Lateral link beam alignment using inter-UE coordination

Abstract

The method includes receiving, by a first UE in sidelink communication, an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE; determining, based on the IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communication with the second UE; determining at least one direction associated with the IUC signal based on the estimated angle of arrival of the IUC signal; selecting at least one beam among the plurality of beams for communication with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the IUC signal; determining a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources based on the sensing of the selected at least one beam; and transmitting the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE, or selecting one or more radio resources from the determined subset of radio resources for communication with the second UE.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 377,538, filed on September 29, 2022, entitled “SIDELINK BEAM ALIGNMENT WITH INTER-UE COORDINATION,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] Apparatus and methods consistent with the present disclosure relate generally to communications and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and devices for beam alignment in sidelink communications. Background Art

[0003] The sidelink communication technology enables direct communication between two or more devices (eg, two or more vehicles in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication).

[0004] 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 16 / 17 5G NR sidelink modes 1 and 2 are specified in 3GPP TS 38.211, TS 38.212, TS 38.213, TS 38.214, TS 38.215, TS 38.321, TS 38.322, TS 38.323 and TS 38.331.

[0005] In Release 17, Inter-UE Coordination (IUC) was introduced for 5G NR sidelink Mode 2, where UE-A sends coordination information about resources to UE-B, which then uses the information for its resource (re)selection. Two schemes of IUC are supported.

[0006] In IUC scheme 1, UE-A may provide another UE (UE-B) with an indication of resources that are preferred to be included in UE-B's (re)selection or resources that are preferred to be excluded. When given the resources to be included, UE-B may rely only on those resources, or may combine them with resources identified by its own sensing process before making a final selection, at least if UE-B does not support sensing / resource exclusion. The indication from UE-A to UE-B is sent in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) and / or a second stage Sidelink Control Information (SCI).

[0007] In IUC scheme 2, UE-A may provide an indication to another UE-B that resources reserved for UE-B's transmission (which may or may not be to UE-A) will or may conflict with transmissions from another UE. UE-B then reselects new resources to replace them. The indication from UE-A to UE-B may be sent in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0008] Sidelink communications in high frequency bands (e.g., millimeter wave bands) provide wide bandwidth and therefore achieve high data rates. On the other hand, communications in high frequency bands suffer from high path loss, so the communication range is quite limited. To compensate for the high path loss, beamforming with narrow beams or directional antennas is an effective way to provide sufficient communication range between two vehicles. But beamforming between two vehicles in sidelink communications is often challenging. This is because, compared with beamforming in the downlink / uplink between a base station and a UE (where the base station is usually not moving and is located at a higher altitude than the UE), the vehicles in sidelink communications are sometimes moving and / or located at a similar altitude. Due to these differences, the process for beamforming in the downlink / uplink between a base station and a UE may not be applicable to beamforming between two UEs in sidelink communications. In addition, the process for beamforming in the downlink / uplink between a base station and a UE (e.g., performing an exhaustive search for the best beam pair) may be too slow and may require too much battery power and may result in significant process overhead and resource overhead. Improved systems and methods for beamforming in sidelink communications are desired. Summary of the invention

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for sidelink communication is provided. The method includes: receiving an IUC signal transmitted from a second UE by a first UE in sidelink communication; determining a set of candidate radio resources for communication with the second UE based on the received IUC signal by the first UE; determining at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal by the first UE based on an estimated angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting at least one beam from a plurality of beams for communication with the second UE based on at least one determined direction or at least one of the contents of the received IUC signal by the first UE; determining a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of at least one selected beam by the first UE; and transmitting the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE by the first UE, or selecting one or more radio resources from the determined subset of radio resources by the first UE for communication with the second UE.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a UE for communication is provided. The UE includes: a memory storing instructions; and a processor configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory to: receive an IUC signal transmitted from a second UE; determine a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE based on the received IUC signal; determine at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimation of the angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; select at least one beam from a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal; determine a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam; and transmit the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE, or select one or more radio resources from the determined subset of radio resources for communicating with the second UE.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, which stores instructions that can be executed by one or more processors of a first UE for communication to perform a method. The method includes: receiving an IUC signal transmitted from a second UE by the first UE; determining, by the first UE based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE; determining, by the first UE based on an estimated angle of arrival of the received IUC signal, at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal; selecting, by the first UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal, at least one beam from a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE; determining, by the first UE based on sensing of at least one selected beam, a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources; and transmitting, by the first UE, the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE, or selecting, by the first UE, one or more radio resources from the determined subset of radio resources for communicating with the second UE. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] [ Figure 1 ] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary inter-UE coordination scheme in a communication system consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] [ Figure 2 ] Figure 2 It is consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of exemplary beam alignment in a communication system.

[0014] [ Figure 3 ] Figure 3 It is consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1Schematic diagram of joint inter-UE coordination and sidelink beam alignment in a communication system.

[0015] [ Figure 4 ] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary test setup for detecting directional transmissions consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] [ Figure 5 ] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for beam alignment in sidelink communications consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] [ Figure 6 ] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting directional transmissions consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] [ Figure 7 ] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a UE consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise specified. The embodiments set forth in the following description of the exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of systems, devices, and methods consistent with aspects related to the present disclosure as recorded in the appended claims.

