Method and apparatus for interactive sensing

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for interaction sensing in a communication awareness integration (ISAC) system are disclosed. A method performed at a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being carried on an object, the method comprising: receiving configuration information of a sensing radar; receiving a sensing radar signal from the sensing radar at least according to the configuration information; constructing a virtual radar signal for the received sensing radar signal based at least on the configuration information and the sensing time slot in which the sensing radar signal is received; estimating a distance and a speed of the mobile communication device from the virtual radar signal and the received sensing radar; and sending an interaction sensing report to the network node, the interaction sensing report indicating the estimated distance and the estimated speed and the sensing time slot, so that a matching relationship can be established between the object sensed by the radar and the mobile communication device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to Integrated Awareness of Communications (ISAC), and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for establishing a matching relationship between a mobile object and a mobile communication device carried by the mobile object using interactive sensing. Background Art

[0002] ISAC (Integrated Sensing for Communications) could be a new feature in future wireless networks. Some companies have already submitted proposals to 3GPP about it. In the European 6G flagship project Hexa-X, a demonstration was designed to show the potential of ISAC to enable rich, cost-effective sensing by reusing existing hardware and infrastructure.

[0003] Currently, most ISAC schemes are based on integrating radar sensing into communication systems. Sensing radar can scan its coverage area to measure the distance and speed of moving objects (e.g., pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, autonomous vehicles, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), etc.). Typically, these mobile objects always have some active communication devices or modules, such as user equipment (UE), mobile phones, tablet computers, portable Android devices (PADs), autonomous driving systems with wireless communication capabilities, etc. Although sensing radar can sense those large moving objects, it can hardly sense those small communication devices. In addition, sensing radar cannot uniquely identify those moving objects, that is, it does not know what those moving objects are. The on-board communication device can always have the identification information of its owner (i.e., the mobile object carrying the communication device thereon).

[0004] For example, a sensing radar can sense some vehicles. But it cannot establish communication with the autonomous driving system of each vehicle because it cannot distinguish them and cannot identify them. The autopilot system can be a UE device. If the system can establish a matching relationship between the vehicle and its autonomous driving system, the traffic control system will easily navigate those vehicles and avoid collisions.

[0005] It is desired to establish a matching relationship between a mobile object and its UE. Summary of the invention

[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce a simplified concept of the disclosure. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus at a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being carried on an object. The apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to at least: receive configuration information of a sensing radar; receive a sensing radar signal from the sensing radar at least according to the configuration information; construct a virtual radar signal for the received sensing radar signal based at least on the configuration information and the sensing time slot in which the sensing radar signal is received; estimate the distance and speed of the mobile communication device according to the virtual radar signal and the received sensing radar signal; and send an interactive sensing report to a network node, the interactive sensing report indicating the estimated distance and the estimated speed as well as the sensing time slot.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a device at a network node is provided. The device includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes a second device to perform a first match between a mobile communication device and an object within at least one sensing time slot at least by the following operations: receiving a first sensing report from a first radar, wherein the first sensing report indicates a first sensing time slot and an object sensed by the first radar and a first distance and a first speed of the object sensed in the first sensing time slot; receiving a first interactive sensing report from a mobile communication device, wherein the first interactive sensing report indicates a second sensing time slot and a first distance and a first speed of the mobile communication device estimated in the second sensing time slot; and determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first interactive sensing report and the first sensing report; and associating the mobile communication device with the object when it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object.

[0009] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a mobile communication device is provided, the mobile communication device being carried on an object. The method comprises: receiving configuration information of a sensing radar; receiving a sensing radar signal from the sensing radar based at least on the configuration information; constructing a virtual radar signal for the received sensing radar signal based at least on the configuration information and the sensing time slot in which the sensing radar signal is received; estimating a distance and a speed of the mobile communication device based on the virtual radar signal and the received sensing radar; and sending an interactive sensing report to a network node, the interactive sensing report indicating the estimated distance and speed and the sensing time slot.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network node is provided. The method includes: performing a first match between a mobile communication device and an object in at least one sensing time slot by at least the following operations: receiving a first sensing report from a first radar, wherein the first sensing report indicates a first sensing time slot and an object sensed by the first radar and a first distance and a first speed of the object sensed in the first sensing time slot; determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first interactive sensing report and the first sensing report; and associating the mobile communication device with the object when it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object.

[0011] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor executes any method according to the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

[0012] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor executes any method according to the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

[0013] It should be understood that the abstract is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1 An exemplary interactive sensing system is shown in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0016] Figure 2 Another exemplary interactive sensing system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown;

[0017] Figure 3 An exemplary scenario of interaction sensing and related signal processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 4 An exemplary process of an interactive sensing operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 5 is a simplified block diagram of exemplary components that may be employed in a user device for sensing interactions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 6 is a simplified block diagram of exemplary components for interaction sensing that may be employed in a server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 7 is a flow chart depicting an exemplary identification procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 8 is a flowchart depicting a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Fig. 9 is a flowchart depicting a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Fig.10 A simplified block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Some example embodiments will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some but not all embodiments are shown. Indeed, the example embodiments may take many different forms and should not be construed as fixed to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

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

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

[0028] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" should be understood to mean "only A, only B, or both A and B". The phrase "A and / or B" should be understood to mean "only A, only B, or both A and B".

[0029] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "one", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "include", "comprises", "has", "has", "includes", and / or "comprising" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc. when used herein, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0030] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) any part of a hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions), and (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0031] This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, and if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuitry" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0032] As used herein, the term "mobile communication device" refers to any device that can perform wireless communication, which may be a terminal device that can access a communication network and receive services from it via a wireless link. As an example and not a limitation, a terminal device may refer to a user equipment (UE) or other suitable device. The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a portable computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone and a tablet computer, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an automatic driving system of a vehicle with wireless communication capabilities, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, or a device in the aforementioned device (e.g., a communication module, a modem or a chip), etc.

[0033] As mentioned above, sensing radar can sense moving objects, but it does not know what they are. Currently, six potential sensing schemes have been considered in the field of communication-sensing integration: BS_A→BS_A: The base station (BS) sends a sensing radar signal and then receives an echo of the sensing radar signal; BS_A→BS_B: BS sends a sensing radar signal, and then another BS receives the sensing radar signal. Echoes of radar signals; BS→UE: The BS sends a sensing radar signal, and the UE receives the echo of the sensing radar signal; UE→BS: The UE sends a sensing radar signal, and the BS receives the echo of the sensing radar signal; UE_A→UE_A: The UE sends a sensing radar signal and then receives an echo of the sensing radar signal; UE_A→UE_B: A UE sends a sensing radar signal, and then another UE receives an echo of the sensing radar signal.

