technologies (such as LTE). Integration with LTE can be implemented as a system, at least in the early stages, in which macro coverage is provided by LTE and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to LTE. In other words, 5G plans to support inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as sub-6GHz–cmWave, sub-6GHz-cmWave–mmWave). One of the concepts considered for use in 5G networks is network slicing, in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual subnetworks (network instances) can be created within the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements regarding latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.

[0042] The current architecture in LTE networks is completely distributed in the radio and completely centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G may require content to be close to the radio, which may lead to local outages and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analysis and knowledge generation to occur at the source of the data. This approach requires the use of resources that may not be continuously connected to the network, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content near cellular users for faster response times. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data collection, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer self-organizing networking and processing (also classified as local cloud / fog computing and grid / mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, small cloud blocks), distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomous self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (large-scale connectivity and / or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous driving cars, traffic safety, real-time analysis, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0043] The communication system may also be able to communicate with other networks, such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 112, and / or utilize services provided by them. The communication network may also be able to support the use of cloud services, for example, at least a portion of the core network operations may be provided as a cloud service (this is in the Figure 1 The communication system may also include a central control entity or the like, providing facilities for networks of different operators to cooperate, for example, in spectrum sharing.

[0044] Edge cloud can be introduced into the radio access network (RAN) by utilizing network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined network (SDN). Using edge cloud may mean that access node operations are to be performed at least partially in a server, host or node operably coupled to a remote radio head or base station including radio components. It may also be that the node operations will be distributed among multiple servers, nodes or hosts. The application of cloudRAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be performed on the RAN side (in distributed unit DU 104) and non-real-time functions to be performed in a centralized manner (in centralized unit CU108).

[0045] It should also be understood that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may be different from that of LTE, or even non-existent. Some other technologies that may be used include, for example, big data and all-IP, which may change the way networks are built and managed. 5G (or New Radio, NR) networks are designed to support multiple hierarchical structures, where MEC servers can be placed between the core and base stations or Node Bs (gNBs). It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks.

[0046] 5G can also utilize satellite communications to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services, such as by providing backhaul or service availability in areas without terrestrial coverage. Satellite communications can utilize geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite systems or low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, such as giant constellations. The satellites 106 included in the constellation can carry a gNB or at least a portion of a gNB that creates a terrestrial cell. Alternatively, the satellite 106 can be used to relay signals of one or more cells to the earth. The terrestrial cell can be created by a terrestrial relay node 104, or by a gNB located on the ground or in a satellite, or a portion of the gNB can be on a satellite, such as a DU, and a portion of the gNB can be on the ground, such as a CU. Additionally or alternatively, a high altitude platform HAPS system can be utilized.

[0047] It should be noted that the depicted system is an example of a part of a radio access system, and the system may include multiple (e / g)NodeBs, a terminal device may access multiple radio cells, and the system may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements. At least one (e / g)nodeB may be a home (e / g)nodeB. In addition, within the geographical area of ​​the radio communication system, a plurality of different kinds of radio cells as well as a plurality of radio cells may be provided. A radio cell may be a macro cell (or umbrella cell), which is a large cell, typically having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or a smaller cell, such as a micro cell, a femto cell or a pico cell. Figure 1 The (e / g)NodeB of a cell can provide any kind of these cells. The cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including several cells. In some exemplary embodiments, in the multi-layer network, one access node provides a cell, and therefore, multiple (e / g)NodeBs are required to provide this network structure.

[0048] In order to meet the need to improve the deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB has been introduced. A network that can use "plug and play" (e / g) NodeB may include a home (e / g) NodeB gateway or HNB-GW (in addition to the home (e / g) NodeB (H(e / g) NodeB)). Figure 1 (not shown). An HNB gateway (HNB-GW) that may be installed within an operator's network may aggregate services from a large number of HNBs back to the core network.

[0049] The Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned to grow rapidly. Therefore, IoT that can utilize 5G connectivity may include passive radios, which can be understood as devices that are passive radio devices (such as tags and / or sensors). When passive radio devices are part of an IoT use case, they can also be understood as IoT devices. These passive radio devices require power to send and / or receive data. Passive radio devices may consume, for example, tens or hundreds of milliwatts of power during transceiver. Therefore, it is beneficial to consider how to optimize power consumption and how to obtain power so that the Internet of Everything can be achieved. Therefore, it is desirable to have passive radio devices that are ten or even a hundred times lower in cost and power consumption. Moreover, for IoT applications, 3GPP has specified NB-IoT / eMTC and NR Reduced Capability (RedCap) to meet requirements for low-cost and low-power devices for wide-area IoT communications.

