Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, and is suitable for the field of multi-intelligent body cooperation. The method comprises the following steps: a cooperative control function network element in an access network or a core network receives first cooperative request information, wherein the first cooperative request information comprises description information of a cooperative task; wherein the at least one agent participating in the collaborative task comprises a first agent; and the cooperative control function network element sends execution request information to the first agent, wherein the execution request information is used for requesting the first agent to execute the subtask of the cooperative task. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the invention, the cooperative control function network element is introduced into the core network or the access network, the intelligent agent is controlled to complete the cooperative task through the cooperative control function network element, and the transmission delay between the cooperative control function network element and the intelligent agent is relatively small, so that the cooperative demand of low-delay service is conveniently met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the trend of terminal device intelligence has become increasingly obvious. For example, various intelligent entities such as robots with intelligent technology, intelligent vehicles, smartphones, and intelligent wearable devices have emerged in an endless stream.

[0003] Currently, there are more and more scenarios where multiple intelligent entities complete a task through mutual cooperation (i.e., multi-agent cooperation). For example, multiple intelligent vehicles complete a road condition analysis task through mutual cooperation. Multi-agent cooperation has become an important means to solve complex problems and achieve more advanced applications.

[0004] However, how to achieve multi-agent cooperation still needs further research. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for controlling an intelligent entity to complete a cooperation task through a network element in a core network or an access network, which is convenient for reducing transmission delay and meeting the cooperation requirements of low-delay services.

[0006] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method. The execution subject of this method is a cooperation control function network element in a network or a module of a cooperation control function network element. The cooperation control function network element is a control plane network element, and the network is a core network or an access network. Here, the cooperation control function network element is used as an example of the execution subject for description. In this method, the cooperation control function network element receives first cooperation request information from a second intelligent entity, and the first cooperation request information includes description information of a cooperation task; wherein, at least one intelligent entity participating in the cooperation task includes a first intelligent entity; and sends execution request information to the first intelligent entity, and the execution request information is used to request the first intelligent entity to execute a subtask of the cooperation task.

[0007] In this way, in the embodiments of this application, a cooperation control function network element is introduced in the core network or the access network, and the intelligent entity is controlled by the cooperation control function network element to complete the cooperation task. Since the transmission delay between the network element in the core network or the access network and the intelligent entity is small, it is convenient to meet the cooperation requirements of low-delay services.

[0008] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving status information from the first intelligent entity, where the status information is used to indicate the status of the first intelligent entity; determining that the status information meets the status requirements of the intelligent entity participating in the cooperation task for the cooperation task; wherein, the status requirements are determined according to the description information of the cooperation task.

[0009] Thus, considering that the agent may be mobile (for example, the agent is a mobile terminal), the cooperative control function network element can determine that the first agent participates in the cooperative task when the status information of the first agent meets the status requirements, so that the determined agents participating in the cooperative task are more reasonable and accurate, and avoid the problem of task execution failure caused by determining an agent that does not meet the status requirements as an agent participating in the cooperative task.

[0010] In a possible design, the status of the first agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection status of the first agent; the computing resource status of the first agent; the location status of the first agent; the power status of the first agent; the motion status of the first agent; the memory status of the first agent.

[0011] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending status request information to the first agent, where the status request information is used to request the status information.

[0012] Thus, the cooperative control function network element sends status request information to the first agent, and then the first agent feeds back the status information based on the request of the cooperative control function network element, so that the first agent can feed back the status information in a targeted manner.

[0013] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving capability information from the first agent; determining that the capability information meets the capability requirements of the cooperative task for the agents participating in the cooperative task; where the capability requirements are determined according to the description information of the cooperative task.

[0014] Thus, the cooperative control function network element can determine that the first agent is an agent participating in the cooperative task when the capability information of the first agent meets the capability requirements, so that the determined agents participating in the cooperative task are more reasonable and accurate.

[0015] In a possible design, the capability information is used to indicate the data types supported by the first agent and / or the task types supported by the first agent.

[0016] In a possible design, receiving capability information from the first agent includes: receiving a registration request message from the first agent, where the registration request message includes the capability information.

[0017] In a possible design, the method further includes: determining that the first cooperative request information includes the identifier of the first agent.

[0018] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving feedback information from the first agent, where the feedback information includes the execution result of the subtask; determining the execution result of the collaborative task according to the feedback information; and sending the execution result of the collaborative task to the second agent.

[0019] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending collaborative configuration request information to the first agent, where the collaborative configuration request information includes configuration parameters required for the first agent to participate in the collaborative task; and receiving collaborative configuration response information from the first agent, where the collaborative configuration response information is used to indicate that the configuration of the first agent is successful.

[0020] In a possible design, the method further includes: determining that a maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is greater than a threshold according to the description information of the collaborative task.

[0021] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving a deregistration request message from the first agent; and releasing the connection between the first agent and the collaborative control function network element according to the deregistration request message.

[0022] In a possible design, the first agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0023] In a possible design, a collaborative task refers to a task that the initiator cannot complete and requires one or more agents to collaborate to complete, and the one or more agents are the agents participating in the collaborative task.

[0024] In a possible design, the collaborative task is a sensing task or a computing task.

[0025] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and the execution subject of the method is the first agent or a module of the first agent. Here, the first agent is used as an example of the execution subject for description. In this method, the first agent receives execution request information from a collaborative control function network element in the network, where the execution request information is used to request the first agent to execute a subtask of a collaborative task; where the network is an access network or a core network; and executes the subtask according to the execution request information.

[0026] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending status information of the first agent to the collaborative control function network element, where the status information is used to indicate the status of the first agent.

[0027] In a possible design, the state of the first agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection state of the first agent; the computing resource state of the first agent; the location state of the first agent; the power state of the first agent; the motion state of the first agent; the memory state of the first agent.

[0028] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving state request information from the cooperative control function network element, where the state request information is used to request the state information.

[0029] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending the capability information of the first agent to the cooperative control function network element, where the capability information of the first agent is used to indicate the data types supported by the first agent for sensing and / or the task types supported by the first agent for execution.

[0030] In a possible design, sending the capability information of the first agent to the cooperative control function network element includes: sending a registration request message to the cooperative control function network element, where the registration request message includes the capability information.

[0031] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving cooperative configuration request information from the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative configuration request information includes the configuration parameters required for the first agent to participate in the cooperative task; sending cooperative configuration response information to the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative configuration response information is used to indicate that the configuration of the first agent is successful.

[0032] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending feedback information to the cooperative control function network element, where the feedback information includes the execution result of the subtask.

[0033] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending a deregistration request message to the cooperative control function network element.

[0034] In a possible design, the first agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0035] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, where the execution subject of the method is a second agent or a module of the second agent. Here, the second agent is used as an example of the execution subject for description. In this method, the second agent sends first cooperative request information to a cooperative control function network element in the network, where the first cooperative request information includes description information of a cooperative task; where the network is an access network or a core network; receiving cooperative response information from the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative response information includes the execution result of the cooperative task.

[0036] In a possible design, the second agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0037] It can be understood that the communication method provided in the second aspect or the third aspect corresponds to the first aspect, and the beneficial effects of the relevant technical features can be referred to the description of the first aspect.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The execution subject of this method is a collaborative control function network element in the network or a module of the collaborative control function network element. The collaborative control function network element is a control plane network element, the network is a core network or an access network, and the network further includes a collaborative execution function network element. Here, the collaborative control function network element is taken as an example of the execution subject for description. In this method, the collaborative control function network element receives first collaborative request information from the second agent. The first collaborative request information includes description information of the collaborative task, and at least one agent participating in the collaborative task includes a first agent; the second collaborative request information is sent to the collaborative execution function network element corresponding to the first agent, and the second collaborative request information includes the description information of the collaborative task and the identifiers of at least one agent participating in the collaborative task.

[0039] In this way, the embodiments of the present application introduce a collaborative control function network element and a collaborative execution function network element in the core network or the access network, and jointly control the agents to complete the collaborative task through the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element. Since the transmission delay between the network elements in the core network or the access network and the agents is small, it is convenient to meet the collaborative requirements of low-latency services.

[0040] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving status information from the first agent, where the status information is used to indicate the status of the first agent; the status information meets the status requirements of the agents participating in the collaborative task for the collaborative task; where the status requirements are determined according to the description information of the collaborative task.

[0041] In this way, considering that the agent may have mobility (for example, the agent is a mobile terminal), therefore, the collaborative control function network element can determine that the first agent participates in the collaborative task when the status information of the first agent meets the status requirements, so that the determined agents participating in the collaborative task are more reasonable and accurate, and avoid the problem of task execution failure caused by determining agents that do not meet the status requirements as agents participating in the collaborative task.

[0042] In a possible design, the state of the first agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection state of the first agent; the computing resource state of the first agent; the location state of the first agent; the power state of the first agent; the motion state of the first agent; the memory state of the first agent.

[0043] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending a status request message to the first agent, where the status request message is used to request the status information.

[0044] In this way, the coordination control function network element sends a status request message to the first agent, and then the first agent feeds back the status information based on the request of the coordination control function network element, so that the first agent can feed back the status information in a targeted manner.

[0045] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving the capability information from the first agent; determining that the capability information of the first agent meets the capability requirements of the agents participating in the collaborative task for the collaborative task; where the capability requirements are determined according to the description information of the collaborative task.

[0046] In this way, the coordination control function network element can determine the agents participating in the collaborative task when the capability information of the first agent meets the capability requirements, so that the determined agents participating in the collaborative task are more reasonable and accurate.

[0047] In a possible design, the capability information of the first agent is used to indicate the data types supported by the first agent for sensing and / or the task types supported by the first agent for execution.

[0048] In a possible design, receiving the capability information from the first agent includes: receiving a registration request message from the first agent, where the registration request message includes the capability information.

[0049] In a possible design, the method further includes: determining that the first collaborative request message includes the identifier of the first agent.

[0050] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving the execution result of the subtask of the collaborative task from the collaborative execution function network element; obtaining the execution result of the collaborative task according to the execution result of the subtask; sending the execution result of the collaborative task to the second agent.

[0051] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending a collaborative configuration request message to the first agent, where the collaborative configuration request message includes the configuration parameters required for the first agent to participate in the collaborative task.

[0052] In a possible design, the method further includes: determining that a maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is less than or equal to a threshold according to the description information of the collaborative task.

[0053] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving a deregistration request message from the first agent; releasing a connection between the first agent and the collaborative control function network element, and / or releasing a connection between the first agent and the collaborative execution function network element according to the deregistration request message.

[0054] In a possible design, the first agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method. The execution subject of the method is a collaborative execution function network element or a module of the collaborative execution function network element in a network. The collaborative execution function network element is a user plane network element, and the network is a core network or an access network. Here, the collaborative execution function network element is taken as an example of the execution subject for description. In this method, the collaborative execution function network element receives second collaborative request information from the collaborative control function network element. The second collaborative request information includes description information of a collaborative task and identifiers of at least one agent participating in the collaborative task. The at least one agent includes a first agent; and sending an execution request information to the first agent, where the execution request information is used to request the first agent to execute a subtask of the collaborative task.