[0034] This means that both BS and UE may have sensing capabilities in the future. The present disclosure can implement sensing of mobile objects based on the BS_A→BS_A method. An embodiment of the present disclosure also utilizes the UE of the mobile object to sense the radar sensing signal. This is called interactive sensing, that is, the UE senses the sensing radar signal of the BS, and the BS senses the owner of the UE (that is, the mobile object carrying the UE). The BS sensing radar senses the mobile object based on the echo signal of the radar sensing signal reflected from the mobile object, and the UE senses the direct signal from the radar received directly from the radar.

[0035] The present disclosure may also be implemented based on the UE_A→UE_A method. In these embodiments, the UE that transmits the sensing radar signal and receives the echo of the sensing radar signal reflected from the object acts as a sensing radar.

[0036] The present disclosure can provide new ISAC applications. For example, based on the results of interactive sensing, for example, a sensing radar can identify sensed mobile objects, the system can generate a mobile object map, and also provide the mobile object map to those identified mobile objects, for example, for optimizing navigation.

[0037] Figure 1 An exemplary interactive sensing system 100 is shown in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The system 100 is an interactive sensing system with an independent sensing radar. Figure 1 As shown, the system 100 includes a UE 101b carried on a movable object (e.g., AGV) 101a, a sensing radar 102a, a base station 102b, and an interactive sensing server 103. The sensing radar 102a is deployed separately from the base station 102b, but can communicate with the base station, for example, via a wired link 130. In some examples, the sensing radar 102a can communicate with the base station via a wireless link (e.g., a device-to-device (D2D) microwave link). For example, the sensing radar 102a can send sensing results to the base station 102b and receive configuration information from the base station 102b. The sensing radar 102a can send a sensing radar signal 110 to its surrounding environment and receive a corresponding echo in order to sense objects around it.

[0038] UE 101b (such as a mobile phone, an autopilot module, or other device with wireless communication capabilities) can receive or detect the sensing radar signal 110. UE 101b can use a commutation radio receiver or an additional special receiver to receive the sensing radar signal. At the same time, UE 101b can also use the commutation radio receiver to communicate with base station 102b, for example, via wireless link 120. Alternatively or additionally, UE 101b can be configured to interface, access, or communicate with any other base station, radio network, core network, or any other network.

[0039] In some implementations, the base station 102b may be known by other names, such as a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a network node, a network device, a device on the network side, a sending / receiving node, a node B, an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a home eNodeB, a next generation node B (gNB), an access point (AP), etc. The base station 102b may communicate with the core network to provide various services, such as voice, data, and other services to the UE 101b. The wireless communication between the UE 101b and the base station 102b in one or more wireless communication systems may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to 4G, 5G, future sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0040] The interactive sensing server 103 may be a network node configured to support interactive sensing and related applications. For example, it may be a functional entity of a core network. Both the sensing radar 102a and the UE 101b may communicate with the interactive sensing server 103, for example, via wireless and / or wired channels. The interactive sensing server 103 may configure the sensing radar 102a and the UE 101b (for functions related to interactive sensing), receive and process sensing results from the sensing radar 102a and the UE 101b. In some embodiments, the sensing radar 102a and the UE 101b may register in the interactive sensing server 103 before their sensing operations.

[0041] The network 105 interconnecting the interactive sensing server 103, the sensing radar 102a, and the base station 102b may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN), the Internet, and / or other networks.

[0042] Figure 2 Another exemplary interactive sensing system 200 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. The system 200 is an interactive sensing system with an integrated sensing radar. Figure 2 As shown, the sensing radar 202 a is integrated in the base station 202 b , and they may be collectively referred to as BS sensing radar 202 . Figure 2 Other entities of the system 100 , such as the UE 201b carried on the movable object 201a and the interaction sensing server 203 , may be implemented in a similar manner to the corresponding entities 101a , 101b , and 103 of the system 100 .

[0043] The basic idea of ​​the present disclosure is as follows. The UE of a mobile object can be configured by a sensing interaction server to sense or receive a signal of a sensing radar used for interactive sensing. In order to perform interactive sensing, the UE can request the sensing interaction server to obtain configuration information of the sensing radar, for example, the waveform of the sensing radar (for example, the type of waveform (such as frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)), etc.) and related parameters), sensing time slot, frequency, beam direction, transmission power, etc. The sensing time slot is the time period during which the sensing radar is transmitting the sensing signal plus the time period reserved for receiving the echo signal. According to the configuration information of the sensing radar, the UE can sense the radar signal sent from the sensing radar in each sensing time slot on the sensing frequency band.

[0044] The interactive sensing UE can receive the sensing radar signal, construct a corresponding virtual radar signal, and analyze the waveforms of the received sensing radar signal and the constructed virtual radar signal to extract its own distance and speed relative to the sensing radar. It should be noted that the virtual radar signal is not actually sent by the UE or the sensing radar. The sensing UE only uses the radar configuration to generate the virtual radar signal. The constructed virtual radar signal can be used to simulate the actual transmitted radar signal, that is, the radar signal actually sent from the radar. In some embodiments, the UE can measure the signal strength of the sensing radar signal and determine whether its owner (that is, the mobile object carrying the UE) is being sensed by the sensing radar. The UE owner can be an AGV, UAV, an autonomous driving vehicle, etc. For example, the signal strength measurement can be used to determine whether the sensing radar is scanning its owner.

[0045] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a UE can construct a virtual radar signal based on known information of a sensing radar to simulate an actually transmitted sensing radar signal, which is then actually received by the UE. By comparing the virtual radar signal with its corresponding actual received radar signal, the UE can extract its own distance and speed relative to the sensing radar.