[0050] One aspect to consider with regard to target use cases involving passive radio devices is the ability to work with energy harvesting given the limited device size. Cellular devices may consume tens or even hundreds of milliwatts of power for transceiver processing. Taking the NB-IoT module as an example, the current consumption for receive processing may be, for example, about 60mA with a supply voltage above 3.1V, while for transmit processing at 0dBm transmit power, the current consumption may be 70mA. Considering the small size of a few square centimeters of actual devices, the output power provided by the energy harvester may be mostly below 1 milliwatt. Since the available power may be much less than the consumed power, it may not be practical to directly power the cellular device through energy harvesting in some use cases.

[0051] As more and more things are expected to be interconnected for improving productivity and increasing comfort of life, it may require further reduction in size, cost and power consumption for passive radio devices. Further, some applications utilizing IoT may require battery-free passive radio devices. This may be, for example, because it may be impractical to replace batteries for some passive radio devices, as this would mean huge material and manpower consumption. Therefore, energy harvesting can be used to power passive radio devices for self-sustaining communication, for example in applications with a large number of devices (such as ID tags and sensors).

[0052] One option for battery-free passive devices such as tags is to utilize radio frequency identification (RFID). In some examples, RFID tags may have power consumption as low as 1 microwatt. Technologies that enable this low power consumption include envelope detection for downlink data reception and backscatter communication for uplink data transmission. RFID can utilize envelope detection for downlink data reception and backscatter communication for uplink data transmission. In an example embodiment, there may be passive communication between a reader device and a tag. The reader device includes a unit configured to send and receive signals. In this example embodiment, the unit has a transmitter for broadband transmission, and a power amplifier is followed by the transmitter and then an antenna that transmits a carrier. The tag then has an antenna that receives the carrier. The tag then modifies one or more characteristics of the carrier. The characteristics may include, for example, amplitude, phase, and / or center frequency. The tag may include various units that can implement the modification. In this example embodiment, the tag includes at least the following units: an RF collector for collecting electromagnetic energy from an incoming RF signal, a detection unit for detecting an incoming RF signal, a clock for generating a clock signal, and a logic unit for controlling the operation of the tag. After modification, the signal is then reflected by the tag as an uplink reflected signal. The uplink reflected signal is then received by the reader's antenna, after which the signal is amplified using a low noise amplifier, and then the receiver receives the reflected signal. Thus, data transmission can be obtained without generating a carrier wave by the tag, which reduces the required energy requirements and costs.

[0053] It should be noted that some studies have shown that power consumption of a few microwatts or tens of microwatts can be supported for passive tags based on or utilizing small modifications to the air interface. Some of such studies are aimed at long-range communications. Among them, a long-range (LoRa) tag implemented with commercial off-the-shelf components can send its sensing data to a receiver, for example, 381 meters away.

[0054] In applications related to passive devices, there may be devices that can be understood as radio devices, which have different roles. An activation radio device (also referred to as an activator) may be understood as a device that sends an NR activation signal intended for one or more passive radios (such as tags or sensors). An activator may be a terminal device, an access node (such as a gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), etc. A passive radio device (also referred to as a passive radio device) may collect energy from the NR activation signal and generate a response signal (which may be referred to as a backscattered signal) at a frequency in the NR spectrum that is the same or different from the activation signal. Thus, the activation signal may provide a trigger for the passive radio device to send a response signal, and optionally, the passive radio device may also collect energy from the activation signal. The response signal may also encode information specific to the passive radio device, such as its identification (ID). A reading radio device (also referred to as a reader) may be understood as a radio device that listens for response signals from one or more tags and attempts to detect the ID of an active tag. A reader may be a terminal device, an access node (such as a gNB), a TRP, etc.