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary inter-UE coordination scheme (referred to as a “first IUC scheme” in the present disclosure) in a sidelink communication system consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 , the communication system 100 includes a first UE (UE-A) and a second UE (UE-B) that communicate with each other via sidelink communication. For example, the sidelink communication may be vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and both UE-A and UE-B are vehicles. UE-B may be a transmitting (Tx) UE that is configured or programmed to transmit signals or data to UE-A and / or other nodes (not shown) in the communication system 100. The other nodes may be network nodes (e.g., base stations), road side units (RSUs), relay nodes, or other UEs in the communication system 100. UE-A may be a receiving (Rx) UE that is configured or programmed to receive signals or data transmitted from UE-B and / or other nodes in the communication system 100.

[0021] In a first IUC scheme, before transmitting a signal and / or data from UE-B, UE-A may send coordination information (or inter-UE coordination (IUC) information) to UE-B. The IUC information may be a set of preferred and / or non-preferred resources for transmission by UE-B. In some embodiments, the transmission of the IUC information from UE-A to UE-B may be triggered by UE-B. For example, UE-B may trigger the transmission of the coordination information by sending a request for the IUC information to UE-A. The request for the IUC information may be an explicit request or an implicit request.

[0022] In some embodiments, in a first IUC scheme, the transmission of IUC information from UE-A to UE-B is triggered by an explicit request. For example, UE-B may send a request to UE-A to explicitly request IUC information from UE-A, and UE-A may receive an explicit request from UE-B and send IUC information to UE-B. The transmission of an explicit request from UE-B and / or the reception of an explicit request by UE-A may be enabled or disabled or controlled by configuration via the network or pre-configuration in UE-B and / or UE-A. In some embodiments, after receiving the IUC information, UE-B may transmit a signal and / or data (e.g., a transport block (TB)) to UE-A. UE-B may also transmit a signal and / or data to one or more other nodes (such as one or more other UEs). The transmission of a signal and / or data from UE-B may be enabled or disabled or controlled by configuration or pre-configuration. UE-A and / or other nodes in the communication system may receive a signal and / or data transmitted from UE-B. The reception of signals and / or data by UE-A may be enabled or disabled or controlled through configuration or pre-configuration.

[0023] In some embodiments, in a first IUC scheme, the transmission of IUC information from UE-A may be triggered by an implicit request received from UE-B. An example of an implicit request may be a condition to be satisfied by UE-A. If UE-A satisfies the condition, UE-A may send IUC information to UE-B. UE-B may receive IUC information from UE-A and use the IUC information for resource selection or reselection. The IUC information may include resources preferred by UE-B or resources not preferred by UE-B. Resources not preferred by UE-B may be resources that have been occupied or reserved by other UEs. Resource selection or reselection of UE-B may be enabled or disabled or controlled by configuration via the network or pre-configuration at UE-B.

[0024] Figure 2 It is consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of exemplary beamforming in a communication system. Figure 2, the sidelink communication between UE-A and UE-B can be a beam-based communication. In this case, sidelink beamforming is used so that the beam from UE-B (the oval 102 filled with black) and the beam from UE-A (the oval 104 filled with black) can be aligned. The terms "beam alignment" and "beamforming" are used interchangeably in the present disclosure. Beamforming at a transmitting UE (e.g., UE-B) and / or a receiving UE (e.g., UE-A) can increase the communication range, the achievable data rate on the sidelink, and the overall system spectral efficiency by increasing the spatial reuse of radio resources.

[0025] Reference Figure 2 , both UE-A and UE-B may be located at a low altitude and may be moving. In addition, in the sidelink, each UE communicates with one or more UEs. This is different from the uplink / downlink formed by the UE and the base station (e.g., gNB, eNB), where one end of the link (base station) is generally not moving and is located at a higher altitude than the other end of the link (UE). In addition, in uplink / downlink communications, each UE communicates only with the base station. Due to the difference, the sequential beam alignment process used in beamforming between the base station and the UE may not be applicable to beamforming in the sidelink communication between UE-A and UE-B. In addition, even if the process used in beamforming between the base station and the UE can be applied to beamforming in the sidelink communication, the process for beamforming between the base station and the UE (e.g., performing an exhaustive search for the best beam pair) may be too slow and may result in significant overhead. For example, using each possible beam pair to transmit and / or receive reference signals during the search for the best beam may result in significant overhead. At least some embodiments of the present disclosure solve the above-mentioned problems of beamforming in sidelink communications.

[0026] Figure 3 It is consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of joint IUC and sidelink beamforming in a communication system. Figure 3, both UE-A and UE-B are ready to perform sidelink beam alignment, and support and use the first IUC scheme. UE-A and UE-B can exchange signals of the first IUC scheme for IUC. For example, UE-B (Tx UE) can transmit an inter-UE coordination request (IUC_REQ) signal to UE-A (Rx UE). In one embodiment, UE-B can transmit an explicit request for requesting IUC information. The IUC information may include a set of preferred or non-preferred radio resources for resource selection and / or reselection of UE-B. In one embodiment, an explicit request (or any implicit request) can be transmitted from UE-B on a FR2 spectrum and received by UE-A. In the present disclosure, FR2 is defined by two frequency sub-ranges: FR2-1 from 24250MHz to 52600MHz and FR2-2 from 52600MHz to 71000MHz (including millimeter wave spectrum). One or more FR2 antennas can be used to transmit FR2 signals. In another embodiment, an explicit request (or any implicit request) may be transmitted from UE-B and received by UE-A on a FR1 spectrum, for example, based on omnidirectional FR1 transmission and reception. In the present disclosure, FR1 is defined as a frequency range from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz (including sub-6 GHz spectrum). One or more FR1 antennas may be used to transmit FR1 signals. In some embodiments, the generation of a wide beam using an antenna panel for generating a narrow beam (e.g., FR2) may be achieved by using a subset of antenna elements in the antenna panel. In some embodiments, a phase shift may be applied at each antenna element to make the beam wider. In some embodiments, the IUC range may be increased by using a robust modulation coding scheme (MCS).