[0046] Figure 3 An exemplary scenario of interactive sensing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As an example, Figure 3Interactive sensing is explained using triangular FMCW signals. The sensing radar 302 can transmit FMCW signals and receive echo signals to sense objects around it. The sensing radar 302 senses four moving objects. AGV 1 and AGV 2 (represented as 301-1a, 301-2a, respectively) have onboard UEs with interactive sensing capabilities (hereinafter may be referred to as interactive sensing UEs). AGV 3 (also referenced as 301-3) does not have a UE. Pedestrian 301-4 has a UE that does not have interactive sensing capabilities. That is, UE 301-1b of AGV 1 and UE 301-2b of AGV 2 support interactive sensing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The UEs of both AGV 1 and AGV 2 can perform interactive sensing to sense radar signals from radar 302.

[0047] When they know the configuration of the sensing radar 302, the UE 301-1b and the UE 301-2b can construct a virtual radar signal to simulate the original sensing radar FMCW signal emitted by the sensing radar 302, and then compare the radar signal received at the UE with the constructed virtual radar signal to calculate its distance and speed relative to the sensing radar 302. In this example, the UE 301-1b and the UE 301-2b can use the configuration information of the sensing radar 302 to construct a virtual radar signal that is substantially the same (or similar) as the signal actually emitted by the sensing radar 302. The virtual radar signal will have the same waveform (e.g., a triangular FMCW signal), the same timing, and the same amplitude as the signal actually emitted by the sensing radar 302. Therefore, the constructed virtual radar signal can be used to simulate the actual radar emission signal for extracting the speed and distance on the UE side. Box 310 shows such signal processing in the interactive sensing UE. In the figure, the received radar signal is shown as a solid line, and the constructed virtual radar signal is shown as a dotted line. In the example, the distance and speed can be calculated based on the Doppler effect. Here, R is the distance between the sensing radar and the moving object. V is the speed of the moving object relative to the sensing radar. C is the speed of light. △f 1 Is the frequency difference at the rising edge of the radar signal. △f 2 is the frequency difference at the falling edge of the radar signal. Kr is the frequency shift per unit time. λ is the signal wavelength.

[0048] At the same time, the sensing radar 302 may also sense all of the four moving objects to calculate their distances and speeds relative to the sensing radar based on the actual transmitted radar signal and the echo signal received at the sensing radar 302. Block 320 illustrates signal processing in the sensing radar 302 for calculating the distance and speed of an object relative to the sensing radar.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an interactive sensing UE sends a report about its distance and speed relative to a sensing radar to a network node (such as an interactive sensing server or other network node for interactive sensing). In the report, the interactive sensing UE may also indicate the sensing time slot in which it extracts the distance and speed. At the same time, the sensing radar also sends a report about the distance and speed of those sensed mobile objects relative to the sensing radar to a network node (such as an interactive sensing server or other network node for interactive sensing). Then, the network node performs a matching operation to distinguish each interactive sensing UE and the corresponding owner object. In this regard, the network node may try to match a specific interactive sensing UE with its owner (mobile object) based on the reports of the sensing radar and the specific interactive sensing UE. For example, if the mobile object sensed by the sensing radar at the sensing time slot has a similar distance and speed to the sensing result of the specific interactive sensing UE, and the match is a one-to-one correspondence, it can be determined that the mobile object is the owner of the UE. Then, the network node can identify the mobile object. In the present disclosure, the speed of the UE relative to the sensing radar (estimated by the interactive sensing UE) and the speed of the mobile object relative to the sensing radar (calculated by the sensing radar) are radial speeds relative to the sensing radar. In this regard, velocity will indicate the speed of the UE (or mobile object) relative to the sensing radar, as well as the radial direction of the UE movement (or object movement) relative to the sensing radar. The radial direction indicates whether the UE (or object) is radially approaching or moving away from the radar. In this regard, the velocity can also be referred to as the instantaneous radial velocity relative to the radar.

[0050] The network node can uniquely identify the mobile object via a specific UE, and indicate the mobile object using the identification information of the specific UE. Identification can enable the interactive sensing server to establish a communication relationship with those mobile objects via the embedded interactive sensing UE of the mobile objects. In one example, the network node can provide a global mobile object map to the UE for navigation, for example, optimizing path planning to avoid collisions with other mobile objects, or jointly planning paths for multiple mobile objects. The global mobile object map includes not only those mobile objects identified via interactive sensing, but also those unidentified mobile objects, such as mobile objects without UE, or mobile objects with UE without interactive sensing capability.

[0051] by Figure 3 Take the scenario as an example, the interactive sensing server ( Figure 3The interactive sensing server may identify AGV 1 and AGV 2 by matching the speed and distance of AGV 1 and AGV 2 sensed by the sensing radar 302 and the corresponding interactive sensing UE 301-1b, 301-2b. Then, the interactive sensing server may establish communication with them. The interactive sensing server may provide a mobile object map to AGV 1 and AGV 2 for navigation of AGV 1 and AGV 2, for example, by sending map data to UE 301-1b, 301-2b or a navigation system thereon, respectively. The mobile object map may include the movement status of all mobile objects (including pedestrian 301-4, AGV1 301-1a, AGV2 301-2a, and AGV3 301-3).

[0052] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the interactive sensing UE can be precisely synchronized with the sensing radar. In an example, if the sensing signal from the sensing radar carries some synchronization information, the interactive sensing UE can use the synchronization information to synchronize with the sensing radar.

[0053] Figure 4 An exemplary process 400 of an interactive sensing operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Process 400 involves an interactive sensing UE 401 (which is carried on or by an object such as an AGV, UAV, autonomous vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, vehicle, etc.), a sensing radar 402, and an interactive sensing server 403. UE 401 can be implemented in a manner similar to any one of UE 101b, UE 201b, UE 301-1b, and UE 301-2b. Sensing radar 402 can be implemented in a manner similar to any one of sensing radars 102a, 202a, and 302. Interactive sensing server 403 can be implemented in a manner similar to interactive sensing server 103 or 203.

[0054] In step 410, the interactive sensing server 403 configures the sensing radar 402 to sense all mobile objects within its sensing range. For example, the configuration information may include information of a sensing waveform (such as FMCW, OFDM, etc.), a sensing time slot (such as the size of the sensing time slot, the period of the sensing time slot, etc.), a sensing subcarrier, a sensing antenna, a sensing signal transmission power, etc. Based on the configuration information, the sensing radar will transmit a sensing radar signal and sense mobile objects within its sensing range.