[0055] Passive radio devices (such as tags or sensors) can operate in at least two modes. One mode is an energy harvesting mode, in which the passive radio device collects energy from wireless signals sent to the passive radio device on a given spectrum. Another mode is a data transmission mode, in which the passive radio device can generate a unique signal. The unique signal then carries data specific to the passive radio device (such as its ID) or data collected by the passive radio device. These two modes can be implemented in half-duplex or full-duplex mode, in other words, sequentially or simultaneously. In order to support the interaction between the passive radio device and the 5G network infrastructure, the passive radio device must obtain enough energy to become discoverable when the passive radio device is not equipped with a power supply.

[0056] In order to support and integrate passive radio devices (such as tags) in the network infrastructure, one of the initial tasks of the network is to find the passive radio devices, because there may be no active (i.e., having a power source) components on the passive radio devices, and therefore there is no means for the passive radio devices to make themselves visible or audible. For example, this problem can be challenging in mmWave frequencies because active entities (such as access nodes and terminal devices) can receive and transmit directionally.

[0057] Figure 2An example embodiment of activating and discovering a passive radio device is shown. In this example embodiment, there are multiple radio devices, of which at least one is a passive radio device, at least one radio device has the function of an activator, and at least one radio device has the function of a reader. In this example embodiment, the passive radio device is a tag 210, the radio device acting as a reader is a terminal device 212, and the radio device acting as an activator is a terminal device 214. However, it should be noted that in some alternative example embodiments, the activator 214 can be another radio device, such as an access node, such as an eNB or gNB, and / or the reader 212 can also be another radio device, such as an access node, such as an eNB or gNB. The activator 214 sends an activation signal 220 to the tag 210, which then responds by sending a signal indicating its presence, which is then received by the reader 212. It should be noted that in some other example embodiments, there may be multiple tags, the terminal device 214 sends the activation signal to the multiple tags, and the reader 212 can receive responses from the multiple tags.

[0058] Due to the inherent characteristics of passive radios, therefore, discovering and / or ranging passive radio devices may be a challenging task. For example, as described above, a passive radio may not have a power source, and it may be mobile, and its ability to hear other radio devices may be limited by its own proximity, such as within a radius of 5-10 meters. In addition, its mobility and operation, such as how much data it has collected, may be transparent to the network. Due to the above limitations, paging operations applicable to terminal devices may not be available, so it may be beneficial to have an activator near the passive tag.

[0059] As mentioned above, if a passive radio receives an activation signal and then sends a response signal indicating its presence so that another radio can receive the response signal, the passive radio can be found by other radios. However, in some cases, the process may involve interference. An example of such interference is passive radio interference to passive radio, which occurs when signals from multiple tags conflict on a reader that cannot distinguish them. This may be the case: multiple passive radios are activated and these devices respond at the same time, and the passive radios closer to the reader drown out the signals of those passive radios placed farther away. Another example of the occurrence of interference is activator interference to passive radio, which occurs when the activation signal drowns out the signal from the passive radio received by the reader. This may be the case: an activation signal much stronger than the signal from the passive radio drowns out the response signal sent by the passive radio, preventing the reader from detecting the passive radio. In both examples, interference is observed by the reader.

[0060] Therefore, it is beneficial to reduce the interference observed by the reader. One approach that can be utilized is to coordinate functions regarding activation of activators when multiple activators are present. For example, when multiple passive radios are present, the reader can sequence different passive radios and trigger subsequent functions of the activators (e.g., shutdown, retransmission mode, etc.) in relation to the sequencing of the passive radios.

[0061] In an example embodiment, the reader can sort multiple passive radio devices from which it has received response signals indicating the presence of corresponding passive radio devices by the quality of the discovery results, which is based on the quality of the received response signals. Therefore, the passive radio devices can be sorted based on the quality of their corresponding response signals received by the reader. Based on the sorting, the reader can then prioritize and co-schedule the retransmission of activation signals for one or more passive radio devices by one or more activators. In this example embodiment, the reader has been notified of the association between the activator ID and the list of passive radio devices for which the activator is targeted. In other words, the reader has been notified which passive radio devices have been assigned to which activator.