[0027] Upon receiving the inter-UE coordination request (IUC_REQ) signal, UE-A may determine the direction-of-arrival (DoA) of the incoming inter-UE coordination request (IUC_REQ) signal. Methods for determining the direction of arrival are well known in the art. For the sake of brevity, the description of the method for determining the direction of arrival is omitted here. Angle θ B can be the angle between the x-axis and the incoming IUC_REQ signal, and the angle It may be the angle between the y-axis and the incoming IUC_REQ signal. In some embodiments, UE-A may also determine the altitude angle (the angle between the z-axis and the incoming IUC_REQ signal).

[0028] Based on the determined direction of arrival of the incoming inter-UE coordination request (IUC_REQ) signal, UE-A may also select one or more Rx beams for subsequent communication with UE-B. For example, UE-A may select one or more narrow Rx beams from among a plurality of narrow Rx beams for subsequent reception of data or signals from UE-B. In some embodiments, UE-A may determine more than one direction of arrival of the incoming inter-UE coordination request (IUC_REQ) signal, and select a plurality of Rx beam candidates based on the determination of the plurality of directions of arrival of the incoming inter-UE coordination request (IUC_REQ).

[0029] In some embodiments, UE-A may perform channel sensing on the selected one or more Rx beams, and determine IUC information for UE-B based on the sensing results of the selected one or more Rx beams. The IUC information may include preferred or non-preferred resources for UE-B.

[0030] In some embodiments, UE-A may also transmit an inter-UE coordination message (IUC_MSG) to UE-B. The IUC_MSG may include IUC information determined by UE-A. In one embodiment, UE-A may determine multiple Rx beam candidates, and the IUC_MSG transmitted to UE-B may include preferred and / or non-preferred radio resources for each Rx beam candidate. In some embodiments, the IUC_MSG may be transmitted from UE-A using a wide FR2 beam and received by UE-B. In some embodiments, the IUC_MSG may be transmitted from UE-A using an omnidirectional FR1 antenna and received by UE-B. In one embodiment, based on the reciprocity between the Tx beam and the Rx beam, the transmission of the IUC_MSG by UE-A may use one or more Rx beams already selected by UE-A.

[0031] Upon receiving the IUC_MSG from UE-A, UE-B may determine the direction of arrival of the incoming IUC_MSG signal, for example using existing methods for direction of arrival estimation. Angle θ A can be the angle between the x-axis and the incoming IUC_MSG signal, and the angle It can be the angle between the y-axis and the incoming IUC_MSG signal. In some embodiments, UE-B can also determine the altitude angle (the angle between the z-axis and the incoming IUC_MSG signal). UE-B can use the determined arrival direction to select a Tx beam for subsequent communication with UE-A. For example, UE-B can select one or more narrow Tx beams for subsequent transmission of data to UE-A among multiple narrow Tx beams. In some embodiments, UE-B can determine more than one arrival direction of the IUC_MSG signal and select more than one Tx beam candidate based on the multiple arrival directions of the IUC_MSG signal.

[0032] In some embodiments, UE-B may also perform channel sensing on the selected one or more Tx beams, and select one or more resources based on the sensing results of the selected one or more Tx beams and the received IUC information. For example, UE-B may avoid selecting resources occupied or reserved by other UEs. In one embodiment, UE-B may perform sensing on multiple Tx beam candidates, and select a beam for transmission based on the sensing results obtained from the sensing of multiple Tx beam candidates and the received IUC_MSG. UE-B may then transmit data to UE-A in the selected one or more resources using the selected beam.

[0033] In one embodiment, UE-A and UE-B may exchange IUC_REQ and IUC_MSG signals as part of NR sidelink Mode 2 resource selection as set forth in 3GPP specifications.

[0034] Above about Figure 3 The method described is a joint IUC in which both UE-A and UE-B perform direction of arrival estimation.In some embodiments, only one UE (UE-A or UE-B) may perform direction of arrival estimation.

[0035] Although the exemplary embodiments in the present disclosure relate to FR1 and FR2 communications, the application of the disclosed methods is not limited thereto. The methods described in the present disclosure can be applied to any frequency band, including frequency bands used in current sidelink communications, as well as frequency bands used in future generation (6th generation (6G), 7th generation (7G), or any future generation) sidelink communications. The methods described in the present disclosure can also be applied to other systems, such as downlink / uplink or wireless local area networks, or any other system that complies with other standards (e.g., IEEE standards).