[0055] In step 415, when a mobile object (such as an AGV, UAV, autonomous vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, vehicle, etc.) with an interactive sensing UE enters the sensing range of the radar 402, the UE will request the interactive sensing server 403 to obtain the configuration information of the sensing radar 402 for interactive sensing operation. In some embodiments, the UE 401 may be configured to determine that it enters the sensing range of the radar 402. For example, the UE 401 may maintain a map of the sensing ranges of one or more sensing radars, and then determine that it enters the sensing range of the radar 402 based on the map and its own position. In another example, the UE 401 may be notified of its entry into the sensing range of the radar 402, for example, through its access point. The request may include any one of the identification of the UE 401, the location of the UE 401, or the identification of the radar 401. In some embodiments, it may be due to the interactive sensing server 403, for example, based on the UE location, determining that the UE 401 enters its sensing range.

[0056] In step 420, in response to the request, the interactive sensing server 403 may send configuration information of the sensing radar 402 to the UE 401. In some embodiments, before responding with the configuration information, the interactive sensing server 403 may verify the UE 401, for example based on the identity of the UE received from the request and the interactive sensing-related profile maintained for the UE, to check whether it is an authorized UE. If it is determined that the interactive sensing UE 401 is an authorized UE, the configuration information may be sent to the UE 401.

[0057] In step 425 b , the sensing radar 402 will transmit a sensing radar signal at each sensing time slot configured by the interactive sensing server 403 in step 410 .

[0058] Meanwhile, in step 430a, the interactive sensing UE 401 will receive a sensing radar signal for interactive sensing at a corresponding sensing time slot, for example, according to the received configuration information.

[0059] Meanwhile, in step 430b, the sensing radar 402 will receive a reflected echo signal from the mobile object carrying the UE 401.

[0060] In step 425a, in each sensing time slot, the interactive sensing UE 401 will construct a virtual radar signal to simulate the sensing radar transmission signal. The virtual radar signal is a simulation of the radar sensing signal actually transmitted by the sensing radar at step 425b, but it is not a real transmitted radar signal. It should be noted that the virtual radar signal is not actually transmitted by the UE 401 or the sensing radar 402, but is only generated in the UE 401 by the configuration information of the sensing radar 402. In this regard, a virtual radar signal corresponding to the sensing received radar signal for a specific sensing time slot can be constructed based on the configuration information of the sensing radar 402 and the specific sensing time slot.

[0061] In step 435a, in each sensing time slot, the interactive sensing UE 401 compares the constructed virtual radar signal with the radar signal it receives to estimate its distance and speed relative to the sensing radar 402. Figure 3 The distance and speed are calculated as shown in block 310 .

[0062] At step 435b, in each sensing time slot, the sensing radar 402 compares the transmitted radar signal with the corresponding received echo signal to estimate the distance and speed of the moving object relative to the sensing radar 402. Figure 3 As shown in block 320 , the sensing radar 402 may perform sensing calculations to obtain the distance and speed of the moving object.

[0063] At step 440, the sensing radar 402 reports its sensing results at each sensing time slot. In some examples, multiple objects will be sensed by the sensing radar 402 at one sensing time slot. Then, the sensing report for the sensing time slot may include the distance and speed of each moving object in the multiple objects sensed by the sensing radar 402 at the sensing time slot.

[0064] The inter-sensing UE 401 also reports its inter-sensing result in each sensing time slot at step 445. The inter-sensing report for each sensing time slot may include the estimated distance and speed of the UE for that sensing time slot.

[0065] Then, at step 450, based on the reports of the interactive sensing UE 401 and the sensing radar 402 at each sensing time slot, the interactive sensing server 403 performs a match between the UE 401 and the object. In this regard, the interactive sensing server 403 will find which mobile object sensed by the radar 402 has the same distance and speed as the estimated distance and speed of the UE 401. The mobile object with the same distance and speed can be identified as the owner of the UE 401. For example, the identity of the UE 401 can be associated with the identity of the mobile object. In this way, the mobile object will be identified, and the interactive sensing server 403 will know who the mobile object is.

[0066] In step 455, at each sensing time slot, the interactive sensing server 403 can collect the sensing results of the sensing radar 402, as well as the results of sensing other sensing radars (if any). The interactive sensing server 403 can use these sensing results to build a mobile object map. In the map, those identified mobile objects can be indicated with the corresponding identification of their UE. The location of UE 401 can be indicated as the location of its owner object identified in step 450.

[0067] At step 460, the interactive sensing server 403 may publish the mobile object map to those identified objects by sending the map data to the UEs of those identified objects.

[0068] When an interactive sensing UE on a mobile object (such as an AGV, UAV, autonomous vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, vehicle, etc.) knows its location in the mobile object map, it can use the map to optimize the navigation of the mobile object in step 465. For example, it can optimize the path of the mobile object to avoid collision with other mobile objects. Or two identified mobile objects can be navigated to coordinately plan their paths to avoid collision.

[0069] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to implement interactive sensing, new components or modules may be provided to the interactive sensing UE, such as Figure 5 The interactive sensing component 500 shown. The UE may be any one of UE 101b, UE 201b, UE 301-1b, UE 301-2b and UE 401. The interactive sensing component 500 is configured to actively sense the sensing radar signal and evaluate the distance and speed of the UE relative to the sensing radar. The interactive sensing component 500 includes a signal measurement module 501, a signal construction module 502, a signal comparison module 503 and an interactive sensing calculation module 504.

[0070] At each sensing time slot, the signal measurement module 501 can measure the signal strength of the sensing radar signal received at the sensing frequency band. If the received signal strength (RSS) at the time slot is greater than a predefined threshold, it can be determined that the owner of the UE (i.e., the object carrying the UE) is being scanned by the sensing radar in the current time slot. Then, the interactive sensing UE will receive the sensing radar signal. At the same time, the signal construction module 502 will be triggered to construct a virtual radar signal to simulate the radar signal actually emitted by the sensing radar, and the virtual radar signal can be compared with the actual received radar signal. In one example, when the UE detects a sensing radar signal from a sensing radar, it can use the known radar configuration information of the sensing radar (such as waveform, timing, amplitude, etc.) to construct a virtual radar signal.

[0071] The received sensing radar signal is input into the signal comparison module 503. At the same time, the corresponding virtual radar signal is also input into the signal comparison module 503. For each interactive sensing time slot, the received radar signal is compared with the corresponding constructed virtual radar signal. The frequency difference at different edges of the triangular pattern (such as Figure 3 The △f depicted in 1 and ∆f 2 ) can be extracted by the signal comparison module 503 and input to the interaction sensing calculation module 504. Here, the frequency difference will be used to calculate Figure 3 The distance and speed of the UE shown in block 310 of FIG. The calculation result (ie, the distance and speed of the UE relative to the sensing radar) may be sent to the interactive sensing server in order to find the owner of the UE.