[0062] The message that the reader can then send in order to prioritize and co-schedule the retransmission of the activation signal can be a request, which includes a flag about the passive radio device, a delay, and optionally the result of the first attempt to find the passive radio device (such as received power). The flag about the passive radio device can be, for example, a high flag (which indicates that the reactivation of the passive radio device should be handled by the activator with high priority) or a low flag (which indicates that the reactivation can be processed after all high-priority passive radio devices have been reactivated). The delay can indicate when another activation signal (which can be called a retransmission of the activation signal) should be sent to the passive radio device by its corresponding activator after receiving the message sent by the reader. The message can be sent using various means, depending on whether the activator is included in the access node or in the terminal device and whether the reader is included in the access node or in the terminal device. For example, the message can be sent using an information element (SL PSSCH IE) in a physical side link shared channel, using a downlink or uplink small data transmission (DL / UL SDT), or a payload in a physical downlink or uplink shared channel (PD / USCH). It should be noted that the flag, delay and / or transmission power to be used for another activation signal may be understood as a characteristic of the activation signal.The characteristics of the activation signal may additionally or alternatively include other indications of when the activation signal is to be sent.

[0063] Based on the ranking, the reader may then terminate the activation-related functions of one or more activators. Termination may be accomplished by sending an indication (such as a short message indicator) carrying a list of IDs of passive radio devices and a termination flag associated with the group (e.g., for {flag 1, ...flag X}, terminate = TRUE), and the message may be sent over a SL or U / DL data channel.

[0064] Figure 3 A signaling diagram according to an example embodiment is shown, in which a reader 310 can sort passive radio devices and then modify the functions of multiple activators regarding activation, in this example embodiment, the multiple activators are activators 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328. In this example embodiment, the reader 310 can be any suitable radio device, such as a terminal device or an access node. In this example embodiment, a coordination entity (such as a location management function (LMF) or a terminal device included in a network (such as a 5G network)) can select activator-reader pairs for multiple passive radio devices (such as tags). The coordination entity in this example embodiment notifies the reader 310 of the IDs of the activators 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328 and the IDs of one or more passive radio devices assigned to each activator. The coordinator provides the reader 310 with the right to coordinate the functions of the activators 320, 322, 324, 326 and 328 regarding activation, and may also request the reader 310 to collect target key performance indicators (KPIs) for each passive radio device and test at least one KPI against a threshold value (which may be referred to as T1). The KPI may be about one or more signal measurements obtained from the response signal, such as arrival time, received power, etc.

[0065] In this example embodiment, activators 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328 send activation signals to one or more passive radio devices assigned to them (referred to as target passive radio devices). The target passive radio devices then receive their respective activation signals and respond with response signals, which are specific response signals associated with each passive radio device and can be referred to as response signals from passive radio signals or backscatter. The reader 310 then receives one or more response signals from the passive radio devices and thus detects a subset of passive radio devices, wherein the subset is less than or equal to the number of target passive radio devices. Therefore, as shown in block 330, the reader 310 detects at least one passive radio device included in the target passive radio devices.

[0066] Next, the reader 310 performs a sorting of the target passive radio device (in other words, the passive radio device it has been assigned to detect), as shown in block 332. The sorting may be performed so that the passive radio device is assigned to a category. There may be various categories for sorting, such as high-quality passive radio devices and low-quality passive radio devices. It should be noted that other categories may also be utilized. High-quality passive radio devices may include passive radio devices whose detection is determined to be successful and whose target KPI is detected to be above a threshold value T1. The target KPI may include one or more of arrival time, received power, etc. It should also be noted that T1 may be predetermined by the coordinator, or it may be predetermined autonomously by the reader 310. Low-quality passive radio devices may be radio devices whose detection is successful and whose KPI is below the threshold value T1. In addition, there may be a third category for failed detection, which includes passive radio devices that are not detected in the target passive radio device. It should be noted that although three different categories are mentioned herein, in some other example embodiments, there may be a different number of categories. For example, if there are N categories, there may be N different activation-related functions that the activator will perform with respect to its assigned passive radio device. It should also be noted that there may be more than one KPI tested against a corresponding target value. Based on the results of testing one or more KPIs against their corresponding target values, the passive radio device may then be assigned to different categories.

[0067] Then, in block 334, the reader 310 determines subsequent activation-related functions for the activators 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328 based on the ranking, i.e., based on the categories of one or more passive radio devices assigned to the activators 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328. The activators of the passive radio devices assigned to the high-quality category are determined so that they are requested to stop sending activation signals to the passive radio devices in the category. The activators of the passive radio devices assigned to the low-quality category are determined so that they are requested to resend activation signals to the passive radio devices in the category. The activators of the passive radio devices assigned to the failure category are determined so that they are requested to resend activation signals to the passive radio devices in the category and the retransmission will be at the highest power and the highest priority.