[0036] At least some embodiments of the disclosed methods are beneficial for resource selection because sensing is performed on the beam that will actually be used for subsequent data transmission and / or reception. In addition, at least some embodiments of the disclosed methods are beneficial for beam alignment because the methods can allow fast beam alignment and reduced overhead without having to perform exhaustive beam searches based on beam scanning. In addition, at least some embodiments of the disclosed methods are also applicable to both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) channels because the methods can rely on arrival direction estimates instead of geometry (e.g., UE location).

[0037] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary test setup 400 for detecting directional transmission consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4 , the test setup 400 includes two UEs, such as a smart phone (UB-B) and a vehicle (UE-A). UE-A is the UE under test. UE-A is deployed in a ring. The antenna array is mounted on the inner wall of the ring so that the Rx beam and / or Tx beam of UE-A is substantially perpendicular to the corresponding surface of each antenna. The two UEs can operate in FR2.

[0038] During the test, UE-B is triggered to transmit an inter-UE coordination request (IUC-REQ) signal to UE-A. The IUC-REQ signal may be transmitted using a narrow beam or a wide beam (e.g., FR2) or using an omnidirectional FR1 antenna. Figure 4 , for example, UE-B utilizes a narrow beam. The incoming IUC-REQ signal may be substantially perpendicular to the outer surface of the ring. UE-A receives the IUC-REQ and determines the direction of arrival of the incoming IUC-REQ signal.

[0039] Upon receiving the IUC-REQ signal, UE-A transmits an inter-UE coordination message (IUC-MSG). For the transmission of the IUC-MSG, UE-A applies a beam that matches the direction of arrival of the IUC-REQ signal transmitted by UE-B. In this case, the antenna array mounted on the ring can detect the transmission direction of the IUC-MSG signal from UE-A. The detection of the IUC-MSG signal by one or more antennas of the antenna array on the ring surface indicates that UE-A practices the method disclosed in the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 5 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 (e.g., for beam alignment and resource (re)selection) in sidelink communication consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be performed by a UE in sidelink communication. For example, the method 500 may be performed by a vehicle in V2X communication.

[0041] refer to Figure 5 , the method 500 includes: step 502, receiving, by a first UE in sidelink communication, an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE.

[0042] In one embodiment, the first UE may be a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-B, and the IUC signal may be an inter-UE coordination message signal such as Figure 3 IUC_MSG signal. The first UE may use at least one of FR2 or FR1 to receive the IUC signal. The IUC message signal may include at least one of the following: a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE, or a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE. In this embodiment, before receiving the IUC message signal, the first UE may transmit an IUC request signal to the second UE to request an IUC message, and receive the IUC message signal in response to the transmission of the IUC request signal. The IUC request may be an explicit request or an implicit request. In this case, one or more beams used to receive the IUC message signal from the second UE and one or more beams used to transmit the IUC request signal may have reciprocity.

[0043] In another embodiment, the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal. The first UE may use at least one of FR2 or FR1 to receive the IUC request signal. In this embodiment, after receiving the IUC request signal, the first UE may transmit an IUC message signal to the second UE. The IUC message signal transmitted from the first UE may include at least one of the following: a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE, or a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE. One or more beams for transmitting the IUC message signal from the first UE and one or more beams for receiving the IUC request signal may have reciprocity.

[0044] The method 500 includes: step 504, determining, by the first UE based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE.

[0045] In one embodiment, the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3UE-B, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal. In this embodiment, based on the received IUC message signal, the first UE can determine a set of candidate radio resources for transmitting data or signals to the second UE. The first UE can determine the candidate resources based on the IUC message signal received from the second UE. In addition, the first UE can also perform its own channel sensing and consider the channel sensing results. The transmission of the signal or data can be a broadcast, multicast or unicast to the second UE.

[0046] In another embodiment, the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A of the first UE, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal. In this embodiment, upon receiving the IUC request signal, the first UE may determine a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE. Alternatively, in this embodiment, step 504 is not performed.

[0047] The method 500 includes: step 506, determining, by the first UE, at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on the estimated angle of arrival of the IUC signal.

[0048] In one embodiment, the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-B of the present invention, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may determine at least one direction associated with the received IUC message signal based on the estimated arrival angle of the incoming IUC message. The estimated angle may be one or more angles between the IUC message signal direction and the x-axis, y-axis, z-axis, or any other reference axis.

[0049] In another embodiment, the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A of the present invention, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may determine at least one direction associated with the received IUC request signal based on the estimated arrival angle of the incoming IUC request signal. The estimated angle may be one or more angles between the IUC request signal direction and the x-axis, y-axis, z-axis, or any other reference axis.

[0050] The method 500 includes: step 508, selecting, by the first UE, at least one beam from among a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal.

[0051] In one embodiment, the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3UE-B of the present invention, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may select at least one beam (Tx beam) for transmission among multiple beams based on the determined direction associated with the received IUC message signal and / or the content of the IUC message signal (e.g., the preferred resource of the non-preferred resource of the first UE).

[0052] In another embodiment, the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A of the received IUC request signal, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may select at least one beam (Rx beam) from the plurality of beams for subsequently receiving data or signals from the second UE. In this embodiment, the first UE may select at least one beam (Rx beam) based on the determined direction associated with the received IUC request signal and / or the content of the IUC request signal.

[0053] The method 500 comprises: step 510, determining, by the first UE, a subset of radio resources from a set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam.