[0056] In this way, the embodiments of the present application introduce a collaborative control function network element and a collaborative execution function network element in a core network or an access network, and jointly control an agent by the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element to complete a collaborative task. Since the transmission delay between network elements and the agent in the core network or the access network is small, it is convenient to meet the collaborative requirements of low-latency services.

[0057] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving an execution result of the subtask from the first agent; and sending the execution result of the subtask to the collaborative control function network element.

[0058] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving collaborative configuration response information from the first agent, where the collaborative configuration response information is used to indicate that the configuration of the first agent is successful.

[0059] In a possible design, the first agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0060] Sixth aspect, this application provides a communication method, and the execution entity of this method is a first intelligent agent or a module of the first intelligent agent. Here, the first intelligent agent is used as an example of the execution entity for description. In this method, the first intelligent agent receives execution request information from a cooperative execution function network element in the network, and the execution request information is used to request the first intelligent agent to execute a subtask of a cooperative task; wherein, the network is an access network or a core network; according to the execution request information, the subtask is executed.

[0061] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending the status information of the first intelligent agent to a cooperative control function network element in the network, and the status information is used to indicate the status of the first intelligent agent.

[0062] In a possible design, the status of the first intelligent agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection status of the first intelligent agent; the computing resource status of the first intelligent agent; the location status of the first intelligent agent; the power status of the first intelligent agent; the motion status of the first intelligent agent; the memory status of the first intelligent agent.

[0063] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving status request information from a cooperative control function network element in the network, and the status request information is used to request the status information.

[0064] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending the capability information of the first intelligent agent to a cooperative control function network element in the network.

[0065] In a possible design, the capability information of the first intelligent agent is used to indicate the data types supported by the first intelligent agent for sensing and / or the task types supported by the first intelligent agent for execution.

[0066] In a possible design, sending the capability information of the first intelligent agent to a cooperative control function network element in the network includes: sending a registration request message to the cooperative control function network element, and the registration request message includes the capability information.

[0067] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving cooperative configuration request information from a cooperative control function network element in the network, and the cooperative configuration request information includes configuration parameters required for the first intelligent agent to participate in the cooperative task; sending a cooperative configuration response information to the cooperative control function network element, and the cooperative configuration response information is used to indicate that the configuration of the first intelligent agent is successful.

[0068] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending the execution result of the subtask to the cooperative execution function network element.

[0069] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending a deregistration request message to a cooperative control function network element in the network.

[0070] In a possible design, the first intelligent agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0071] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and the execution subject of the method is a second intelligent agent or a module of the second intelligent agent. Here, the second intelligent agent is taken as the execution subject for description. In this method, the second intelligent agent sends first cooperative request information to a cooperative control function network element in the network, and the first cooperative request information includes description information of a cooperative task; wherein, the network is an access network or a core network; and the second intelligent agent receives cooperative response information from the cooperative control function network element, and the cooperative response information includes an execution result of the cooperative task.

[0072] In a possible design, the second intelligent agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0073] It can be understood that the communication methods provided in the above fifth to seventh aspects correspond to the fourth aspect, and the beneficial effects of the relevant technical features can be referred to the description of the fourth aspect.

[0074] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and the execution subject of the method is a cooperative control function network element in the network or a module of the cooperative control function network element. The cooperative control function network element is a control plane network element, and the network is a core network or an access network. Here, the cooperative control function network element is taken as the execution subject for description. In this method, the cooperative control function network element receives a registration request message from a first intelligent agent, and the registration request message includes capability information of the first intelligent agent. The capability information includes data information supported by the first intelligent agent for sensing and / or task information supported by the first intelligent agent for execution; and the cooperative control function network element sends a registration response message to the first intelligent agent.

[0075] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving an update request message from the first intelligent agent; and updating the capability information of the first intelligent agent according to the update request message.

[0076] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving a deregistration request message from the first intelligent agent; and releasing the connection between the first intelligent agent and the cooperative control function network element and / or releasing the connection between the first intelligent agent and the cooperative execution function network element according to the deregistration request message of the first intelligent agent.

[0077] In a possible design, the first intelligent agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0078] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, and the execution subject of this method is a first intelligent agent or a module of the first intelligent agent. Here, the first intelligent agent is taken as the execution subject for description. In this method, the first intelligent agent sends a registration request message to a cooperative control function network element in the network, and the registration request message includes the capability information of the first intelligent agent, where the capability information includes the data information supported by the first intelligent agent for sensing and / or the task information supported by the first intelligent agent for execution; wherein, the network is an access network or a core network; and a registration response message from the cooperative control function network element is received.

[0079] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending an update request message to the cooperative control function network element, where the update request message is used to update the capability information of the first intelligent agent.

[0080] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending a deregistration request message to the cooperative control function network element.

[0081] In a possible design, the first intelligent agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0082] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, and the communication device has the functions involved in any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations involved in any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect above, and the functions or units or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0083] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit. Among them, the communication unit can be used to send and receive signals to achieve communication between the communication device and other devices; the processing unit can be used to perform some internal operations of the communication device. The functions executed by the processing unit and the communication unit can correspond to the operations involved in any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect above.

[0084] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor, and the processor can be used to be coupled with a memory. The memory can store necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the methods in any possible design or implementation manner of the first aspect to the ninth aspect above.

[0085] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in any one of the first to ninth aspects described above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the methods in any possible design or implementation manner among the first to ninth aspects described above.

[0086] In a possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the methods in any possible design or implementation manner among the first to ninth aspects described above.

[0087] It can be understood that in the above tenth aspect, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that implements by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be separately arranged. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be separately arranged on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the memory and the setting manner of the memory and the processor.

[0088] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system. The communication system may include a cooperative control function network element, a first intelligent agent, and a second intelligent agent in the network. The network is a core network or an access network. Among them, the cooperative control function network element is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the first aspect above, the first intelligent agent is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the second aspect above, and the second intelligent agent is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the third aspect above.

[0089] Alternatively, the communication system may include a cooperative control function network element, a cooperative execution function network element in the network, a first intelligent agent, and a second intelligent agent in the network. The network is a core network or an access network. Among them, the cooperative control function network element is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the fourth aspect above, the cooperative execution function network element is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the fifth aspect above, the first intelligent agent is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the sixth aspect above, and the second intelligent agent is used to execute the method described in any possible design in the seventh aspect above.

[0090] Alternatively, the communication system includes a cooperative control function network element and a first intelligent agent in a network, where the network is a core network or an access network; among them, the cooperative control function network element is used to execute the method described in any possible design of the above eighth aspect, and the first intelligent agent is used to execute the method described in any possible design of the above ninth aspect.

[0091] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-readable instructions are stored. When a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer is caused to execute the method in any possible design of the above first aspect to the ninth aspect.

[0092] Exemplarily, the computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. Taking this as an example but not limited to: the computer-readable medium can include a non-transitory computer-readable medium, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0093] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is caused to execute the method in any possible design of the above first aspect to the ninth aspect.

[0094] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip (or chip system), the chip includes a processor, and the processor is coupled to a memory for reading and executing a software program stored in the memory to implement the method in any possible design of the above first aspect to the ninth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0095] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] Figure 2 It is a more specific schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Figure 3A It is a schematic diagram of a cooperative control function network element and a cooperative execution function network element introduced in the core network of an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] Figure 3BSchematic diagram of the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element introduced in the access network of the embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the registration process of the agent provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0100] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the update process of the agent provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0101] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the cancellation process of the agent provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the process corresponding to the communication method provided by the first embodiment of the present application;

[0103] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the process corresponding to the communication method provided by the second embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the process corresponding to the communication method provided by the third embodiment of the present application;

[0105] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the process corresponding to the communication method provided by the fourth embodiment of the present application;

[0106] Figure 11 Possible exemplary block diagram of the device involved in the embodiment of the present application;

[0107] Figure 12 Schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0108] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In addition, combinations of these solutions can also be used.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplarily" and "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as an "example" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of the word "example" is intended to present concepts in a specific manner. In the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding", and "corresponding" can sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the difference is not emphasized, the meanings they express are the same.

[0110] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, 4th Generation (4G) communication system, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, 5G communication system, such as the New Radio (NR) system, and future evolved communication systems, such as the 6th Generation (6G) mobile communication system, etc. In particular, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to Information Technology (IT) systems.

[0111] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of a communication system applicable to the present application. The network architecture includes four components, namely the terminal device, the access network (AN), the core network (CN), and the data network (DN). Among them, the access network can be a radio access network (RAN).

[0112] The terminal device, the access network, and the core network are the main parts of the above network architecture. Logically, they can be divided into two parts: the user plane and the control plane. The control plane is responsible for the management of the mobile network, and the user plane is responsible for the transmission of service data. Exemplarily, as Figure 1 shown, in the 5G communication system, the Next Generation (NG) 2 reference point is located between the control plane of the (radio) access network and the control plane of the core network, the NG3 reference point is located between the user plane of the (radio) access network and the user plane of the core network, and the NG6 reference point is located between the user plane of the core network and the data network.

[0113] The following will introduce each component of the above network architecture in detail.

[0114] (1) Terminal device

[0115] A terminal device is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. A terminal device can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, terminal unit, terminal station, mobile station (MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile terminal (MT), wireless communication device, terminal agent, or terminal device, etc.

[0116] For example, a terminal device can be a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or it can be a vehicle with communication functions, in-vehicle devices (such as in-vehicle communication devices, in-vehicle communication chips), etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices are: mobile phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver, laptop computer, palmtop computer, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, etc.

[0117] The terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable or in-vehicle; it can also be deployed on water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The specific technologies, device forms, application scenarios, and names adopted by the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

[0118] (2) Access Network

[0119] The access network is deployed near the terminal device, provides network access functions for authorized users in a specific area, and can determine transmission tunnels of different qualities to transmit user data according to the user level, service requirements, etc. The access network can manage and rationally utilize its own resources, provide access services for terminal devices on demand, and is responsible for forwarding control signals and service data between terminal devices and the core network.

[0120] Access network devices are deployed in the access network for connecting terminal devices to the wireless network. The access network devices can generally be connected to the core network through wired links (such as optical fiber cables). The access network devices can also be referred to as RAN devices / nodes, or base stations.

[0121] Exemplarily, the access network devices can include base stations, evolved base stations (eNodeBs) in LTE systems or evolved LTE systems (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), next-generation base stations (gNBs) in 5G communication systems, transmission reception points (TRPs), base band units (BBUs), access points (APs) in wireless local area networks (WLANs), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in WiFi systems, etc. The radio access network devices can also be modules or units that complete some functions of the base station, such as central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CP), CU-user plane (UP), or radio units (RUs), etc. The CU and DU can be set separately, or can also be included in the same network element, such as in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in the radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as included in the remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), or remote radio head (RRH).