[0068] In this example embodiment, there are two passive radio devices ID3 and ID4, whose corresponding activators 322 and 322 are assigned to the second category, which is a low-quality category. In this exemplary embodiment, the reader 310 determines that the activators 322 and 320 are about to resend the activation signal to the corresponding passive radio device. The reader 310 can also attach a delay indicator for each activator 322 and 320, which indicates the timing when the activator should start sending the activation signal. This may be beneficial in order to avoid the situation where the activator resends the activation signal to the passive radio devices to which they are assigned in the same category at the same time, and thus minimize the interference of the activator to the passive radio device and the interference of the passive radio device to the passive radio device. For example, the reader 310 can determine that the activator 326 will resend its activation signal dt4 seconds after it has received the request, and the activator 324 will resend its activation signal dt3≠dt4 seconds after it receives the request. It may also be determined that the activation signal is to be retransmitted at the highest power and highest priority, which indicates that the tag is not detected. Optionally, information about the KPI of the passive radio device assigned to the activator 324 may also be sent.

[0069] Therefore, the reader 310 sends a request 340 to the activator 326. The request 340 is a request to resend the activation signal to the passive radio device ID4 assigned to the activator 326. The request may further indicate a delay dt4, a KPI associated with the passive radio device ID4 assigned to the activator 326, and an indication that the retransmission is to be sent with the highest priority and the highest power.

[0070] Reader 310 also sends request 342 to activator 324. Request 342 is a request to resend the activation signal to passive radio device ID3 assigned to activator 324. The request may further indicate a delay dt3, a KPI associated with passive radio device ID3 assigned to activator 326, and an indication that the retransmission is to be sent with the highest priority and highest power.

[0071] In this exemplary embodiment, there are two passive radio devices ID1 and ID2, and their corresponding activators 326 and 322 are assigned to the third category, which is the failure category. In this exemplary embodiment, the reader 310 determines that the activators 326 and 324 will retransmit the activation signal to the corresponding passive radio devices assigned to them. The reader 310 can also append a delay indicator for each of the activators 322 and 320, which indicates the timing regarding when the activator should start transmitting the activation signal. For example, the reader 310 can determine that the activator 322 will retransmit its activation signal dt2 seconds after it receives the request, and the activator 320 will retransmit its activation signal dt1≠dt2 seconds after it receives the request. It can also be determined that the activation signal will be retransmitted with the lowest priority. Optionally, information about the KPIs of the passive radio devices assigned to the activators 322 and 320 can then also be sent. It should be noted that in this exemplary embodiment, dt3<<min{dt1,dt2}, dt4≠dt3 and dt4<<min{dt1,dt2}.

[0072] Accordingly, the reader 310 sends the request 344 to the activator 322. The request 342 is a request to retransmit the activation signal to the passive radio device ID2 assigned to the activator 322. This request can further indicate the delay dt2, the KPI associated with the passive radio device ID2 assigned to the activator 322, and an indication that the retransmission will be sent with the lowest priority.

[0073] The reader 310 also sends the request 346 to the activator 320. The request 346 is a request to retransmit the activation signal to the passive radio device ID1 assigned to the activator 320. This request can further indicate the delay dt1, the KPI associated with the passive radio device ID1 assigned to the activator 320, and an indication that the retransmission will be sent with the lowest priority.

[0074] In this example embodiment, there is a passive radio device with ID0, whose corresponding activator 328 is assigned to the first category, which is consistent with the high quality category. When the reader 310 determines that the passive radio device ID0 is successfully detected, the reader 310 sends a request 348 to the activator 328 to which the passive radio device ID0 is assigned. The request 348 includes a request to deactivate the sending of the activation signal to the passive radio device ID0. Therefore, deactivation helps to ensure that there is no activation signal of the passive radio device in the high quality category to interfere with the reception of the response signal from other passive radio devices, thereby helping to reduce the interference of the activator to the passive radio device. The request 348 includes at least the identification of the passive radio device in the category, and optionally the KPI measured for the passive radio device. For example, if the activator 328 needs the KPI for further processing on the passive radio device, this can be useful.

[0075] The example embodiments described above may have advantages such as optimizing transmission of an activator, minimizing passive radio to passive radio interference, and / or minimizing activator to passive radio interference.