[0054] In one embodiment, the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-B, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may perform sensing on at least one selected beam (Tx beam) and determine a subset of radio resources from candidate radio resources based on the sensing result.

[0055] In another embodiment, the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A of the first UE, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may perform sensing on the selected at least one Rx beam and determine a subset of radio resources from the candidate radio resources based on the sensing result. In this embodiment, the first UE may perform sensing to determine inter-UE coordination information (e.g., preferred or non-preferred resources) for the second UE.

[0056] The method 500 includes: step 512, transmitting, by the first UE, the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE, or selecting, by the first UE, one or more radio resources from the determined subset of radio resources for communication with the second UE.

[0057] In one embodiment, the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3UE-B, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may transmit the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE. Alternatively, the first UE may select one or more radio resources for communicating with the second UE from the determined subset of radio resources.

[0058] In another embodiment, the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A of the present invention, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal. In this embodiment, the first UE may transmit the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE, or select one or more radio resources for communicating with the second UE from the determined subset of radio resources. Alternatively, in this embodiment, step 512 may not be performed.

[0059] Figure 6 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method 600 for detecting directional transmissions consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be performed by two UEs in sidelink communication. For example, the method 600 may be performed by Figure 4 The exemplary test setup is performed on a transmitting UE and a receiving UE in sidelink communication.

[0060] refer to Figure 6 The method 600 includes: step 602, deploying a first UE in a ring having a plurality of antennas disposed on an inner wall of the ring. The first UE is tested to determine whether it practices Figure 5 The first UE may be capable of operating in an FR2 beam. The first UE may be a receiving UE in a sidelink communication (e.g., Figure 3 The first UE may be UE-A. Figure 4 UE-A shown in FIG.

[0061] The method 600 includes: step 604, sending an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal from the second UE to the first UE. The IUC signal may be an IUC request signal transmitted from the second UE. The IUC request signal may be transmitted using a narrow beam or a wide beam. The second UE may or may not practice Figure 5 The second UE may be capable of operating in an FR2 beam. The second UE may be Figure 6 UE-B shown in FIG.

[0062] The method 600 includes: step 606, receiving a response signal transmitted in response to the IUC signal from the first UE. Figure 5In an example of the method, upon receiving an IUC signal (eg, an IUC request signal), the first UE determines the direction of arrival of the IUC signal. The first UE also transmits a response signal (eg, an IUC message signal) using a beam matching the direction of arrival of the IUC signal.

[0063] Method 600 includes: step 608, determining whether at least one direction associated with a response signal transmitted from the first UE matches the direction of the IUC signal. If at least one direction associated with the response signal determined by one or more antennas on the inner wall of the ring matches the direction of the IUC signal, it can be concluded that the first UE is actually Figure 5 Conclusions of the method.

[0064] Figure 7 700 is a block diagram of a UE 700 consistent with some embodiments of the present disclosure. UE 700 may be a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-B, or the receiving UE in the sidelink communication, such as Figure 3 UE-A. UE 700 may take any form, including but not limited to a vehicle, a component installed in a vehicle, a laptop computer, a wireless terminal including a mobile phone, a wireless handheld device or a wireless personal device, or any other form. Figure 7 , UE 700 may include an antenna 702, which may be used to transmit or receive electromagnetic signals to / from other nodes such as network nodes (e.g., base stations), RSUs, relay nodes, or other UEs. Antenna 702 may be a FR1 antenna configured to transmit and / or receive FR1 signals. Alternatively or additionally, antenna 702 may be a FR2 antenna configured to transmit and / or receive FR2 signals. Antenna 702 may include one or more antenna elements and may implement different input-output antenna configurations, such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO) configurations, multiple input single output (MISO) configurations, and single input multiple output (SIMO) configurations. In some embodiments, antenna 702 may include multiple (e.g., tens or hundreds) of antenna elements and may implement multi-antenna functions, such as beamforming. In some embodiments, antenna 702 is a single antenna.

[0065] UE 700 may include a transceiver 704 coupled to antenna 702. Transceiver 704 may be a wireless transceiver at UE 700 and may perform bidirectional communication with a base station or other UEs. For example, transceiver 704 may receive wireless signals from / transmit wireless signals to a base station via downlink / uplink communication. Transceiver 704 may also receive / transmit wireless signals from / to another UE or RSU via sidelink communication. Transceiver 704 may include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to antenna 702 for transmission, and demodulate packets received from antenna 702.

[0066] UE 700 may include memory 706. Memory 706 may be any type of computer-readable storage medium, including volatile or non-volatile memory devices or combinations thereof. Computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, non-transitory computer storage media. Non-transitory storage media may be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computers. Examples of non-transitory storage media include, but are not limited to, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), digital versatile disks (DVD), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, etc. Non-transitory media may be used to carry or store desired program code devices (e.g., instructions and / or data structures), and may be accessed by general-purpose or special-purpose computers, or general-purpose or special-purpose processors. In some examples, the software / program code may be transmitted from a remote source (e.g., a website, server, etc.) using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave. In such examples, coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are within the scope of the definition of the medium. Combinations of the above examples are also within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0067] The memory 706 may store information related to the identification of the UE 700 and the signals and / or data received by the antenna 702. The memory 706 may also store post-processed signals and / or data. The memory 706 may also store computer-readable program instructions, mathematical models, and algorithms used in the signal processing in the transceiver 704 and the calculation in the processor 708. For example, the memory 706 may store computer-readable program instructions, mathematical models, and algorithms for estimating the angle of arrival of the IUC request signal and / or the angle of arrival of the IUC message signal. The memory 706 may also store computer-readable program instructions for being executed by the processor 708 to operate the UE 700 to perform various functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, the memory 706 may include a basic input / output system (Basic Input / Output System, BIOS), which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices. In some embodiments, the memory 706 includes both LTE and NR modules. In some other embodiments, the memory 706 includes only the NR module. In some other embodiments, the memory 706 includes only the LTE module.