[0122] The access network device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on a ship, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as on an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, etc.). The specific technologies, device forms, application scenarios, and names adopted by the access network device in the embodiments of the present application are not limited. In the embodiments of the present application, the access network device can be simply referred to as an access network (AN) device. Unless otherwise specified, the access network device in the following text can all be the access network device.

[0123] (3) Core network

[0124] The core network is responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network, managing the network elements of the mobile network, and providing functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication for the terminal device.

[0125] Specifically, it can include: providing network access authentication for the terminal device when the terminal device attaches; allocating network resources for the terminal device when the terminal device has a service request; updating network resources for the terminal device when the terminal device moves; providing a fast recovery mechanism for the terminal device when the terminal device is idle; releasing network resources for the terminal device when the terminal device detaches; providing a data routing function for the terminal device when the terminal device has service data, such as forwarding uplink data to the data network, or receiving downlink data from the data network and forwarding it to the access network, and then sending it to the terminal device.

[0126] (4) Data network

[0127] The data network is used to provide service for users. In the actual communication process, the client is usually located in the terminal device, and the server is usually located in the data network. The data network can be a private network, such as a local area network, or an external network not controlled by the operator, such as the Internet, or a proprietary network jointly deployed by operators, such as a network providing IP multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) services.

[0128] Figure 2 It is a more specific schematic diagram of the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application. This network architecture can be the network architecture of a 5G communication system. As Figure 2 shown, this network architecture includes a terminal device, an access network device, various types of core network network elements / functional entities, and a data network.

[0129] Among them, the core network user plane includes a user plane function (UPF) network element. The core network control plane includes, but is not limited to: an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a network function repository function (NRF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, and a data storage network element.

[0130] The UPF network element is mainly responsible for connecting to external networks and forwarding user data packets according to the routing rules of the SMF network element. For example, uplink data is sent to the data network or other UPF network elements, and downlink data is sent to other UPF network elements or access network devices.

[0131] The AMF network element is mainly responsible for the access management and mobility management of terminal devices. For example, it is responsible for maintaining the status of terminal devices, managing the reachability of terminal devices, forwarding mobility management non-access-stratum (MM NAS) messages, and forwarding session management (SM) N2 messages.

[0132] The SMF network element is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, including establishing sessions for terminal devices, allocating and releasing resources for sessions. The resources include session quality of service (QoS), session paths, forwarding rules, etc. For example, allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for terminal devices, selecting UPF network elements that provide packet forwarding functions, etc.

[0133] The NEF network element is used for the interaction between other internal network elements of the core network and external application servers of the core network, so as to provide network capability information to external application servers, or provide information of external application servers to core network elements.

[0134] The NRF network element is mainly responsible for providing storage functions and selection functions for network function entity information for other network elements.

[0135] The PCF network element is mainly responsible for user policy management, including policy authorization, quality of service, and generation of charging rules, and sends the corresponding rules to the UPF network element through the SMF network element to complete the installation of the corresponding policies and rules.

[0136] The data storage network element is mainly responsible for controlling data. For example, the data storage network element can be a unified data management (UDM) network element and / or a unified data repository (UDR) network element. Figure 2 In the example, the data storage network element is taken as the UDM network element for illustration. The UDM network element can manage the subscription information of users, including obtaining the subscription information and providing it to other network elements (such as the AMF network element); generating 3GPP authentication credentials for the terminal device; registering and maintaining the network elements currently serving the terminal device (for example, the AMF represented by AMF ID1 is the current serving AMF of the terminal device, that is, the serving AMF). The functions of the UDM network element can be realized through interaction with the UDR network element, and the UDR network element is used to store the data required for the UDM network element to execute its operations. In actual implementation, the UDM network element and the UDR network element can be two independent physical entities, or the UDR network element can also be integrated into the UDM network element, which is not limited.

[0137] Although not shown, the above network architecture may also include other possible network elements, which are not specifically limited.

[0138] It can be understood that Figure 2It is illustrated by taking the service-based architecture of the core network control plane as an example. In the service-based architecture, each control plane network element is connected to a service bus, and the interaction between control plane network elements adopts the method of service invocation, that is, a control plane network element will open services to other control plane network elements for other control plane network elements to call. In other possible implementations, the core network control plane can also adopt the point-to-point communication method. In point-to-point communication, there will be a set of specific messages at the communication interfaces between control plane network elements. Among them, the interface between the terminal device and the AMF network element is called the N1 interface, the interface between the access network device and the AMF network element is called the N2 interface, the interface between the access network device and the UPF network element is called the N3 interface, the interface between the UPF network element and the SMF network element can be called the N4 interface, and the interface between the UPF network element and the data network is called the N6 interface. Of course, in future communication systems, the names of these interfaces can remain unchanged, or can also be replaced by other names, and this application does not limit this. In future communication systems such as the 6th generation (6G) communication system, the above-mentioned network elements or devices can still use their names in the 4th generation (4G) or 5G communication system, or have other names; the functions of the above-mentioned network elements or devices can be completed by an independent network element, or can be completed by several network elements together, and this application embodiment does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0139] The network elements / functional entities in the above various possible network architectures can be either network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). Optionally, the above-mentioned network elements or functional entities can be implemented by one device, or can be jointly implemented by multiple devices, or can also be different functional modules within one device, and this application embodiment does not make specific limitations in this regard. In actual deployment, the above-mentioned network elements can be co-located. For example, the access and mobility management function network element can be co-located with the session management function network element; the session management function network element can be co-located with the user plane function network element. When two network elements are co-located, the interaction between the two network elements provided by this application embodiment becomes the internal operation of the co-located network element or can be omitted.

[0140] The network architecture and service scenarios described in this application embodiment are to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of this application embodiment, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions provided by this application embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in the art know that with the evolution of the communication system architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by this application embodiment are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0141] Take Figure 2Taking the 5G communication system shown as an example, in order to achieve multi-agent collaboration, a possible implementation is that a cloud server deployed in the data network controls multiple agents (i.e., multiple terminal devices) to collaborate to complete a task. However, since the transmission delay between the cloud server and the terminal devices fluctuates between 20 and 75 milliseconds (ms), it is impossible to ensure low-latency and highly reliable services, such as the maximum transmission delay required in the autonomous driving scenario is within 20 ms.

[0142] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application will study the related implementations of multi-agent collaboration. Exemplarily, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method for implementing the control of agents by network elements in the core network or access network to complete collaborative tasks, which is convenient for reducing the transmission delay and meeting the collaborative requirements of low-latency services.

[0143] The embodiments of the present application introduce a collaborative control function network element in the core network or access network. Optionally, a collaborative execution function network element is also introduced. The collaborative control function network element can also be called a multi-agent control function (MACF) network element, and the collaborative execution function network element can also be called a multi-agent execution function (MAEF) network element. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific names. Exemplarily, the collaborative control function network element can be located in the control plane, that is, the collaborative control function network element belongs to the control plane network element; the collaborative execution function network element can be located in the user plane, that is, the collaborative execution function network element belongs to the user plane network element.

[0144] When introducing the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element in the core network, the collaborative control function network element or the collaborative execution function network element can be co-located with other network elements in the core network, that is, the functions of the collaborative control function network element or the collaborative execution function network element are executed by other network elements; or, the collaborative control function network element or the collaborative execution function network element can also be a separately provided network element. When introducing the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element in the access network, the collaborative control function network element or the collaborative execution function network element can be co-located with other network elements in the access network, that is, the functions of the collaborative control function network element or the collaborative execution function network element are executed by other network elements; or, the collaborative control function network element or the collaborative execution function network element can also be a separately provided network element. Refer to Figure 3A and Figure 3B , Figure 3A Taking the introduction of the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element in the core network as an example for illustration, Figure 3A in which, the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element are separately provided; Figure 3B Taking the introduction of the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element in the access network as an example for illustration, Figure 3BAmong them, the cooperative control function network element is located in the CU, and the cooperative execution function network element can be located in the DU.

[0145] Among them, the cooperative control function network element is used to control the intelligent agent to complete the cooperative task, or the cooperative control function network element and the cooperative execution function network element jointly control the intelligent agent to complete the cooperative task. The intelligent agent can be an intelligent device, such as a robot with intelligent technology, an intelligent vehicle, a smart phone, etc.; in a 5G communication system, the intelligent agent can be a terminal device or a network device, and the network device can be an access network device or a core network element.

[0146] First, the relevant terms involved in the embodiments of the present application will be explained below. When not specifically stated, these explanations are to support the meanings of the relevant terms and make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand, rather than being regarded as strict limitations on the relevant terms in the protection scope required by the present application.

[0147] (1) Cooperative task

[0148] The cooperative task can also be called a collaborative task or a cooperation task or an assistance task. The cooperative task can refer to a task that the initiator cannot complete and requires at least one intelligent agent to complete cooperatively, that is, the intelligent agents participating in the cooperative task include at least one intelligent agent.

[0149] Among them, the initiator of the cooperative task can be a third-party application terminal or a third-party application server; or, the initiator of the cooperative task can also be an intelligent agent. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the initiator of the cooperative task. Exemplarily, the initiator of the cooperative task may not participate in the cooperative task, and the cooperative task is completed cooperatively by multiple intelligent agents participating in the cooperative task. The multiple intelligent agents participating in the cooperative task can respectively execute the subtasks of the cooperative task. For example, if the intelligent agents participating in the cooperative task include intelligent agent 1 and intelligent agent 2, then intelligent agent 1 can execute subtask 1 of the cooperative task, and intelligent agent 1 can execute subtask 2 of the cooperative task; for example, subtask 1 or subtask 2 can be part of the cooperative task, that is to say, intelligent agent 1 executes a part of the cooperative task, and intelligent agent 2 executes another part of the cooperative task, that is, intelligent agent 1 and intelligent agent 2 together complete the cooperative task. In some special scenarios, there may also be only 1 intelligent agent (such as intelligent agent 1) participating in the cooperative task, and the subtask executed by intelligent agent 1 can be the cooperative task itself. In this case, since there is no cooperation among multiple intelligent agents, the "cooperative task" can also be replaced by "task". In the embodiments of the present application, it is mainly described by taking "there are multiple intelligent agents participating in the cooperative task" as an example.

[0150] The collaborative tasks in the embodiments of this application can be computing tasks. For example, the computing task is model training. For instance, when the computing center (such as a central processing unit) of agent a is busy and unable to execute the computing task, it can request one or more other agents to collaborate to complete the computing task. Alternatively, the collaborative task can also be a sensing task. For example, the sensing task includes the detection and / or collection of sensing data. For instance, when the sensor of agent a is blocked and unable to execute the sensing task, it can request one or more other agents to collaborate to complete the sensing task.

[0151] (2) Agent registration

[0152] After introducing the collaborative control function network element in the embodiments of this application, the agent can register with the collaborative control function network element to facilitate the centralized collaborative control of the agent by the collaborative control function network element. Taking "the collaborative control function network element is a network element in the core network and the agent is a terminal device" as an example, combined with Figure 4 Describe a possible registration process.