[0076] Figure 4 An apparatus 400 according to an example embodiment is shown, which may be an apparatus such as a terminal device or an apparatus included in a terminal device, and may implement an activator or reader as described above. The apparatus 400 includes a processor 410. The processor 410 interprets computer program instructions and processes data. The processor 410 may include one or more programmable processors. The processor 410 may include programmable hardware with embedded firmware, and may alternatively or additionally include one or more application specific integrated circuits ASICs.

[0077] The processor 410 is coupled to the memory 420. The processor is configured to write data to the memory 420 and read data from the memory 420. The memory 420 may include one or more memory cells. The memory cell may be volatile or non-volatile. It should be noted that in some example embodiments, there may be one or more non-volatile memory cells and one or more volatile memory cells, or alternatively one or more non-volatile memory cells, or alternatively one or more volatile memory cells. The volatile memory may be, for example, a RAM, a DRAM, or an SDRAM. The non-volatile memory may be, for example, a ROM, a PROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, an optical memory, or a magnetic memory. In general, the memory may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 420 stores computer-readable instructions executed by the processor 410. For example, the non-volatile memory stores computer-readable instructions, and the processor 410 executes the instructions using a volatile memory for temporarily storing data and / or instructions.

[0078] The computer readable instructions may have been pre-stored in the memory 420, or alternatively or additionally, they may be received by the device via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer readable instructions causes the device 400 to perform the functions described above.

[0079] In the context of this document, "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory medium or component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

[0080] The device 400 also includes or is connected to an input unit 430. The input unit 430 includes one or more interfaces for receiving user input. The one or more interfaces may include, for example, one or more motion and / or orientation sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons, and one or more touch detection units. Further, the input unit 430 may include an interface to which an external device can be connected.

[0081] The device 400 also includes an output unit 440. The output unit includes or is connected to one or more displays capable of rendering visual content, such as a light emitting diode LED display, a liquid crystal display LCD, and a liquid crystal on silicon LCoS display. The output unit 440 also includes one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs can be, for example, a speaker or a set of headphones.

[0082] The device 400 may further include a connection unit 450. The connection unit 450 enables wired and / or wireless connection to an external network. The connection unit 450 may include one or more antennas and one or more receivers that may be integrated into the device 400 or to which the device 400 may be connected. The connection unit 450 may include an integrated circuit or a set of integrated circuits that provide wireless communication capabilities for the device 400. Alternatively, the wireless connection may be a hardwired application specific integrated circuit ASIC.

[0083] It should be noted that the apparatus 400 may also include Figure 4 Various components are not shown in the figure. The various components can be hardware components and / or software components.

[0084] Figure 5The apparatus 500 of shows an example embodiment of an apparatus, which may be an access node or included in an access node, and which may embody an activator or reader as described above. The apparatus may be, for example, a circuit or chipset suitable for use in an access node to implement the described embodiments. The apparatus 500 may be an electronic device including one or more electronic circuits. The apparatus 500 may include communication control circuitry 510 (such as at least one processor) and at least one memory 520 including computer program code (software) 522, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code (software) 522 are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 500 to perform any one of the example embodiments of the access node described above.

[0085] The memory 520 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic storage devices and systems, optical storage devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The memory may include a configuration database for storing configuration data. For example, the configuration database may store a current neighbor cell list and, in some example embodiments, a structure of frames used in detected neighbor cells.

[0086] The apparatus 500 may also include a communication interface 530, which includes hardware and / or software for implementing a communication connection according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 530 may provide the apparatus with radio communication capabilities to communicate in a cellular communication system. The communication interface may, for example, provide a radio interface to a terminal device. The apparatus 500 may also include another interface toward a core network (such as a network coordinator device) and / or an access node of a cellular communication system. The apparatus 500 may also include a scheduler 540 configured to allocate resources.

[0087] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the example embodiments according to the accompanying drawings, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited thereto, but can be modified in several ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate rather than limit the embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, with the advancement of technology, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. In addition, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the described embodiments can, but are not required to, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.