[0068] The computer-readable program instructions of the present disclosure may be assembly instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-related instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages ​​(including object-oriented programming languages ​​and conventional procedural programming languages). The computer-readable program instructions may be executed completely on a computing device as an independent software package, or partially on a first computing device and partially on a second computing device away from the first computing device. In the latter case, the second remote computing device may be connected to the first computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN).

[0069] UE 700 may include a processor 708, which may include a hardware device with processing capabilities. Processor 708 may include at least one of the following: a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component or other programmable logic device. Examples of general-purpose processors include, but are not limited to, microprocessors, any conventional processors, controllers, microcontrollers or state machines. In some embodiments, processor 708 may be implemented using a combination of devices (e.g., a combination of DSP and microprocessors, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration). Processor 708 may receive downlink signals or sidelink signals from transceiver 704 and further process these signals. Processor 708 may also receive data packets from transceiver 704 and further process these packets. In some embodiments, processor 708 may be configured to operate a memory using a memory controller. In some embodiments, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 708. The processor 708 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (eg, the memory 706) to enable the UE 700 to perform various functions.

[0070] UE 700 may include a global positioning system (GPS) 710. GPS 710 may be used to implement location-based services or other services based on the geographic location of UE 700 and / or synchronization among UEs. GPS 710 may receive a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal from a single satellite or multiple satellite signals via antenna 702 and provide the geographic location of UE 700 (e.g., coordinates of UE 700). In some embodiments, GPS 710 may be omitted.

[0071] UE 700 may include an input / output (I / O) device 712, which may be used to transmit the results of signal processing and calculation to a user or another device. I / O device 712 may include a user interface, which includes a display and an input device for transmitting user commands to processor 708. The display may be configured to display the state of signal reception at UE 700, the data stored at memory 706, the state of signal processing and the results of calculation, etc. The display may include but is not limited to a cathode ray tube (Cathode Ray Tube, CRT), a liquid crystal display (Liquid Crystal Display, LCD), a light-emitting diode (Light-Emitting Diode, LED), a gas plasma display, a touch screen or other image projection devices for displaying information to a user. The input device may be any type of computer hardware device for receiving data and control signals from a user. The input device may include but is not limited to a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, a digital camera, a joystick, a trackball, a cursor direction key, a touch screen monitor or an audio / video commander, etc.

[0072] UE 700 may also include a machine interface 714 , such as an electrical bus that connects transceiver 704 , memory 706 , processor 708 , GPS 710 , and I / O devices 712 .

[0073] In some embodiments, UE 700 may be configured or programmed for sidelink communication. For example, UE 700 may be a transmitting UE or a receiving UE in sidelink communication, and processor 708 may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory 706 to: receive an IUC signal transmitted from a second UE; determine a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE based on the received IUC signal; determine at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimation of an angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; select at least one beam from a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal; determine a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam; and transmit the determined subset of radio resources to the second UE, or select one or more radio resources from the determined subset of radio resources for communicating with the second UE.

[0074] As used in the present disclosure, the use of the term "or" in a list of items indicates an inclusive list. A list of items may be prefixed with phrases such as "at least one" or "one or more". For example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C includes A or B or C or AB (i.e., A and B) or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). In addition, as used in the present disclosure, prefixing a list of conditions with the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a set of conditions "based only on", but rather should be interpreted as a set of conditions "based at least in part on". For example, a result described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0075] In this specification, the terms "include", "contain" or "comprise" can be used interchangeably and have the same meaning, and are interpreted as inclusive and open-ended. The terms "include", "contain" or "comprises" can be used before a list of elements and indicate that at least all of the listed elements in the list are present, but other elements that are not in the list may also be present. For example, if A includes B and C, then {B, C} and {B, C, D} are both within the scope of A.

[0076] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure describes example configurations that do not represent all examples that can be implemented or all configurations within the scope of the present disclosure. The term "exemplary" should not be interpreted as "preferred" or "advantageous compared to other examples", but should be interpreted as "illustration, instance, or example". By reading this disclosure, including the description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that alternative embodiments can be used to implement the technology disclosed herein. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments described herein or certain features of the embodiments can be combined to obtain other embodiments for practicing the technology described in the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0077] The flowchart and block diagram in the figure show examples of the architecture, functions and operations of possible implementations of the systems, methods and devices according to various embodiments. It should be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the box may occur outside the order marked in the figure. For example, depending on the functions involved, the two boxes shown in succession can actually be executed substantially simultaneously, or the boxes can sometimes be executed in reverse order. Similarly, in the method consistent with various embodiments, additional steps may be included in such a method, and some steps may be omitted or combined.