[0153] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the registration process of the agent provided by the embodiments of this application. As Figure 4 shown, the process can include:

[0154] S401, the agent sends a registration request message to the AMF network element.

[0155] Here, the agent can send a registration request message to the AMF network element through the access network device, and the registration request message can be a non-access stratum message.

[0156] Exemplarily, the registration request message can include the capability information of the agent, and the capability information of the agent is used to indicate the data types supported by the agent for sensing and / or the task types supported by the agent for execution. Among them, the data types supported by the agent for sensing can include at least one of the following: video data, positioning data, image data, radar data. The task types supported by the agent for execution can include at least one of the following: object detection, image-to-text. Among them, object detection can refer to detecting specific targets (such as detecting people, vehicles, etc.). Optionally, the registration request message further includes other possible information, such as message type information, the manufacturer information to which the agent belongs, the device type of the agent (such as mobile phone, vehicle, robot, etc.), the identifier of the network accessed by the agent, the message format requirements for the agent's request and response, etc., which are not specifically limited. As shown in Table 1, it is a format example of the registration request message.

[0157] Table 1: Format example of the registration request message

[0158]

[0159] S402, the AMF network element forwards the registration request message to the collaborative control function network element.

[0160] S403, the collaborative control function network element queries the subscription data of the agent from the UDM.

[0161] Exemplarily, for the specific implementation of the collaborative control network element querying the subscription data of the agent from the UDM, reference can be made to the implementation of the PCF network element or other network elements querying the subscription data of the agent from the UDM in the prior art, which will not be elaborated here.

[0162] S404, the collaborative control function network element configures and authenticates the agent, and persistently stores the registration request message.

[0163] Exemplarily, for the specific implementation of the collaborative control function network element configuring and authenticating the agent, reference can be made to the implementation of the PCF network element or other network elements configuring and authenticating the agent in the prior art, which will not be elaborated here.

[0164] S405, the control function network element sends a registration response message to the AMF network element.

[0165] Exemplarily, the registration response message may include the identifier assigned by the collaborative control function network element to the agent. The collaborative control function network element may maintain a list of identifiers of the registered agents, and the identifiers assigned by the collaborative control function network element to different agents are different.

[0166] S406, the AMF network element forwards the registration response message to the agent; correspondingly, the agent receives the registration response message and thus completes the registration.

[0167] (3) Agent Update

[0168] After the agent completes registration in the collaborative control function network element, if the capability information of the agent changes, the agent update process can be initiated so that the collaborative control function network element can update the capability information of the agent. It can be understood that the agent can also initiate the agent update process due to other reasons, which is not specifically limited. Taking "the collaborative control function network element is a network element in the core network and the agent is a terminal device" as an example, in combination with Figure 5 describe a possible update process.

[0169] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the update process of the agent provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 5 shown, this process may include:

[0170] S501, the agent sends an update request message to the AMF network element.

[0171] Here, the update request message may include the identifier of the agent and the updated capability information. Optionally, the update request message may also include other possible content, which is not specifically limited.

[0172] For example, the capability information carried by the agent in the registration request message is: {"SensingData": ["video", "positioning", "image", "radar"], "Action": ["object-detection", "image-to-text"]}. If the capabilities of the agent change, such as the agent no longer supporting sensing position data, the updated capability information may be: {"SensingData": ["video", "image", "radar"], "Action": ["object-detection", "image-to-text"]}. As shown in Table 2, it is an example format of the update request message.

[0173] Table 2: Example format of the update request message

[0174]

[0175] S502, the AMF network element forwards the update request message to the collaborative control function network element.

[0176] S503, the collaborative control function network element updates the capabilities of the agent, such as persistently storing the updated capability information.

[0177] S504, the collaborative control function network element sends an update response message to the AMF network element.

[0178] S505, the AMF network element forwards the update response message to the agent; correspondingly, the agent receives the update response message and thus completes the update.

[0179] (4) Agent deregistration

[0180] After the agent completes registration with the collaborative control function network element, it may initiate an agent deregistration process for some reasons (such as not supporting participating in collaborative tasks). Taking "the collaborative control function network element is a network element in the core network and the agent is a terminal device" as an example, combined with Figure 6 describe a possible deregistration process.

[0181] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the agent deregistration process provided by the embodiments of this application. As Figure 6 shown, this process may include:

[0182] S601, the intelligent agent sends a deregistration request message to the AMF network element.

[0183] Here, the deregistration request message may include the identifier of the intelligent agent and message type information, and the message type information indicates that the message is used for intelligent agent deregistration. Optionally, the deregistration request message further includes other possible content, which is not specifically limited. As shown in Table 3, it is an example format of the deregistration request message.

[0184] Table 3: Example Format of Deregistration Request Message

[0185]

[0186] S602, the AMF network element forwards the deregistration request message to the collaborative control function network element.

[0187] S603, the collaborative control function network element releases the connection between the intelligent agent and the collaborative control function network element, and deletes the identifier of the intelligent agent.

[0188] Optionally, the collaborative control function network element also releases the connection between the intelligent agent and the collaborative execution function network element. Among them, the connection between the intelligent agent and the collaborative control function network element is a control plane connection, and the connection between the intelligent agent and the collaborative execution function network element is a user plane connection.

[0189] Exemplarily, there are various implementations for the collaborative control function network element to release the connection between the intelligent agent and the collaborative control function network element (or the collaborative execution function network element), such as referring to the related implementations of releasing connections in the prior art.

[0190] (5) Status Information of Intelligent Agent

[0191] The status information of the intelligent agent is used to indicate the status of the intelligent agent. Exemplarily, the status of the intelligent agent changes over time, that is, the status of the intelligent agent can be different at different times. For example, the status of the intelligent agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection status of the intelligent agent; the computing resource status of the intelligent agent; the location status of the intelligent agent; the power status of the intelligent agent; the motion status of the intelligent agent; the memory status of the intelligent agent. Among them, each item can be understood as a type of status. The statuses listed here are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0192] The network connection status of the intelligent agent may include: whether the network connection of the intelligent agent is normal.

[0193] The computing resource status of the intelligent agent may include: the computing resource load of the intelligent agent.

[0194] The position state of the agent may include: the global positioning system (GPS) data of the agent.

[0195] The power state of the agent may include: the remaining power of the agent.

[0196] The motion state of the agent may include: the motion trajectory of the agent, the motion speed of the agent.

[0197] The memory state of the agent may include: the memory load of the agent.

[0198] Based on the introduction of the above related terms, the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 4. The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application involves a cooperative control function network element and one or more agents. Optionally, it also involves a cooperative execution function network element. Without special explanation, "agent" may refer to the intelligent device itself or a component in the device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0199] Embodiment 1

[0200] In Embodiment 1, the implementation of "the cooperative control function network element controls the agent to complete a cooperative task" will be described.

[0201] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart corresponding to the communication method provided in Embodiment 1 of the present application. As Figure 7 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0202] S701, the initiating party of the cooperative task sends a first cooperative request message to the cooperative control function network element, and the first cooperative request message includes the description information of the cooperative task; correspondingly, the cooperative control function network element receives the first cooperative request message.

[0203] For example, the description information of the cooperative task is: sense the people and vehicles at the entrance and exit of Scenic Area A from 8:00 to 17:00 and count the total number of people and vehicles. Among them, the initiating party of the cooperative task refers to the description above. For example, the initiating party of the cooperative task is an agent (for ease of description, it can be called the second agent).

[0204] S701', the cooperative control function network element determines at least one agent participating in the cooperative task, and the at least one agent includes the first agent.

[0205] Here, there are various ways for the cooperative control function network element to determine at least one agent participating in the cooperative task. Three possible ways will be described below in combination with Way 1 to Way 3.

[0206] (1) Way 1

[0207] The cooperative control function network element can determine M1 agents that meet the capability requirements as the agents participating in the cooperative task according to the capability information of multiple agents and the capability requirements of the cooperative task for the agents participating in the cooperative task, or in other words, determine that M1 agents that meet the capability requirements participate in the cooperative task, where M1 is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0208] There are multiple ways for the cooperative control function network element to obtain the capability information of the agent. For example, the agent can send the capability information to the cooperative control function network element through a registration request message. Then, the cooperative control function network element can receive the capability information of the agent. For specific details, please refer to the relevant description in the previous text. Figure 4 There are multiple ways for the cooperative control function network element to obtain the capability requirements. For example, the cooperative control function network element can determine the capability requirements according to the description information of the cooperative task.

[0209] For example, the capability requirements of the cooperative task for the agents participating in the cooperative task include: supporting the execution of object detection. The multiple agents include Agent 1 to Agent 10. The capability information of Agent 1 includes {"Action": ["object-detection", "image-to-text"]}, the capability information of Agent 2 includes {"Action": ["object-detection"]}, the capability information of Agent 3 includes {"Action": ["object-detection"]}, and Agents 4 to 10 do not support the execution of object detection. Then, the agents selected by the cooperative control function network element that meet the capability requirements include Agent 1, Agent 2, and Agent 3 (i.e., M1 = 3). After the cooperative control function network element selects Agent 1, Agent 2, and Agent 3, it can determine that the agents participating in the cooperative task include Agent 1, Agent 2, and Agent 3.

[0210] In the embodiments of this application, "Agent 1" can also be replaced with "the first agent".

[0211] (2) Method 2

[0212] The collaborative control function network element can select M1 agents that meet the capability requirements from multiple agents according to the capability information of the multiple agents and the capability requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task, specifically referring to the description in Method 1. Further, the collaborative control function network element can determine M2 agents that meet the status requirements from the M1 agents as the agents participating in the collaborative task according to the status information of the M1 agents and the status requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task, where M2 is an integer greater than or equal to 1. For example, if the M2 agents that meet the status requirements selected by the collaborative control function network element include Agent 1 and Agent 2, then it can be determined that the agents participating in the collaborative task include Agent 1 and Agent 2.

[0213] There are various ways for the collaborative control function network element to obtain the status requirements. For example, the collaborative control function network element can determine the status requirements according to the description information of the collaborative task. For example, the status requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task include: requirements for the location status (such as near the entrance and exit of Scenic Area A), requirements for the computing resource status (such as the CPF load being less than Threshold 1), and requirements for the memory status (such as the memory load being less than Threshold 2).

[0214] There are various ways for the collaborative control function network element to obtain the status information of the agents. Here, taking Agent 1 as an example, a possible implementation is described (Agents 2 and 3 can refer to the processing). The collaborative control function network element can send status request information to Agent 1, and the status request information is used to request the status information of Agent 1.

[0215] Among them, the status request information can include the identifier of the agent and status type information; the status type information is used to indicate the status type of the request. For example, the status type of the request is the location status, the computing resource status, or the memory status. Optionally, the status request information further includes other information, such as the frequency of status reporting. The frequency of status reporting can be once every 10 ms or once every 30 ms, and the specific is not limited. As shown in Table 4, it is a format example of the status request information.