[0088] List of abbreviations

[0089] AD – Auxiliary Data

[0090] ASIC - Application Specific Integrated System

[0091] CA - Carrier Aggregation

[0092] CB-TT – Crossbar Tap Tracking

[0093] CL – Carrier List

[0094] CN-Core Network

[0095] CP – Carrier Phase

[0096] CPS – Cyber-Physical Systems

[0097] CU – Centralized Unit

[0098] DL - Downlink

[0099] DL-AoD – Downlink Angle of Departure DL-TDOA – Downlink Time Difference of Arrival DRAM – Dynamic Random Access Memory DSP – Digital Signal Processing

[0100] DSPD – Digital Signal Processing Device DU – Distributed Unit

[0101] E-CID – Enhanced Cell ID EEPROM – Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory eSIM – Embedded Subscriber Identity Module FPGA – Field Programmable Gate Array FR1 – Frequency Range 1 FR2 – Frequency Range 2 GEO – Geostationary Orbit gNB – g Node B GPU – Graphics Processing Unit GSM – Global System for Mobile Communications HAPS – High Altitude Platform

[0102] HNB – Home Node B HSPA – High Speed ​​Packet Access ICT – Interconnection

[0103] ID – Identification

[0104] IE – Information Element

[0105] IoT – Internet of Things

[0106] KPI – Key Performance Indicator LED – Light Emitting Diode

[0107] LEO – Low Earth Orbit

[0108] LCD – Liquid Crystal Display

[0109] LCoS - Liquid Crystal on Silicon

[0110] LMF – Location Management Function LoRa – Long Range

[0111] LOS – Line of Sight

[0112] LPP – LTE Positioning Protocol LTE – Long Term Evolution

[0113] MEC – Multi-access Edge Computing MIMO – Multiple Input Multiple Output MME – Mobility Management Entity mMTC – Massive Machine Type Communication Multi-RTT – Multi-cell Round Trip Time NB-IoT – Narrowband Internet of Things NFV – Network Function Virtualization NGC – Next Generation Core

[0114] NLOS – Non Line of Sight

[0115] NR – New Radio

[0116] PDA – Personal Digital Assistant

[0117] PDSCH – Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0118] P-GW – Packet Data Network Gateway

[0119] PLD – Programmable Logic Device

[0120] PROM – Programmable Read Only Memory

[0121] PRS – Positioning Reference Signal

[0122] PSSCH – Physical Sidelink Shared Channel

[0123] PUSCH – Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0124] RAM – Random Access Memory

[0125] RAN – Radio Access Network

[0126] RAT – Radio Access Technology

[0127] RF – Radio Frequency

[0128] RI – Radio Interface

[0129] ROM – Read Only Memory

[0130] Rx – Receive

[0131] SDN - Software Defined Networking

[0132] SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

[0133] SDT – Small Data Transfer

[0134] SGW – Serving Gateway

[0135] SIM - Subscriber Identity Module

[0136] SL-Side Link

[0137] TRP – Transmission and Reception Point

[0138] Tx-Send

[0139] UE – User Equipment

[0140] UL - Uplink

[0141] UL-AoA – Uplink Angle of Arrival

[0142] UL-TDOA – Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

[0143] UMTS – Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0144] W-CDMA – Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices to which they are assigned; determining a category of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation based on the determined category for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and A request is sent to the radio device, wherein the request indicates a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The apparatus is further caused to: test one or more key performance indicators against corresponding thresholds, wherein the key performance indicators are measured with respect to one or more signals obtained from the received response signal.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The apparatus is further caused to determine a category of the passive radio device from which the response signal was received based on testing the one or more key performance indicators against corresponding thresholds.

4. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein: The device is further configured to: receiving a first response signal from a first passive radio device included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining that at least one key performance indicator obtained from the received first response signal has a value greater than a first threshold, and based on the determination, classifying the first passive radio device into a first category; as well as Determining the functionality regarding activation for a first radio device to which the first passive radio device is assigned comprises deactivating a retransmission of a first activation signal to the first passive radio device.

5. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein: The device is further configured to: receiving a second response signal from a second passive radio device included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining that at least one key performance indicator obtained from the received second response signal has a value less than the first threshold, and based on the determination, classifying the second passive radio device into a second category; as well as Determining the activation-related functionality for the second radio device to which the second passive radio device is assigned comprises a retransmission of a second activation signal to the second passive radio device.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein: The functionality regarding activation for the second radio device to which the second passive radio device is assigned comprises a first delay for a retransmission of the second activation signal.

7. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein: The device is further configured to: determining that a third response signal from a third passive radio device included in the plurality of passive radio devices has not been received; classifying the second passive radio device into a third category; as well as Determining the activation-related functionality for the third radio device to which the third passive radio device is assigned comprises a retransmission of a third activation signal to the second passive radio device.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein: The activation-related functionality for a second radio device to which the second passive radio device is assigned comprises a second delay for a retransmission of the second activation signal.

9. The device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: The first delay is greater than the second delay.

10. The device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: The retransmission of the third activation signal to the second passive radio device includes performing the retransmission at a highest power and a highest priority.

11. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein: The request includes information about key performance indicators of the passive radio device assigned to the radio device.

12. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein: The request is included in one of: an information element in a physical sidelink shared channel, a small data transmission in a downlink or uplink, or a payload in a physical downlink or uplink shared channel.

13. A method comprising: receiving association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein the radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices to which they are assigned; determining a category of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation based on the determined category for the passive radio device assigned to the radio device; and A request is sent to the radio device, wherein the request indicates a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation.

14. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least: receiving association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein, The radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining a category of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation based on a class determined for a passive radio device assigned to the radio device; as well as A request is sent to the radio device, wherein the request indicates a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation.

15. An apparatus comprising means for performing the following operations: receiving association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and corresponding radio devices to which they are assigned, wherein, The radio devices are configured to send activation signals to the passive radio devices assigned to them; determining a category of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices, determining a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation based on a class determined for a passive radio device assigned to the radio device; as well as A request is sent to the radio device, wherein the request indicates a function to be performed by the radio device with respect to activation.

16. A system comprising at least a first radio device, a second radio device and a third radio device, wherein: The system includes components for performing the following operations: receiving, by the first radio device, association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and to which of the second radio device or the third radio device they are assigned, wherein the second radio device and the third radio device are configured to send an activation signal to the passive radio device assigned thereto; determining, by the first radio device, a category of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining, by the first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the second radio device, and determining, by the first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the third radio device; and A request is sent by the first radio device to the second radio device, wherein the request indicates a function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device, and another request is sent by the first radio device to the third radio device, wherein the another request indicates a function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device.

17. A system comprising at least a first radio device, a second radio device and a third radio device, wherein: The system is configured to: receiving, by the first radio device, association information including information about a plurality of passive radio devices and to which of the second radio device or the third radio device they are assigned, wherein the second radio device and the third radio device are configured to send an activation signal to the passive radio device assigned thereto; determining, by the first radio device, a category of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices based at least in part on response signals received from at least some of the passive radio devices included in the plurality of passive radio devices; determining, by the first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the second radio device, and determining, by the first radio device, a function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device based on the category determined for the passive radio device assigned to the third radio device; and A request is sent by the first radio device to the second radio device, wherein the request indicates a function regarding activation to be performed by the second radio device, and another request is sent by the first radio device to the third radio device, wherein the another request indicates a function regarding activation to be performed by the third radio device.

18. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein: The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function to be performed by the apparatus with respect to activation with respect to the passive radio device, Based on the request, determining whether the activation-related function includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics of sending the activation signal; and The activation-related function is performed with respect to the passive radio device.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein: The activation signal further causes the passive radio to harvest energy from the activation signal.

20. A method comprising: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function to be performed by the apparatus with respect to activation with respect to the passive radio device, Based on the request, determining whether the activation-related function includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causes the passive radio device to send a response signal, and if so, determining characteristics of sending the activation signal; and The activation-related function is performed with respect to the passive radio device.

21. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to at least: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function to be performed by the apparatus with respect to activation with respect to the passive radio device, Based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causing the passive radio to transmit a response signal, and if so, determining a characteristic regarding the transmission of the activation signal; as well as The activation-related function is performed with respect to the passive radio device.

22. An apparatus comprising means for performing the following operations: receiving a request from another radio device, the request indicating a function to be performed by the apparatus with respect to activation with respect to the passive radio device, Based on the request, determining whether the function regarding activation includes sending an activation signal to the passive radio device, wherein the activation signal causing the passive radio to transmit a response signal, and if so, determining a characteristic regarding the transmission of the activation signal; as well as The activation-related function is performed with respect to the passive radio device.

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