[0078] It should be understood that the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and elements, components, materials or steps described in conjunction with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with or eliminated from other embodiments in a suitable manner to achieve the desired design purpose.

[0079] References herein to "some embodiments" or "some exemplary embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. The appearance of the phrases "one embodiment," "some embodiments," or "another embodiment" throughout this disclosure does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor are they necessarily separate or alternative embodiments that are mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

[0080] In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this disclosure and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clearly directed to a singular form by context.

[0081] Unless expressly stated otherwise, each numerical value and range should be interpreted as being approximate, as would the word "about" or "approximately" preceding the value of the numerical value or range.

[0082] Although elements in the following method claims, if any, are recited in a specific order, these elements are not necessarily intended to be limited to being implemented in that specific order unless the claim recitation otherwise implies a specific order for implementing some or all of these elements.

[0083] It should be understood that certain features of the present disclosure described in the context of separate embodiments for the sake of clarity may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the present specification described in the context of a single embodiment for the sake of brevity may also be provided separately, or in any suitable sub-combination, or as appropriate in any other described embodiment of the present specification. Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not essential features of these embodiments unless otherwise stated.

[0084] It should also be understood that those skilled in the art may make various modifications, substitutions and changes to the details, materials and arrangements of the components described and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of the described embodiments without departing from the scope. Accordingly, the appended claims cover all such substitutions, modifications and changes falling within the aspects of the claims.

[0085] Clause 1. A first user equipment (UE) for communication, the first UE comprising: a memory storing instructions; and a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: receiving an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE; determining, based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with a second UE; determining at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimate of an angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting at least one beam among the plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal; determining a subset of radio resources from a set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam; and The determined subset of radio resources is transmitted to the second UE, or one or more radio resources are selected from the determined subset of radio resources for communicating with the second UE.

[0086] Clause 2. The first UE of clause 1, wherein the angle of arrival of the received IUC signal comprises at least one of an angle between an x-axis and an incoming IUC signal direction or an angle between a y-axis and an incoming IUC signal direction.

[0087] Clause 3. A first UE according to clause 1, wherein the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: An IUC request signal is transmitted to the second UE.

[0088] Clause 4. The first UE of clause 3, wherein the IUC request signal is transmitted using at least one of FR2 or FR1.

[0089] Clause 5. The first UE of clause 3, wherein the one or more beams used to receive the IUC message signal from the second UE and the one or more beams used to transmit the IUC request signal have reciprocity.

[0090] Clause 6. A first UE according to clause 1, wherein the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and wherein the IUC message signal includes at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE.

[0091] Clause 7. A first UE according to clause 1, wherein the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, and the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: The selected one or more radio resources are used to transmit a signal or data to the second UE.

[0092] Clause 8. A first UE according to clause 1, wherein the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, the IUC signal is an IUC request signal, and the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: An IUC message signal is transmitted to the second UE.

[0093] Clause 9. A first UE according to clause 8, wherein the IUC message signal comprises at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE.

[0094] Clause 10. The first UE of clause 8, wherein the one or more beams used to transmit the IUC message signal from the first UE and the one or more beams used to receive the IUC request signal have reciprocity.

[0095] Clause 11. The first UE of clause 8, wherein the IUC message signal is transmitted using at least one of FR2 or FR1.

[0096] Clause 12. The first UE of clause 8, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to: A signal or data transmitted based on at least one of at least one direction or content of the IUC message signal is received from the second UE.

[0097] Clause 13. The first UE of clause 1, wherein the set of candidate radio resources comprises one or more subchannels or one or more time slots for sidelink communications.

[0098] Clause 14. A method in sidelink communication, the method comprising: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE) in sidelink communication, an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE; Determining, by the first UE based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE; determining, by the first UE, at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimated angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting, by the first UE, at least one beam among the plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal; determining, by the first UE, a subset of radio resources from a set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam; and The determined subset of radio resources is transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, or one or more radio resources are selected by the first UE from the determined subset of radio resources for communication with the second UE.

[0099] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the angle of arrival of the received IUC signal comprises at least one of an angle between an x-axis and an incoming IUC signal direction or an angle between a y-axis and an incoming IUC signal direction.

[0100] Clause 16. A method according to clause 14, wherein the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and the method further comprises: Before receiving the IUC message signal, an IUC request signal is transmitted to the second UE.

[0101] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the IUC request signal is transmitted using at least one of FR2 or FR1.

[0102] Clause 18. The method of clause 16, wherein the one or more beams used to receive the IUC message signal from the second UE and the one or more beams used to transmit the IUC request signal have reciprocity.

[0103] Clause 19. A method according to clause 14, wherein the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and wherein the IUC message signal includes at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE.

[0104] Clause 20. A method according to clause 14, wherein the first UE is a transmitting UE in a sidelink communication, and the method further comprises: The selected one or more radio resources are used to transmit a signal or data to the second UE.

[0105] Clause 21. A method according to clause 14, wherein the first UE is a receiving UE in a sidelink communication, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal, and the method further comprises: An IUC message signal is transmitted to the second UE.

[0106] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the IUC message signal is transmitted using at least one of FR2 or FR1.

[0107] Clause 23. A method according to clause 21, wherein the IUC message signal comprises at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE.