[0216] Table 4: Format Example of Status Request Information

[0217]

[0218] Correspondingly, after receiving the status request information, Agent 1 can send status response information to the collaborative control function network element according to the status request information. Among them, the status response information includes the status information of the agent; optionally, the status response information further includes other information, such as the identifier of the agent, the timestamp of status monitoring, etc., and the specific is not limited. As shown in Table 5, it is a format example of the status response information.

[0219] Table 5: Example Format of Status Response Information

[0220]

[0221] It can be understood that the above description is based on the example of "Agent 1 sends the status information of Agent 1 to the collaborative control function network element according to the request of the collaborative control function network element", and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. For example, Agent 1 periodically sends the status information of Agent 1 to the collaborative control function network element; in this case, the status information of Agent 1 can be full-scale information, that is, indicating all types of statuses, or the status information of Agent 1 indicates the default type of status. Another example is that the collaborative control function network element pre-sends a subscription request to Agent 1, and the subscription request is used to subscribe to one or more statuses of Agent 1 (such as subscribing to the location status, computing resource status, and memory status of Agent 1), then Agent 1 can send the status information of Agent 1 to the collaborative control function network element according to the subscription request.

[0222] (3) Method 3

[0223] The first collaborative request information includes the identifiers of K1 agents, where K1 is an integer greater than or equal to 1. That is to say, the initiator of the collaborative task indicates that these K1 agents can participate in the collaborative task. For example, the K1 agents include Agent 1, Agent 2, and Agent 3.

[0224] Furthermore, the collaborative control function network element can determine K2 agents that meet the status requirements among the K1 agents as the agents participating in the collaborative task according to the status information of the K1 agents and the status requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task. For example, if the K2 agents that meet the status requirements selected by the collaborative control function network element include Agent 1 and Agent 2, then it can be determined that the agents participating in the collaborative task include Agent 1 and Agent 2.

[0225] It can be understood that usually, it can be defaulted that the K1 agents indicated by the initiator of the collaborative task meet the ability requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task. Therefore, the collaborative control function network element does not need to determine whether the K1 agents meet the ability requirements. In other examples, the collaborative control function network element can also select K3 agents that meet the ability requirements from the K1 agents, and then select K4 agents that meet the status requirements from the K3 agents, and determine that the agents participating in the collaborative task include the K4 agents.

[0226] In this way, since the collaborative control function network element considers the ability information and / or status information of the agents when determining the agents participating in the collaborative task, the determined agents participating in the collaborative task are more reasonable and accurate.

[0227] The above S701’ is an optional step. For example, if the first collaborative request information includes the identifiers of at least one agent participating in the collaborative task, the collaborative control function network element can obtain the agents participating in the collaborative task based on the first collaborative request information. In this case, S701’ does not need to be executed.

[0228] Optionally, the collaborative control function network element determines whether the maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is less than or equal to a threshold according to the description information of the collaborative task. If the maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is greater than the threshold, S702 to S706 in the first embodiment are executed. If the maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is less than or equal to the threshold, the steps in the third embodiment are executed. The reason is that in the third embodiment, the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element jointly control the agent to complete the collaborative task. Since the collaborative execution function network element is located in the user plane, usually, the transmission delay of the user plane is less than that of the control plane. Therefore, by sending the execution request information to the agent through the collaborative execution function network element and receiving the execution results of the subtasks from the agent, the transmission delay can be more effectively reduced to meet the requirements of the collaborative task for the transmission delay.

[0229] It can be understood that the collaborative control function network element can also judge whether to execute the steps of the first embodiment or the steps of the third embodiment according to other possible factors (such as the data volume of the collaborative task). The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0230] S702, the collaborative control function network element sends an execution request message (referred to as execution request message 1 for ease of description) to Agent 1. The execution request message 1 is used to request Agent 1 to execute a subtask of the collaborative task (referred to as subtask 1 for ease of description); correspondingly, the agent receives the execution request message 1.

[0231] Assume that the agents participating in the collaborative task determined by the collaborative control function network element include Agent 1. Then, the collaborative control function network element sends the execution request message 1 to Agent 1. For example, the execution request message 1 may include the description information of subtask 1 (optionally, also including the identifier of Agent 1). Optionally, if the agents participating in the collaborative task also include other agents (such as Agent 2), the collaborative control function network element may also send an execution request message 2 to Agent 2. The execution request message 2 is used to request Agent 2 to execute a subtask of the collaborative task, namely subtask 2. For example, the execution request message 2 may include the description information of subtask 2.

[0232] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of "how the collaborative control function network element determines subtask 1 and subtask 2 according to the collaborative task". In addition, if the agents participating in the collaborative task determined by the collaborative control function network element only include Agent 1, then subtask 1 is the collaborative task itself.

[0233] In a possible implementation, after the cooperative control function network element determines the agents participating in the cooperative task (such as Agent 1 and Agent 2), it can send cooperative configuration request information 1 to Agent 1, where the cooperative configuration request information 1 includes the configuration parameters required for Agent 1 to participate in the cooperative task; and send cooperative configuration request information 2 to Agent 2, where the cooperative configuration request information 2 includes the configuration parameters required for Agent 2 to participate in the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 1 can configure according to the cooperative configuration request information 1 and send cooperative configuration response information 1 to the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative configuration response information 1 is used to indicate whether the configuration of Agent 1 is successful or failed; Agent 2 can configure according to the cooperative configuration request information 2 and send cooperative configuration response information 2 to the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative configuration response information 2 is used to indicate whether the configuration of Agent 2 is successful or failed. If both Agent 1 and Agent 2 are successfully configured, the cooperative control function network element can send execution request information 1 to Agent 1 and send execution request information 2 to Agent 2; or, if Agent 1 is successfully configured and Agent 2 is configured failed, the cooperative control function network element can send execution request information 1 to Agent 1, and the execution request information 1 is used to request Agent 1 to execute subtask 1 of the cooperative task, and subtask 1 is the cooperative task itself.

[0234] Taking the cooperative configuration request information 1 as an example, for example, the cooperative configuration request information 1 includes: {'task': 'object-detection', 'args': {'starttime': '08:00', 'endtime': '09:00', 'object': ['people','vehicle'], 'frequency': '1min'}}, that is, the start time of the object detection task is 08:00, the end time is 09:00, the objects include people and vehicles, and the frequency is to detect once every minute.

[0235] S703. Agent 1 executes the subtask (i.e., subtask 1) of the cooperative task according to the execution request information 1.

[0236] S704. Agent 1 sends feedback information 1 to the cooperative control function network element, where the feedback information 1 includes the execution result of the subtask (i.e., subtask 1); correspondingly, the cooperative control function network element receives the execution result of subtask 1.

[0237] Optionally, the feedback information 1 further includes the identifier of Agent 1.

[0238] Optionally, Agent 2 sends feedback information 2 to the cooperative control function network element, where the feedback information 2 includes the execution result of subtask 2, and then the cooperative control function network element receives the execution result of subtask 2.

[0239] S705. The collaborative control function network element determines the execution result of the collaborative task based on the execution result of the subtask (i.e., subtask 1).

[0240] Exemplarily, if subtask 1 is the collaborative task itself, the collaborative control function network element can directly use the execution result of subtask 1 as the execution result of the collaborative task; or, the collaborative control function network element can also perform some possible processing on the execution result of subtask 1 to obtain the execution result of the collaborative task.

[0241] If the collaborative task includes subtask 1 and subtask 2, the collaborative control function network element determines the execution result of the collaborative task based on the execution results of subtask 1 and subtask 2. For example, the collaborative control function network element can directly use the execution results of subtask 1 and subtask 2 as the execution result of the collaborative task; or, the collaborative control function network element can perform some possible processing (such as aggregation or merging, etc.) on the execution results of subtask 1 and subtask 2 to obtain the execution result of the collaborative task. Here, two subtasks are taken as an example. When there are more subtasks, it can be referred to for processing.

[0242] In a possible implementation, for example, the agents participating in the collaborative task include agent 1 and agent 2. Taking agent 1 as an example, if agent 1 fails to execute subtask 1, it can send an execution failure message to the collaborative control function network element. If agent 1 successfully executes subtask 1, it can send the execution result of subtask 1 to the collaborative control function network element. Therefore, the collaborative control function network element can determine whether all subtasks of the collaborative task are successfully executed. If all are successfully executed, it determines the execution result of the collaborative task based on the execution results of these subtasks. If not all are successfully executed, it can re-determine the agents participating in the collaborative task and send execution task information to the determined agents to continue executing the unfinished subtasks.

[0243] S706. The collaborative control function network element sends the execution result of the collaborative task to the initiator of the collaborative task; correspondingly, the initiator of the collaborative task receives the execution result of the collaborative task.

[0244] Optionally, after reporting the execution result of subtask 1, agent 1 sends a logout request message to the collaborative control function network element. Then, the collaborative control function network element can release the connection between agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element, and specific reference can be made to the relevant description in the previous text. Figure 6 of the relevant description.

[0245] By adopting the above method, a cooperative control function network element is introduced in the core network or access network, and the cooperative control function network element controls the agent to complete the cooperative task. Since the transmission delay between the network element in the core network or access network and the agent is less than the transmission delay of the communication between the cloud server and the agent, it is convenient to meet the cooperative requirements of low-latency services.

[0246] Embodiment 2

[0247] In Embodiment 2, based on Embodiment 1, taking the initiator of the cooperative task as the second agent and the agents participating in the cooperative task including Agent 1 and Agent 2 as an example, a specific implementation process will be described. It can be understood that when the agents participating in the cooperative task include more than two agents, this process can be referred to for implementation.

[0248] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart corresponding to the communication method provided in Embodiment 2 of this application. As Figure 8 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0249] S801. The second agent sends a first cooperative request message to the cooperative control function network element in the network, and this network is the access network or the core network; correspondingly, the cooperative control function network element receives the first cooperative request message.

[0250] Exemplarily, the first cooperative request message includes the description information of the cooperative task.

[0251] S802. The cooperative control function network element determines the agents that meet the capability requirements from the multiple registered agents, such as Agent 1 and Agent 2.

[0252] S803. The cooperative control function network element sends a status request message 1 to Agent 1, and the status request message 1 is used to request the status information of Agent 1; correspondingly, Agent 1 receives the status request message 1.

[0253] S804. The cooperative control function network element sends a status request message 2 to Agent 2, and the status request message 2 is used to request the status information of Agent 2; correspondingly, Agent 2 receives the status request message 2.

[0254] S805. Agent 1 sends the status information of Agent 1 to the cooperative control function network element according to the status request message 1.

[0255] S806. Agent 2 sends the status information of Agent 2 to the cooperative control function network element according to the status request message 2.

[0256] S807. The cooperative control function network element determines, based on the status information of Agent 1 and the status information of Agent 2, that both Agent 1 and Agent 2 meet the status requirements of the cooperative task for the agents participating in the cooperative task. Further, it can be determined that the agents participating in the cooperative task include Agent 1 and Agent 2.