[0072] In order to support the interactive sensing of some embodiments of the present disclosure, a new component or module may be provided to a network node (such as a server or a network function entity) for interactive sensing, such as Figure 6 The interactive sensing component 600 shown. The network node can be any one of the interactive sensing servers 103, 203 or 403. The interactive sensing component 600 is configured to provide radar configuration information to the interactive sensing UE and match the UE with an object. The interactive sensing component 600 includes an interactive sensing identification module 601. In some embodiments, the interactive sensing component 600 may optionally include a radar configuration information providing module 602 and / or a map generating module 603.

[0073] The input of the interactive sensing identification module 601 includes the sensing results of the interactive sensing UE and the sensing results of the sensing radar. When a mobile object (such as AGV, UAV, autonomous vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, vehicle, etc.) enters the sensing range of the sensing radar, the sensing radar will sense the mobile object. At the same time, the interactive sensing UE will sense the radar signal emitted from the sensing radar. The sensing radar can measure the distance and speed of the mobile object relative to the sensing radar, and the interactive sensing UE can measure its own distance and speed relative to the same sensing radar. These sensing results and the information of the sensing time slot (in the sensing time slot, the sensing result is derived based on the radar signal) are provided to the interactive sensing identification module 601.

[0074] Based on these sensing results, the interactive sensing identification module 601 will identify whether the mobile object is the owner of the interactive sensing UE. The identification process can be completed on one sensing time slot. If more than two mobile objects are very close, the identification process can be completed on several sensing time slots. The identification operation may include time slot matching, distance matching, and speed matching. Time slot matching (for example, implemented in submodule 601a) can ensure that the sensing performed by the sensing radar and the measurement of the received radar signal performed by the interactive sensing UE are performed simultaneously. Distance matching (for example, implemented in submodule 601b) and speed matching (for example, implemented in submodule 601c) can exclude other mobile objects.

[0075] The interactive sensing recognition module 601 can output the matching results to the map generation module 603. The map generation module 603 can use the matching results to generate a mobile object map. Those identified mobile objects can be marked on the map. For example, the identification (ID) of the UE that matches the identified mobile object can be associated with the identified mobile object. Then, the mobile object map can be output or published to the identified mobile object.

[0076] In some embodiments, the radar configuration information providing module 602 may be, for example, Figure 4 As shown in step 420, the configuration information of the sensing radar is provided to the interactive sensing UE.

[0077] During the identification process, if the sensing radar scans a mobile object in the sensing time slot, only one interactive sensing UE senses the sensing radar signal in the sensing time slot, and they will have similar speed and distance relative to the sensing radar, then the mobile object will be identified as the owner of the UE. If the sensing radar senses the mobile object in the sensing time slot, but no interactive sensing UE senses the radar signal in the sensing time slot, or no interactive sensing UE's sensing result has a similar distance and speed to the mobile object, that is, the mobile object does not match the interactive sensing UE, then the mobile object will not be identified. If there is no one-to-one match, the identification process should be completed over several sensing time slots until a one-to-one match is established.

[0078] Figure 7 An exemplary identification process 700 is shown in FIG. The identification process 700 starts at 701 and is performed in each sensing time slot. In step 702, based on the sensing result of the sensing radar, it can be known that the sensing radar detects a mobile object in a specific sensing time slot (denoted as time slot i). Then, in step 703, time slot matching can be performed. It can be checked whether there is a sensing result of an interactive sensing UE for the specific sensing time slot i. If there is no sensing result of such an interactive sensing UE, as shown in step 709, it can be determined that the mobile object does not match any interactive sensing UE.

[0079] If there are one or more sensing results of the interactive sensing UE, distance matching can be performed. As shown in step 704, it can be further checked whether there is a sensing result of the interactive sensing UE, which indicates a distance that is less than a distance threshold from the distance indicated in the sensing radar. The distance threshold can be a predefined threshold. If there is no such sensing result of the interactive sensing UE, as shown in step 709, it can be determined that the mobile object does not match any interactive sensing UE.

[0080] In step 705, speed matching may be performed. It may be checked whether there is a sensing result of an interactive sensing UE, which indicates a speed that differs from the speed indicated in the sensing radar by less than a speed threshold. The speed threshold may be a predefined threshold. If there is no such sensing result of an interactive sensing UE, as shown in step 709, it may be determined that the mobile object does not match any interactive sensing UE.

[0081] If only one interactive sensing UE passes the time slot match, distance match, and speed match in step 706, it can be determined that the mobile object matches the UE as shown in step 708. If more than one UE passes the time slot match, distance match, and speed match, the identification process 700 should be completed on several sensing time slots until a one-to-one match is established. For example, the process 700 can proceed to step 707 to check the sensing results of the sensing radar for the next sensing time slot (e.g., time slot i+1), and the sensing radar continues to sense the mobile object. Then, the process 700 can proceed to step 702 to perform another time slot match, distance match, and speed match for the sensing time slot i+1.

[0082] Figure 8 8 is a flow chart depicting a method 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 800 may be implemented at an interactive sensing UE, which may be any suitable mobile communication device. For example, the method 800 may be implemented at UE 101b, UE 201b, UE 301-1b, UE 301-2b, and UE 401. It is understood that the method 800 may be implemented at other mobile communication devices.

[0083] As shown in block 810, method 800 includes receiving (e.g., by a UE) configuration information for a radar. The configuration information for the radar may be received from a network node, such as an interactive sensing server 103, 203, 403. The configuration information includes at least one of: information about one or more waveforms of a sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more sensing time slots in which the sensing radar signal is to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more frequencies of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more beam directions of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, and information about one or more transmit powers of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar.

[0084] In one embodiment, the UE may send a request for configuration information of the radar to a network node (such as an interactive sensing server); and in response, receive configuration information from the network node. The UE may determine that it has entered the sensing range of the radar, thereby sending a request for configuration information of the radar to the network node. The request may include at least one of the following: an identification of the mobile communication device, a location of the mobile communication device, or an identification of the radar.