[0108] Clause 24. The method of clause 21, wherein the one or more beams used to transmit the IUC message signal from the first UE and the one or more beams used to receive the IUC request signal have reciprocity.

[0109] Clause 25. The method according to Clause 21, further comprising: A signal or data transmitted based on at least one of at least one direction or content of the IUC message signal is received from the second UE.

[0110] Clause 26. The method of clause 14, wherein the set of candidate radio resources comprises one or more subchannels or one or more time slots for sidelink communications.

[0111] Clause 27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors of a first user equipment (UE) for communication to perform a method comprising: receiving, by the first UE, an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from the second UE; Determining, by the first UE based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE; determining, by the first UE, at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimated angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting, by the first UE, at least one beam among the plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or the content of the received IUC signal; determining, by the first UE, a subset of radio resources from a set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam; and The determined subset of radio resources is transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, or one or more radio resources are selected by the first UE from the determined subset of radio resources for communication with the second UE.

Claims

1. A first user equipment (UE) for communication, the first UE comprising: a memory storing instructions; as well as a processor configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory to: receiving an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE; determining, based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE; determining at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimate of an angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting at least one beam among a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or content of the received IUC signal; determining a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources based on sensing of the selected at least one beam; as well as The determined subset of radio resources is transmitted to the second UE, or one or more radio resources are selected from the determined subset of radio resources for communicating with the second UE.

2. The first UE according to claim 1, wherein: The angle of arrival of the received IUC signal includes at least one of an angle between an x-axis and an incoming IUC signal direction or an angle between a y-axis and the incoming IUC signal direction.

3. The first UE according to claim 1, wherein: The first UE is a transmitting UE in sidelink communication, the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and the processor is further configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory to: An IUC request signal is transmitted to the second UE.

4. The first UE according to claim 3, wherein: The IUC request signal is transmitted using at least one of FR2 or FR1.

5. The first UE according to claim 3, wherein: The one or more beams used to receive the IUC message signal from the second UE and the one or more beams used to transmit the IUC request signal have reciprocity.

6. The first UE according to claim 1, wherein: The first UE is a transmitting UE in sidelink communication, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and wherein the IUC message signal includes at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE.

7. The first UE according to claim 1, wherein: The first UE is a transmitting UE in sidelink communication, and the processor is further configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory to: A signal or data is transmitted to the second UE using the selected one or more radio resources.

8. The first UE according to claim 1, wherein: The first UE is a receiving UE in sidelink communication, the IUC signal is an IUC request signal, and the processor is further configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory to: Transmit an IUC message signal to the second UE.

9. The first UE according to claim 8, wherein: The IUC message signal includes at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the second UE.

10. The first UE according to claim 8, wherein: One or more beams used to transmit the IUC message signal from the first UE and one or more beams used to receive the IUC request signal have reciprocity.

11. The first UE according to claim 8, wherein: The processor is further configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory to: A signal or data transmitted based on at least one of the at least one direction or the content of the IUC message signal is received from the second UE.

12. The first UE according to claim 1, wherein: The set of candidate radio resources includes one or more sub-channels or one or more time slots for sidelink communication.

13. A method in sidelink communication, the method comprising: receiving, by a first user equipment (UE) in the sidelink communication, an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE; Determining, by the first UE based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE; determining, by the first UE, at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimated angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting, by the first UE, at least one beam from among a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or content of the received IUC signal; determining, by the first UE based on sensing of the selected at least one beam, a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources; as well as The determined subset of radio resources is transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, or one or more radio resources are selected by the first UE from the determined subset of radio resources for communication with the second UE.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The angle of arrival of the received IUC signal includes at least one of an angle between an x-axis and an incoming IUC signal direction or an angle between a y-axis and the incoming IUC signal direction.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first UE is a transmitting UE in the sidelink communication, the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and the method further includes: Before receiving the IUC message signal, an IUC request signal is transmitted to the second UE.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first UE is a transmitting UE in the sidelink communication, and the IUC signal is an IUC message signal, and wherein the IUC message signal includes at least one of: (a) a set of preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE, or (b) a set of non-preferred radio resources for transmitting signals or data from the first UE.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first UE is a transmitting UE in the sidelink communication, and the method further includes: A signal or data is transmitted to the second UE using the selected one or more radio resources.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The first UE is a receiving UE in the sidelink communication, and the IUC signal is an IUC request signal, and the method further includes: Transmit an IUC message signal to the second UE.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The set of candidate radio resources includes one or more sub-channels or one or more time slots for the sidelink communication.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors of a first user equipment (UE) for communication to perform a method comprising: receiving, by the first UE, an inter-UE coordination (IUC) signal transmitted from a second UE; Determining, by the first UE based on the received IUC signal, a set of candidate radio resources for communicating with the second UE; determining, by the first UE, at least one direction associated with the received IUC signal based on an estimated angle of arrival of the received IUC signal; selecting, by the first UE, at least one beam from among a plurality of beams for communicating with the second UE based on at least one of the determined at least one direction or content of the received IUC signal; determining, by the first UE based on sensing of the selected at least one beam, a subset of radio resources from the set of candidate radio resources; as well as The determined subset of radio resources is transmitted by the first UE to the second UE, or one or more radio resources are selected by the first UE from the determined subset of radio resources for communication with the second UE.

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