[0257] S808. The cooperative control function network element sends cooperative configuration request message 1 to Agent 1. The cooperative configuration request message 1 includes the configuration parameters required for Agent 1 to participate in the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 1 receives the cooperative configuration request message 1.

[0258] S809. The cooperative control function network element sends cooperative configuration request message 2 to Agent 2. The cooperative configuration request message 2 includes the configuration parameters required for Agent 2 to participate in the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 2 receives the cooperative configuration request message 2.

[0259] S810. Agent 1 sends a cooperative configuration response message 1 to the cooperative control function network element according to the cooperative configuration request message 1. The cooperative configuration response message 1 is used to indicate that the configuration of Agent 1 is successful.

[0260] S811. Agent 2 sends a cooperative configuration response message 2 to the cooperative control function network element according to the cooperative configuration request message 2. The cooperative configuration response message 2 is used to indicate that the configuration of Agent 2 is successful.

[0261] S812. After the cooperative control function network element determines that the configuration of Agent 1 is successful, it sends an execution request message 1 to Agent 1. The execution request message 1 is used to request Agent 1 to execute subtask 1 of the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 1 receives the execution request message 1 and executes subtask 1 according to the execution request message 1.

[0262] S813. After the cooperative control function network element determines that the configuration of Agent 2 is successful, it sends an execution request message 2 to Agent 2. The execution request message 2 is used to request Agent 2 to execute subtask 2 of the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 2 receives the execution request message 2 and executes subtask 2 according to the execution request message 2.

[0263] S814. Agent 1 executes subtask 1 according to the execution request message 1 and obtains the execution result of subtask 1.

[0264] S815. Agent 1 sends the execution result of subtask 1 to the cooperative control function network element. Correspondingly, the cooperative control function network element receives the execution result of subtask 1.

[0265] S816. Agent 2 executes subtask 2 according to the execution request message 2 and obtains the execution result of subtask 2.

[0266] S817. The agent 2 sends the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative control function network element; correspondingly, the collaborative control function network element receives the execution result of subtask 2.

[0267] S818. The collaborative control function network element determines the execution result of the collaborative task according to the execution results of subtask 1 and subtask 2.

[0268] S819. The collaborative control function network element sends the execution result of the collaborative task to the second agent; correspondingly, the second agent receives the execution result of the collaborative task.

[0269] It can be understood that Figure 8 the process shown Figure 7 corresponds to the process shown, and the steps of the two can be referred to each other. For example, S801 can refer to S701, S802 to S807 can refer to S701’, S808 to S813 can refer to S702, S814 and S816 can refer to S703, S815 and S817 can refer to S704, S818 can refer to S705, and S819 can refer to S706.

[0270] In addition, in the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, when the collaborative control function network element is located in the core network, the agent participating in the collaborative task (such as agent 1) can be a terminal device or an access network device. If agent 1 is a terminal device, the communication between agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element can be carried out through non-access stratum messages. If agent 1 is an access network device, the communication between agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element can be carried out through the AMF network element (for example, agent 1 sends information to the AMF network element through N2 interface messages, and then the AMF network element forwards the information to the collaborative control function network element).

[0271] When the collaborative control function network element is located in the access network, for example, the collaborative control function network element is located in the CU. In this case, the agent participating in the collaborative task (such as agent 1) can be a terminal device or an access network device (such as DU). If agent 1 is a terminal device, the communication between agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element can be carried out through radio interface messages. If agent 1 is a DU, the communication between agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element can be carried out through F1 interface messages (the F1 interface is the interface between the CU and the DU).

[0272] In addition, when the initiator of the collaborative task is an agent (such as the second agent), the communication method between the second agent and the collaborative control function network element can refer to the communication method between agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element.

[0273] Embodiment 3

[0274] In Embodiment 3, the implementation of "the cooperation control function network element and the cooperation execution function network element jointly control the intelligent agent to complete the cooperation task" will be described.

[0275] Figure 9 The flowchart corresponding to the communication method provided in Embodiment 3 of this application. As Figure 9 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0276] S901, the initiating party of the cooperation task sends a first cooperation request message to the cooperation control function network element, and the first cooperation request message includes the description information of the cooperation task; correspondingly, the cooperation control function network element receives the first cooperation request message.

[0277] S901’, the cooperation control function network element determines at least one intelligent agent participating in the cooperation task, and the at least one intelligent agent includes the first intelligent agent.

[0278] Exemplarily, the specific implementation of S901 can refer to S701 in Embodiment 1, and the specific implementation of S901’ can refer to S701’ in Embodiment 1, which will not be elaborated here.

[0279] S902, the cooperation control function network element sends a second cooperation request message to the cooperation execution function network element, and the second cooperation request message includes the description information of the cooperation task and the identifiers of at least one intelligent agent participating in the cooperation task; correspondingly, the cooperation execution function network element receives the second cooperation request message.

[0280] Exemplarily, after the cooperation control function network element determines at least one intelligent agent (such as intelligent agent 1 and intelligent agent 2) participating in the cooperation task, it can determine the cooperation execution function network elements corresponding to intelligent agent 1 and intelligent agent 2. Among them, intelligent agent 1 and intelligent agent 2 can correspond to the same cooperation execution function network element, such as cooperation execution function network element 1, then the cooperation control function network element sends a second cooperation request message to cooperation execution function network element 1. Or, intelligent agent 1 and intelligent agent 2 can correspond to different cooperation execution function network elements, such as intelligent agent 1 corresponding to cooperation execution function network element 1 and intelligent agent 2 corresponding to cooperation execution function network element 2, then the cooperation control function network element sends cooperation request message 1 to cooperation execution function network element 1, and cooperation request message 1 includes the description information of the cooperation task and the identifiers of at least one intelligent agent (or the identifiers of the intelligent agents corresponding to cooperation execution function network element 1, such as the identifier of intelligent agent 1); and, the cooperation control function network element sends cooperation request message 2 to cooperation execution function network element 2, and cooperation request message 2 includes the description information of the cooperation task and the identifiers of at least one intelligent agent (or the identifiers of the intelligent agents corresponding to cooperation execution function network element 2, such as the identifier of intelligent agent 2).

[0281] Among them, the corresponding relationship between the agent and the cooperative execution function network element can be pre-configured or pre-defined, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In the following, the example of "agent 1 and agent 2 can correspond to the same cooperative execution function network element" is used for description.

[0282] In addition, after the cooperative control function network element determines the cooperative execution function network element corresponding to agent 1 and agent 2, it can send notification message 1 to agent 1. Notification message 1 is used to notify agent 1 to establish a connection with the cooperative execution function network element. For example, notification message 1 includes the identifier of the cooperative execution function network element; correspondingly, agent 1 establishes a connection with the cooperative execution function network element according to notification message 1. And, the cooperative control function network element can send notification message 2 to agent 2. Notification message 2 is used to notify agent 2 to establish a connection with the cooperative execution function network element. For example, notification message 2 includes the identifier of the cooperative execution function network element; correspondingly, agent 2 establishes a connection with the cooperative execution function network element according to notification message 2.

[0283] Optionally, after the cooperative control function network element determines the agents participating in the cooperative task (such as agent 1 and agent 2), it can also send cooperative configuration request message 1 to agent 1, and send cooperative configuration request message 2 to agent 2. Correspondingly, agent 1 sends a cooperative configuration response message 1 to the cooperative execution function network element through the connection between agent 1 and the cooperative execution function network element according to the cooperative configuration request message 1; and, agent 2 sends a cooperative configuration response message 2 to the cooperative execution function network element through the connection between agent 2 and the cooperative execution function network element according to the cooperative configuration request message 2. Among them, the cooperative configuration request message and the cooperative configuration response message can refer to the description in Embodiment 1.

[0284] Further optionally, taking agent 1 as an example, the cooperative control function network element instructs agent 1 to send the cooperative configuration response message 1 to the cooperative execution function network element, rather than sending the cooperative configuration response message 1 to the cooperative control function network element. There are various specific indication methods, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Or, the protocol pre-defines that "the agent sends the cooperative configuration response message to the cooperative execution function network element".

[0285] S903, the cooperative execution function network element sends an execution request message (for the convenience of description, called execution request message 1) to agent 1. Execution request message 1 is used to request agent 1 to execute a subtask of the cooperative task (for the convenience of description, called subtask 1); correspondingly, agent 1 receives execution request message 1.

[0286] Assume that the agents participating in the collaborative task include Agent 1. Then, the collaborative execution functional network element sends execution request message 1 to Agent 1. For example, execution request message 1 may include the description information of subtask 1. Optionally, if the agents participating in the collaborative task further include other agents (such as Agent 2), the collaborative execution functional network element may also send execution request message 2 to Agent 2, and execution request message 2 is used to request Agent 2 to execute subtask 2 of the collaborative task. For example, execution request message 2 may include the description information of subtask 2.

[0287] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of "how the collaborative execution functional network element determines subtask 1 and subtask 2 according to the collaborative task". In addition, if the agents participating in the collaborative task only include Agent 1, then subtask 1 is the collaborative task itself.

[0288] In a possible implementation, the collaborative execution functional network element receives collaborative configuration response message 1 from Agent 1. If collaborative configuration response message 1 is used to indicate that the configuration of Agent 1 is successful, the collaborative execution functional network element sends execution request message 1 to Agent 1. If collaborative configuration response message 1 is used to indicate that the configuration of Agent 1 fails, the collaborative execution functional network element does not send execution request message 1.

[0289] S904. Agent 1 executes subtask 1 of the collaborative task according to execution request message 1.

[0290] S905. Agent 1 sends the execution result of subtask 1 to the collaborative execution functional network element; correspondingly, the collaborative execution functional network element receives the execution result of subtask 1.

[0291] Optionally, Agent 2 sends the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative execution functional network element, and then the collaborative execution functional network element receives the execution result of subtask 2.

[0292] S906. The collaborative execution functional network element sends the execution result of subtask 1 to the collaborative control functional network element.

[0293] Optionally, the collaborative execution functional network element also sends the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative control functional network element.

[0294] Exemplarily, the collaborative execution functional network element may send the execution result of subtask 1 and the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative control functional network element through different messages, or may also send the execution result of subtask 1 and the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative control functional network element through the same message. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation.

[0295] S907. The collaborative control functional network element determines the execution result of the collaborative task according to the execution result of subtask 1.

[0296] Exemplarily, the related implementation of S907 can refer to the description of S705 in Embodiment 1.

[0297] S908, the collaborative control function network element sends the execution result of the collaborative task to the initiator of the collaborative task.

[0298] Optionally, after completing the collaborative task, the collaborative control function network element releases the connection between Agent 1 and the collaborative execution function network element. Alternatively, after Agent 1 reports the execution result of Sub-task 1, it sends a deregistration request message to the collaborative control function network element, and then the collaborative control function network element releases the connection between Agent 1 and the collaborative execution function network element, and also releases the connection between Agent 1 and the collaborative control function network element.