[0085] As shown in block 820, method 800 also includes receiving a sensing radar signal from the radar based at least on the configuration information. In some embodiments, method 800 may also include measuring a signal strength of the received sensing radar signal and determining whether the object is sensed by the radar.

[0086] As shown in block 830, method 800 also constructs a virtual radar signal for the received sensing radar signal based at least on the configuration information and the sensing time slot in which the sensing radar signal is received. The construction of the virtual radar signal may be triggered by determining that the object is sensed by radar in the sensing time slot. In some embodiments, different sensing radar signals may be transmitted at different frequencies or frequency bands in the same sensing time slot. Then, the virtual radar signal may be further constructed based on the frequency of the received sensing radar signal.

[0087] As shown in block 840, the method 800 further includes estimating the distance and speed of the mobile communication device based on the virtual radar signal and the received sensing radar signal. Then, at block 850, the method 800 further includes sending an interactive sensing report to the network node, the interactive sensing report indicating the estimated distance and the estimated speed and the sensing time slot from which the estimated distance and the estimated speed are derived. In the case where the virtual radar signal is constructed using the frequency of the received radar signal, the frequency is also included in the interactive sensing report.

[0088] In some embodiments, within a sensing time slot, the interactive sensing UE may receive more than one sensing radar signal from one same sensing radar at least according to the configuration information. Some of these radar signals may be radar signals reflected from other objects. Then, the interactive sensing UE needs to determine which of these radar signals are directly transmitted to the object of the UE. For each of these radar signals, the UE may estimate the candidate distance and speed of the mobile communication device based on the virtual radar signal and the corresponding received radar signal; and determine the shortest distance among more than one estimated candidate distances. Since the reflected radar signal must go through a longer path than the direct radar signal, the shortest distance must correspond to the direct radar signal. Then, the shortest distance and the corresponding speed may be used as the estimated distance and speed of the mobile communication device and reported to the network node.

[0089] In some embodiments, method 800 may also include receiving data of a mobile object map from a network node, the mobile object map indicating the location of one or more mobile objects. In the mobile object map, the location of the mobile communication device is indicated as the location of the object. Based on the map, the mobile communication device can control or navigate its matching object.

[0090] Fig. 9 is a flow chart depicting a method 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 900 may be implemented at a network node or a network function entity, which may be any suitable communication device. For example, the method 900 may be implemented at the interactive sensing servers 103, 203, and 403. It is understood that the method 900 may be implemented at other network nodes or devices.

[0091] As shown in block 910, method 900 includes performing a first match between a mobile communication device (such as an interactive sensing UE) and an object (such as a mobile object carrying the UE) in at least one sensing time slot. The first match includes receiving a first sensing report from a first radar as shown in block 912, wherein the first sensing report indicates a first sensing time slot and an object sensed by the radar and a first distance and a first speed of the object sensed in the first sensing time slot; receiving a first interactive sensing report from a mobile communication device as shown in block 914, wherein the first interactive sensing report indicates a second sensing time slot and a first distance and a first speed of the mobile communication device estimated in the second sensing time slot; and determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first interactive sensing report and the first sensing report as shown in block 916.

[0092] As indicated at block 920, method 900 further includes associating the mobile communication device with the object when it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object.

[0093] In some embodiments, method 900 may further include sending configuration information of the first radar to the mobile communication device. In one example, the interactive sensing server may receive a request for configuration information of the first radar from the mobile communication device, and in response to receiving the request, send the configuration information to the mobile communication device. The request may include at least one of an identification of the mobile communication device, a location of the mobile communication device, or an identification of the first radar. The interactive sensing server may determine the sensing range of the radar that the mobile communication device enters based on the location of the mobile communication device.

[0094] In another example, the interactive sensing server may determine that the mobile communication device enters the sensing range of the first radar; and in response to determining that the mobile communication device enters the sensing range of the first radar, send configuration information to the mobile communication device. The interactive sensing server may receive an indication from a base station (e.g., a base station that is serving the mobile communication device) that the mobile communication device has entered the sensing range of the first radar. Alternatively, the interactive sensing server may receive the current location of the mobile communication device from a base station (e.g., a base station that is serving the mobile communication device). The interactive sensing server may know the distribution of the sensing space or range of the corresponding sensing radar. Then, it may be determined which radar scanning range the mobile communication device has entered based at least on the current location of the mobile communication device and the distribution of the sensing space or range of the corresponding sensing radar.

[0095] The base station can detect the location of the mobile communication device, and / or detect that the mobile communication device enters the scanning range of the radar, and then notify the interactive sensing server of the location of the mobile communication device and / or that the mobile communication device enters the scanning range of the radar. In one example, when it is detected that the mobile communication device switches to the cell of the current base station (e.g., a base station with a sensing radar function), for example, by detecting a switching request from a neighboring base station for the mobile communication device and a switching confirmation (ACK) of the current base station, the current base station can know the location of the mobile communication device. For example, the identification (ID) of the cell to which the mobile communication device switches indicates the approximate location of the mobile communication device. Alternatively or additionally, the mobile communication device can report its current location (e.g., based on GPS, based on time difference of arrival (TDOA), based on cell ID, etc.) to its serving base station. Then, the base station can determine whether the mobile communication device enters the sensing range of the radar based on the current location of the mobile communication device and the distribution of the sensing range of the corresponding radar.

[0096] In some embodiments, determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object may include: determining whether the second sensing time slot is the same as the first sensing time slot; and if it is determined that the second sensing time slot is the same as the first sensing time slot, comparing the first distance of the mobile communication device with the first distance of the object, and comparing the first speed of the mobile communication device with the first speed of the object. For example, if the difference between the first distance of the mobile communication device and the first distance of the object is less than a first threshold, and the difference between the first speed of the mobile communication device and the first speed of the object is less than a second threshold, it can be determined that the mobile communication device matches the object.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first sensing report further indicates a first frequency of the sensing signal, the object is sensed based on the first frequency, and the interactive sensing report further indicates a second frequency of the sensing signal, the first distance and speed of the mobile communication device are estimated based on the second frequency. Then, the interactive sensing server can determine whether the mobile communication device matches the object by further determining whether the second frequency is the same as the first frequency.