[0299] By adopting the above method, a collaborative control function network element and a collaborative execution function network element are introduced into the core network or the access network, and the collaborative task is completed by jointly controlling the agent through the collaborative control function network element and the collaborative execution function network element. Since the collaborative execution function network element is located in the user plane and the transmission delay of the user plane is small, it is convenient to meet the collaborative requirements of low-latency services.

[0300] Embodiment 4

[0301] In Embodiment 4, based on Embodiment 2, taking the initiator of the collaborative task as the second agent and the agents participating in the collaborative task including Agent 1 and Agent 2 as an example, a specific implementation process will be described. It can be understood that when the agents participating in the collaborative task include more than two agents, this process can be referred to for implementation.

[0302] Figure 10 This is a schematic flow diagram corresponding to the communication method provided in Embodiment 4 of this application. As Figure 10 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0303] S1001, the second agent sends the first collaborative request information to the collaborative control function network element in the network, and this network is the access network or the core network; correspondingly, the collaborative control function network element receives the first collaborative request information.

[0304] Exemplarily, the first collaborative request information includes the description information of the collaborative task.

[0305] S1002, the collaborative control function network element determines the agents that meet the capability requirements from the multiple registered agents, such as Agent 1 and Agent 2.

[0306] S1003, the collaborative control function network element sends the status request information 1 to Agent 1, and the status request information 1 is used to request the status information of Agent 1; correspondingly, Agent 1 receives the status request information 1.

[0307] S1004, The cooperative control function network element sends status request message 2 to Agent 2. Status request message 2 is used to request the status information of Agent 2. Correspondingly, Agent 2 receives status request message 2.

[0308] S1005, According to status request message 1, Agent 1 sends the status information of Agent 1 to the cooperative control function network element.

[0309] S1006, According to status request message 2, Agent 2 sends the status information of Agent 2 to the cooperative control function network element.

[0310] S1007, The cooperative control function network element determines, based on the status information of Agent 1 and the status information of Agent 2, that both Agent 1 and Agent 2 meet the status requirements of the cooperative task for the agents participating in the cooperative task. Furthermore, it can be determined that at least one agent participating in the cooperative task includes Agent 1 and Agent 2.

[0311] S1008, The cooperative control function network element sends notification message 1 to Agent 1. Notification message 1 is used to notify Agent 1 to establish a connection with the cooperative execution function network element. Correspondingly, Agent 1 establishes a connection with the cooperative execution function network element according to notification message 1.

[0312] S1009, The cooperative control function network element sends notification message 2 to Agent 2. Notification message 2 is used to notify Agent 2 to establish a connection with the cooperative execution function network element. Correspondingly, Agent 2 establishes a connection with the cooperative execution function network element according to notification message 2.

[0313] S1010, The cooperative control function network element sends cooperative configuration request message 1 to Agent 1. Cooperative configuration request message 1 includes the configuration parameters required for Agent 1 to participate in the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 1 receives cooperative configuration request message 1.

[0314] Exemplarily, notification message 1 and cooperative configuration request message 1 can be carried in the same message or different messages, and no specific limitation is made. When carried in the same message, S1008 and S1010 can be executed simultaneously.

[0315] S1011, The cooperative control function network element sends cooperative configuration request message 2 to Agent 2. Cooperative configuration request message 2 includes the configuration parameters required for Agent 2 to participate in the cooperative task. Correspondingly, Agent 2 receives cooperative configuration request message 2.

[0316] Exemplarily, notification message 2 and cooperative configuration request message 2 can be carried in the same message or different messages, and no specific limitation is made. When carried in the same message, S1009 and S1011 can be executed simultaneously.

[0317] S1012, The collaborative control function network element sends the second collaborative request information to the collaborative execution function network element. The second collaborative request information includes the description information of the collaborative task and the identifiers of at least one agent participating in the collaborative task.

[0318] S1013, Agent 1 sends the collaborative configuration response information 1 to the collaborative execution function network element according to the collaborative configuration request information 1. The collaborative configuration response information 1 is used to indicate that Agent 1 is successfully configured.

[0319] S1014, Agent 2 sends the collaborative configuration response information 2 to the collaborative execution function network element according to the collaborative configuration request information 2. The collaborative configuration response information 2 is used to indicate that Agent 2 is successfully configured.

[0320] S1015, After the collaborative execution function network element determines that Agent 1 is successfully configured, it sends the execution request information 1 to Agent 1. The execution request information 1 is used to request Agent 1 to execute subtask 1 of the collaborative task; correspondingly, Agent 1 receives the execution request information 1 and executes subtask 1 according to the execution request information 1.

[0321] S1016, After the collaborative execution function network element determines that Agent 2 is successfully configured, it sends the execution request information 2 to Agent 2. The execution request information 2 is used to request Agent 2 to execute subtask 2 of the collaborative task; correspondingly, Agent 2 receives the execution request information 2 and executes subtask 2 according to the execution request information 2.

[0322] S1017, Agent 1 executes subtask 1 according to the execution request information 1 and obtains the execution result of subtask 1.

[0323] S1018, Agent 1 sends the execution result of subtask 1 to the collaborative execution function network element; correspondingly, the collaborative execution function network element receives the execution result of subtask 1.

[0324] S1019, Agent 2 executes subtask 2 according to the execution request information 2 and obtains the execution result of subtask 2.

[0325] S1020, Agent 2 sends the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative execution function network element; correspondingly, the collaborative execution function network element receives the execution result of subtask 2.

[0326] S1021, The collaborative execution function network element sends the execution result of subtask 1 and the execution result of subtask 2 to the collaborative control function network element; correspondingly, the collaborative control function network element receives the execution result of subtask 1 and the execution result of subtask 2.

[0327] S1022, The collaborative control function network element determines the execution result of the collaborative task according to the execution result of subtask 1 and the execution result of subtask 2.

[0328] S1023, the coordination control function network element sends the execution result of the coordination task to the second intelligent agent; correspondingly, the second intelligent agent receives the execution result of the coordination task.

[0329] It can be understood that Figure 10 the process shown Figure 9 corresponds to the process shown, and the steps of the two can be referred to each other. For example, S1001 can refer to S901, S1002 to S1007 can refer to S901’, S1008 to S1012 can refer to S902, S1013 and S1016 can refer to S903, S1017 and S1019 can refer to S904, S1018 and S1020 can refer to S905, S1021 can refer to S906, S1022 can refer to S907, and S1023 can refer to S908.

[0330] In addition, in the above-mentioned third and fourth embodiments, when the coordination control function network element and the coordination execution function network element are located in the core network, the intelligent agent participating in the coordination task (such as intelligent agent 1) can be a terminal device, or can also be an access network device. If intelligent agent 1 is a terminal device, the communication between intelligent agent 1 and the coordination execution function network element can be carried out through the access network device and the UPF network element (as Figure 3A shown). If intelligent agent 1 is an access network device, the communication between intelligent agent 1 and the coordination execution function network element can be carried out through the UPF network element.

[0331] When the coordination execution function network element is located in the access network, for example, the coordination execution function network element is located in the DU, in this case, the intelligent agent participating in the coordination task (such as intelligent agent 1) can be a terminal device, and the communication between intelligent agent 1 and the coordination execution function network element can be carried out through air interface messages.

[0332] In addition, in the third and fourth embodiments, the communication methods between the coordination control function network element and the intelligent agent participating in the coordination task (such as intelligent agent 1), and the initiator of the coordination task (such as the second intelligent agent) can refer to the descriptions in the first and second embodiments.

[0333] Regarding the above-mentioned various embodiments, it can be understood that:

[0334] (1) The above focuses on describing the differences between different embodiments or different implementation manners or different examples. For other content except for the differences, different embodiments or different implementations or different examples can be referred to each other. In addition, different embodiments or different implementation manners or different examples can be partially implemented, can be combined for implementation, or can be partially combined for implementation, etc., which are not listed one by one in the embodiments of the present application.

[0335] (2) The step numbers in the flowcharts described in the above embodiments are only examples of the execution process and do not constitute a limitation on the order of step execution. In the embodiments of the present application, steps that do not have a temporal dependence relationship with each other may not have a strict execution order. In addition, not all the steps shown in each flowchart are steps that must be executed. Some steps may be added or deleted based on actual needs in each flowchart, or only some of the steps included in the above flowcharts may be executed.

[0336] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It can be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, each device may include a corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this article, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0337] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional units of the collaborative control function network element, the collaborative execution function network element, the first intelligent agent, and the second intelligent agent according to the above method examples. For example, each functional unit can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0338] In the case of adopting an integrated unit, Figure 11 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the device involved in the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 11 shown, the device 1100 may include: a processing unit 1102 and a communication unit 1103. The processing unit 1102 is used to control and manage the actions of the device 1100. The communication unit 1103 is used to support the communication of the device 1100 with other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 1103 is also called a transceiver unit and may include a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, which are respectively used to perform receiving and sending operations. The device 1100 may also include a storage unit 1101 for storing the program code and / or data of the device 1100.

[0339] (1) The device 1100 may be the cooperative control function network element in the above embodiments. The processing unit 1102 may support the device 1100 in performing the actions of the cooperative control function network element in the method examples above. Alternatively, the processing unit 1102 mainly performs the internal actions of the cooperative control function network element in the method examples, and the communication unit 1103 may support the communication between the device 1100 and other devices.

[0340] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: receive first cooperative request information from a second agent, where the first cooperative request information includes description information of a cooperative task, and at least one agent participating in the cooperative task includes a first agent; send second cooperative request information to the cooperative execution function network element corresponding to the first agent, where the second cooperative request information includes the description information of the cooperative task and the identifiers of at least one agent participating in the cooperative task.

[0341] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive status information from the first agent, where the status information is used to indicate the status of the first agent; the status information meets the status requirements of the agents participating in the cooperative task for the cooperative task; where the status requirements are determined according to the description information of the cooperative task.

[0342] In a possible design, the status of the first agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection status of the first agent; the computing resource status of the first agent; the location status of the first agent; the power status of the first agent; the motion status of the first agent; the memory status of the first agent.

[0343] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: send status request information to the first agent, where the status request information is used to request the status information.

[0344] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive capability information from the first agent; determine that the capability information of the first agent meets the capability requirements of the agents participating in the cooperative task for the cooperative task; where the capability requirements are determined according to the description information of the cooperative task.

[0345] In a possible design, the capability information of the first agent is used to indicate the data types supported by the first agent for sensing and / or the task types supported by the first agent for execution.

[0346] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive a registration request message from the first agent, where the registration request message includes the capability information.

[0347] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive the execution result of the subtask of the collaborative task from the collaborative execution function network element; the processing unit 1102 is configured to: obtain the execution result of the collaborative task according to the execution result of the subtask; the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: send the execution result of the collaborative task to the second intelligent agent.

[0348] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: send a collaborative configuration request message to the first intelligent agent, where the collaborative configuration request message includes configuration parameters required for the first intelligent agent to participate in the collaborative task.

[0349] In a possible design, the processing unit 1102 is configured to: determine that the maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is less than or equal to a threshold according to the description information of the collaborative task.

[0350] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive a logout request message from the first intelligent agent; the processing unit 1102 is configured to: release the connection between the first intelligent agent and the collaborative control function network element and / or release the connection between the first intelligent agent and the collaborative execution function network element according to the logout request message.

[0351] In a possible design, the first intelligent agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0352] (2) The device 1100 may be the collaborative execution function network element in the above embodiment. The processing unit 1102 may support the device 1100 to perform the actions of the collaborative execution function network element in the above method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1102 mainly performs the internal actions of the collaborative execution function network element in the method examples, and the communication unit 1103 may support the communication between the device 1100 and other devices.

[0353] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: receive second collaborative request information from the collaborative control function network element, where the second collaborative request information includes the description information of the collaborative task and the identifier of at least one intelligent agent participating in the collaborative task, and the at least one intelligent agent includes the first intelligent agent; send an execution request message to the first intelligent agent, where the execution request message is used to request the first intelligent agent to execute the subtask of the collaborative task.

[0354] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive the execution result of the subtask from the first intelligent agent; send the execution result of the subtask to the collaborative control function network element.

[0355] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is further configured to: receive the collaborative configuration response information from the first agent, where the collaborative configuration response information is used to indicate that the configuration of the first agent is successful.

[0356] In a possible design, the first agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0357] (3) The device 1100 may be the first agent in the foregoing embodiment. The processing unit 1102 may support the device 1100 to execute the actions of the first agent in the foregoing method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1102 mainly executes the internal actions of the first agent in the method examples, and the communication unit 1103 may support the communication between the device 1100 and other devices.

[0358] For example, in one embodiment, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: receive the execution request information from the collaborative execution function network element in the network, where the execution request information is used to request the first agent to execute a subtask of a collaborative task; where the network is an access network or a core network; and execute the subtask according to the execution request information.

[0359] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: send the status information of the first agent to the collaborative control function network element in the network, where the status information is used to indicate the status of the first agent.

[0360] In a possible design, the status of the first agent includes at least one of the following: the network connection status of the first agent; the computing resource status of the first agent; the location status of the first agent; the power status of the first agent; the motion status of the first agent; the memory status of the first agent.

[0361] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: receive the status request information from the collaborative control function network element in the network, where the status request information is used to request the status information.

[0362] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: send the capability information of the first agent to the collaborative control function network element in the network.

[0363] In a possible design, the capability information of the first agent is used to indicate the data types supported by the first agent for sensing and / or the task types supported by the first agent for execution.

[0364] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: send a registration request message to the collaborative control function network element, where the registration request message includes the capability information.

[0365] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: receive cooperative configuration request information from a cooperative control function network element in the network, where the cooperative configuration request information includes configuration parameters required for the first agent to participate in the cooperative task; and send cooperative configuration response information to the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative configuration response information is used to indicate that the configuration of the first agent is successful.

[0366] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: send the execution result of the subtask to the cooperative execution function network element.

[0367] In a possible design, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: send a deregistration request message to a cooperative control function network element in the network.

[0368] In a possible design, the first agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0369] (4) The device 1100 may be the second agent in the foregoing embodiment. The processing unit 1102 may support the device 1100 to perform the actions of the second agent in the foregoing method examples. Alternatively, the processing unit 1102 mainly performs the internal actions of the second agent in the method examples, and the communication unit 1103 may support the communication between the device 1100 and other devices.

[0370] For example, in an embodiment, the communication unit 1103 is configured to: send first cooperative request information to a cooperative control function network element in the network, where the first cooperative request information includes description information of a cooperative task; where the network is an access network or a core network; and receive cooperative response information from the cooperative control function network element, where the cooperative response information includes the execution result of the cooperative task.

[0371] In a possible design, the second agent is a terminal device or an access network device.

[0372] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is only a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or physically separated. And the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software called by processing elements; they can also all be implemented in the form of hardware; or some units can be implemented in the form of software called by processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or can be integrated in a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, and the function of the unit can be called and executed by a certain processing element of the device. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together or can be independently implemented. The processing element mentioned here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each of the above units can be implemented through the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software called by the processing element.

[0373] In one example, the units in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method. For example: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Again, when the units in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general central processing unit (CPU), or other processors that can call programs. Again, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0374] The above unit for receiving is an interface circuit of the device, used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or devices. The above unit for sending is an interface circuit of the device, used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit of the chip for sending signals to other chips or devices.

[0375] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device, such as Figure 12As shown, the communication device 1200 may include a processor 1202. Optionally, the communication device 1200 may further include a transceiver 1201 and / or a memory 1203. Among them, the memory 1203 may be disposed inside the communication device 1200 or outside the communication device 1200. Among them, the processor 1202 may control the transceiver 1201 to receive and send messages, etc.

[0376] Specifically, the processor 1202 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor 1202 may further include a hardware chip. The above hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The above PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0377] Among them, the transceiver 1201, the processor 1202, and the memory 1203 are interconnected. Optionally, the transceiver 1201, the processor 1202, and the memory 1203 are interconnected via a bus 1204; the bus 1204 may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 12 only a thick line is used to represent it in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0378] In an alternative embodiment, the memory 1203 is used to store programs and the like. Specifically, the program may include program code, and the program code includes computer operation instructions. The memory 1203 may include a RAM, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk memories. The processor 1202 executes the application program stored in the memory 1203 to implement the above functions, thereby implementing the functions of the communication device 1200.

[0379] Exemplarily, the communication device 1200 may be the cooperative control function network element, or the cooperative execution function network element, or the agent in the above embodiments. The transceiver 1201 may implement the transceiver operations performed by the cooperative control function network element, or the cooperative execution function network element, or the agent in the above method embodiments; the processor 1202 may implement other operations except the transceiver operations performed by the cooperative control function network element, or the cooperative execution function network element, or the agent in the above method embodiments. For specific relevant descriptions, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

[0380] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B may be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the front and rear associated objects. "At least one (item)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, "at least one of A, B or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC, and "at least one of A, B and C" can also be understood to include A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. Also, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0381] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk memories, optical memories, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0382] This application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to the application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate means for implementing the functions specified in the Figure 1 one or more flows and / or blocks Figure 1 one or more blocks.

[0383] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory generate a manufactured article including instruction means that implement the functions specified in the Figure 1 one or more flows and / or blocks Figure 1 one or more blocks.

[0384] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, such that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, and thus the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the Figure 1 one or more flows and / or blocks Figure 1 one or more blocks.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a collaborative control function network element in a network, where the network is an access network or a core network, and the method includes: receiving first collaboration request information from a second agent, wherein the first collaboration request information includes description information of a collaborative task, and at least one agent participating in the collaborative task includes the first agent; Sending a second collaborative request message to the collaborative execution function network element corresponding to the first agent, wherein the second collaborative request message includes description information of the collaborative task and an identifier of at least one agent participating in the collaborative task.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving status information from the first agent, wherein the status information is used to indicate a status of the first agent; Determining that the state information satisfies the state requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task; The state requirement is determined according to the description information of the collaborative task.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The state of the first agent includes at least one of the following: The network connection status of the first agent; The computing resource status of the first agent; The position state of the first agent; The power status of the first agent; The motion state of the first agent; The memory state of the first agent.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving capability information from the first agent, wherein the capability information is used to indicate the type of data that the first agent supports sensing and / or the type of task that the first agent supports executing; Determining that the capability information satisfies the capability requirements of the collaborative task for the agents participating in the collaborative task; The capability requirement is determined according to the description information of the collaborative task.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Receiving capability information of the first agent, including: A registration request message of the first agent is received, wherein the registration request message includes the capability information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving the execution result of the subtask of the collaborative task from the collaborative execution function network element; Obtaining the execution result of the collaborative task according to the execution result of the subtask; The execution result of the collaborative task is sent to the second agent.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: It is determined, according to the description information of the collaborative task, that a maximum transmission delay required by the collaborative task is less than or equal to a threshold.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending collaborative configuration request information to the first agent, wherein the collaborative configuration request information includes configuration parameters required for the first agent to participate in the collaborative task.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving a logout request message from the first agent; According to the deregistration request message, the connection between the first agent and the collaborative control function network element is released, and / or the connection between the first agent and the collaborative execution function network element is released.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The first intelligent entity is a terminal device or an access network device.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a collaborative execution function network element in a network, where the network is an access network or a core network, and the method includes: receiving second collaboration request information from a collaboration control function network element, wherein the second collaboration request information includes description information of a collaboration task and an identifier of at least one agent participating in the collaboration task, wherein the at least one agent includes a first agent; Sending execution request information to the first agent, wherein the execution request information is used to request the first agent to execute a subtask of the collaborative task.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving the execution result of the subtask from the first agent; Send the execution result of the subtask to the collaborative control function network element.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A collaborative configuration response message is received from the first agent, where the collaborative configuration response message is used to indicate that the first agent is successfully configured.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a first agent, and the method comprises: Receiving execution request information from a collaborative execution function network element in a network, wherein the execution request information is used to request the first agent to execute a subtask of a collaborative task; wherein the network is an access network or a core network; The subtask is executed according to the execution request information.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending status information of the first agent to a collaborative control function network element in the network, where the status information is used to indicate the status of the first agent.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The state of the first agent includes at least one of the following: The network connection status of the first agent; The computing resource status of the first agent; The position state of the first agent; The power status of the first agent; The motion state of the first agent; The memory state of the first agent.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: The capability information of the first agent is sent to a collaborative control function network element in the network, where the capability information of the first agent is used to indicate the type of data that the first agent supports sensing and / or the type of task that the first agent supports executing.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receiving collaborative configuration request information from a collaborative control function network element in the network, wherein the collaborative configuration request information includes configuration parameters required for the first agent to participate in the collaborative task; A collaborative configuration response message is sent to the collaborative execution function network element, where the collaborative configuration response message is used to indicate that the first agent is successfully configured.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send the execution result of the subtask to the collaborative execution function network element.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that The first intelligent entity is a terminal device or an access network device.

21. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a second agent, and the method comprises: Sending first coordination request information to a coordination control function network element in a network, wherein the first coordination request information includes description information of a coordination task; wherein the network is an access network or a core network; Receive collaborative response information from the collaborative control function network element, where the collaborative response information includes an execution result of the collaborative task.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The second intelligent entity is a terminal device or an access network device.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, and a computer program is stored in the memory; the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13 is executed, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 20 is executed, or the method as claimed in claim 21 or 22 is executed.

24. A communication system, characterized in that: The communication system includes a collaborative control function network element in the network, a collaborative execution function network element in the network, a first intelligent agent and a second intelligent agent, and the network is a core network or an access network; wherein the collaborative control function network element is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, the collaborative execution function network element is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 13, the first intelligent agent is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 14 to 20, and the second intelligent agent is used to execute the method as described in claim 21 or 22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 is executed, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13 is executed, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 20 is executed, or the method as claimed in claim 21 or 22 is executed.

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