[0098] In some embodiments, method 900 may further include determining whether the mobile communication device is the only mobile communication device that matches the object; and in the case where it is determined that the mobile communication device is not the only mobile communication device that matches the object, performing further matching between the mobile communication device and the object in one or more subsequent sensing time slots. Method 900 may also include associating the mobile communication device with the object when the mobile communication device is the only mobile communication device that matches the object. For example, the identity of the mobile communication device may be associated with the identity of the object.

[0099] In some embodiments, method 900 may also include establishing a mobile object map, the mobile object map indicating the location of one or more mobile objects. The location of the mobile communication device will be indicated as the location of the object in the map. Then, the mobile object map can be sent to one or more mobile communication devices.

[0100] In some embodiments, the interactive sensing report also indicates the position of the mobile communication device relative to the radar in three-dimensional (3D) space. For example, the angle of the mobile communication device relative to the radar can also be derived from the received radar signal and then included in the interactive sensing report. The position in 3D space can be determined based on the angle and the estimated distance according to the polar coordinate system. This additional information can extend the embodiments of the present disclosure to three dimensions (3D) and potential applications, such as identifying drones of the same appearance in a group during formation flying. In the 3D case, the sensing radar is able to scan in all spherical directions, and the interactive sensing UE is able to sense the direction of the incoming radar signal in each direction. For example, these spherical radars exist in aviation. Alternatively, scanning in all spherical directions can be achieved by a rotating single beam or by a beamforming 3D antenna array or a rotating 2D antenna array that rotates to give a third dimension.

[0101] In some embodiments, the direction of the speed of the UE and the object relative to the sensing radar, and / or the direction of the tangential speed of the UE and the object relative to the radar can be detected and reported to the interactive sensing server. The Doppler shift of the radar signal only provides the radial speed of the object. Then, the tangential speed can be estimated from multiple measurements in slightly different directions. The matching process requires the speed to be expressed in the same coordinate system. The UE may not know its movement in the global (earth) coordinate system, but only knows that it is in the local coordinate system, so the expression of its own global speed is not important. However, it can express its own speed direction relative to the radar incident angle of the received sensing radar signal (assuming that it knows how its own antenna is oriented on the body), and it can derive the relative angle of the UE relative to the radar, for example, based on the angle of arrival positioning technology. If the UE's own antenna configuration is unknown, the UE can make multiple measurements over multiple sensing time slots to determine its own position relative to the radar at multiple points, and then calculate its own speed based on the difference of these points. The radar can sense the speed direction of the object in the global coordinates, but it can easily convert it into an angle relative to the direction of the radar beam. These relative angles need to be matched for the UE and the radar. Therefore, the interactive sensing server may determine whether the UE matches the object by further comparing the corresponding relative angles of the speed or tangential speed indicated in the UE sensing report and the radar sensing report.

[0102] If the UE is able to perform self-localization by other means (e.g., visual inertial odometry, real-time kinematics (RTK)-Global Positioning System (GPS), etc.), they may also share this information, for example, as "payment" for access to a global map (which is useful for them because it also includes objects outside their own sensing range). Therefore, in some embodiments, the UE's sensing report may also indicate the location of the interacting sensing UE.

[0103] In some scenarios, multiple UEs may be arranged in a radial direction relative to the sensing radar. In this case, one UE closest to the radar may block other UEs. This situation needs to be handled by a second sensing radar, which can sense the object from a different angle. The positions of the radars are known, and the two radars can communicate with each other via an interactive sensing server. The server can coordinate adjacent radars to operate in non-intersecting sensing time slots and / or non-intersecting frequencies. When two or more radars sense a UE, their information can be merged into a more reliable 3D map (built in the server).

[0104] In this case, method 900 may further include: performing a second match between the mobile communication device and the object within at least one sensing time slot; determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first match and the second match; and associating the mobile communication device with the object when it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first match and the second match. The second match may be performed by: receiving a second sensing report from a second radar, wherein the second sensing report indicates a third sensing time slot and an object sensed by the second radar and a second distance and a second speed of the object sensed in the third sensing time slot; receiving a second interactive sensing report from the mobile communication device, wherein the second interactive sensing report indicates a fourth sensing time slot and a second distance and a second speed of the mobile communication device estimated in the fourth sensing time slot; and determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object based on the second interactive sensing report and the second other sensing report.

[0105] Some embodiments provide a system in which everyone is collaborative and their joint goal is to determine the best possible map of the world. There are fixed BS sensing radars that sense mobile objects via radar (whose global position and orientation can be known by the interactive sensing server), and there are autonomous agents that can locate themselves by some methods (such as various types of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), wheel odometers, etc.). For example, some autonomous agents (mobile objects) can carry interactive sensing UEs and can be communicatively coupled with them. The autonomous positioning function can include some on-board sensors and corresponding software. The interactive sensing UE can also collect location information from these autonomous positioning functions and report the location information to the interactive sensing server together with its interactive sensing results. The interactive sensing server can use this additional posture (position and orientation) information when building a mobile object map. When the interactive sensing server has associated a mobile object sensed by a radar (which provides global coordinates) with a UE, it can perform some coordinate transformations, i.e., from local coordinates to global coordinates, and then add this additional posture information to the map. In this regard, if the autonomous agents are able to perform global positioning (e.g., via RTK-GPS), they can share this information with the interactive sensing server, which can utilize this information directly into the mobile object map. However, if the autonomous agent can only locate itself in a local coordinate system (as most technologies, such as via 2D LiDAR, via visual SLAM, via wheel odometry, etc.), then it can share with the system its relative movement plus its measurement of the radar sensing signals, which can be used to determine its global position. In essence, the radar will act as a fixed landmark (or "beacon") in the world, which can be used by the server to align each agent's local coordinate system (which can be different for each autonomous agent) with the world.

[0106] Reference now Fig.10 , which shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 1000 that can be embodied in or as a mobile communication device (such as an interactive sensing UE) or a network node (such as an interactive sensing server). The apparatus 1000 may include at least one processor 1001, such as a data processor (DP) and at least one memory (MEM) 1002 coupled to the at least one processor 1001. The apparatus 1000 may also include one or more transmitters TX, one or more receivers RX 1003, or one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors 1001 to communicate wirelessly and / or by wire.

[0107] Although not shown, the apparatus 1000 may have at least one communication interface. For example, the communication interface may be Fig.10 At least one antenna, or a transceiver is shown. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network entities.

[0108] As non-limiting examples, processor 1001 may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0109] As non-limiting examples, the MEM 1002 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory.

[0110] MEM 1002 stores a program (PROG) 1004. PROG 1004 may include instructions that, when executed on an associated processor 1001, enable the apparatus 1000 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, for example to perform one of methods 800 and 900. The combination of at least one processor 1001 and at least one MEM 1002 may form a processing circuit or apparatus 1005 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0111] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a computer program executable by one or more of the processor 1001 , software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof.

[0112] In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but the invention is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in non-limiting examples as hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0113] It should therefore be understood that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should therefore be understood that the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in a device embodied as an integrated circuit, wherein the integrated circuit may include circuits (and possibly firmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor, a digital signal processor, a baseband circuit, and a radio frequency circuit that may be configured to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0114] It should be understood that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in computer executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules executed by one or more computers or other devices. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. Computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium, for example, a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a hard disk, an optical disk, a removable storage medium, a solid-state memory, a RAM, etc. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the functions of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the functions may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0115] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order or sequence shown, or performing all illustrated operations to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0116] The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features explicitly disclosed herein, or any generalization thereof. When read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, various modifications and adaptations of the aforementioned exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art in view of the foregoing description. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus at a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being carried on an object, the apparatus include: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: Receive radar configuration information; receiving a sensing radar signal from the radar according to at least the configuration information; Based at least on the configuration information and a sensing time slot in which the sensing radar signal is received, constructing a virtual radar signal for the received sensing radar signal; estimating a distance and a speed of the mobile communication device based on the virtual radar signal and the received sensing radar signal; as well as An inter-sensing report is sent to a network node, the inter-sensing report indicating the estimated distance and the estimated speed and the sensing time slot. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information of the radar is received from the network node.

3. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to at least: sending a request for the configuration information of the radar to the network node; and The configuration information is received from the network node.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: determining that the mobile communication device enters the sensing range of the radar; and In response to determining that the mobile communication device enters a sensing range of the radar, the request for the configuration information of the radar is sent to the network node.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 4, wherein the request for the configuration information of the radar comprises at least one of the following: an identification of the mobile communication device, the location of the mobile communications device, or The identification of the radar.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: determining that the object is sensed by the radar at the sensing time slot; and In response to determining that the mobile object is sensed by the radar at the sensing time slot, the virtual radar signal is constructed.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: measuring the signal strength of the received sensing radar signal; and It is determined whether the object is sensed by the radar based at least on the measured signal strength.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: information regarding one or more waveforms of sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more sensing time slots at which the sensing radar signal is to be transmitted from the radar, information regarding one or more frequencies of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more beam directions of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, and Information regarding one or more transmit powers of the sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the radar.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the virtual radar signal is further constructed based on the frequency at which the received sensing radar signal is received.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the interactive sensing report further indicates the frequency.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the interaction sensing report further indicates at least one of the following: the angle of the mobile communication device relative to the radar, the location of the mobile communication device, the direction of the velocity relative to the radar, the radial velocity of the mobile communication device relative to the radar, or The tangential velocity of the mobile communication device relative to the radar.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: receiving one or more sensing radar signals from the sensing radar based at least on the configuration information; for each received sensing radar signal of the more than one sensing radar signals, estimating a candidate range and speed of the mobile communication device based on the virtual radar signal and the corresponding received sensing radar signal; determining a shortest distance among one or more estimated candidate distances; as well as The shortest distance and the corresponding speed are used as the estimated distance and the estimated speed of the mobile communication device.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: Data of a mobile object map is received from the network node, the mobile object map indicating the locations of one or more mobile objects.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein in the mobile object map, the location of the mobile communication device is indicated as the location of the object.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform at least one of the following operations: controlling the object according to the map; navigating the object according to the map; A communication is performed for the object.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the object is one of: Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), UAV, Autonomous vehicles, pedestrian, Cyclist, or vehicle.

17. A device at a network node, the device include: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: A first matching is performed between the mobile communication device and the object within at least one sensing time slot by at least the following operations: receiving a first sensing report from a first radar, wherein the first sensing report indicates a first sensing time slot and the object sensed by the first radar and a first distance and a first speed of the object sensed in the first sensing time slot; receiving a first interactive sensing report from the mobile communication device, wherein the first interactive sensing report indicates a second sensing time slot and a first distance and a first speed of the mobile communication device estimated in the second sensing time slot; as well as determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object according to the first interaction sensing report and the first sensing report; as well as When it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object, the mobile communication device is associated with the object.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: The configuration information of the first radar is sent to the mobile communication device.

19. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: receiving, from the mobile communication device, a request for the configuration information of the first radar; and In response to the request, the configuration information is sent to the mobile communication device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the request for the configuration information of the radar comprises at least one of the following: an identification of the mobile communication device, the location of the mobile communications device, or The identifier of the first radar.

21. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: determining that the mobile communication device enters a sensing range of the first radar; and In response to determining that the mobile communication device enters the sensing range of the first radar, the configuration information is sent to the mobile communication device.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: information about one or more waveforms of sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the first radar, information about one or more sensing time slots at which the sensing radar signal is to be transmitted from the first radar, information regarding one or more frequencies of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the first radar, information about one or more beam directions of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the first radar, and Information regarding one or more transmit powers of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the first radar.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine whether the mobile communication device matches the object by at least the following manner: determining whether the second sensing time slot is the same as the first sensing time slot; and In a case where it is determined that the second sensing time slot is the same as the first sensing time slot, the first distance of the mobile communication device is compared with the first distance of the object, and the first speed of the mobile communication device is compared with the first speed of the object.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine whether the mobile communication device matches the object by at least: If the difference between the first distance of the mobile communication device and the first distance of the object is less than a first threshold, and the difference between the first speed of the mobile communication device and the first speed of the object is less than a second threshold, it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object.

25. An apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 24, wherein the first sensing report also indicates a first frequency of a sensing signal, the object is sensed based on the first frequency, and the interactive sensing report also indicates a second frequency of the sensing signal, the first distance and the first speed of the mobile communication device are estimated based on the second frequency.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine whether the mobile communication device matches the object by at least: A determination is made as to whether the second frequency is the same as the first frequency.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 26, wherein the interaction sensing report further indicates at least one of the following: An angle of the mobile communication device relative to the first radar, the location of the mobile communication device, a direction of the first speed of the mobile communication device relative to the first radar, the radial velocity of the mobile communication device relative to the first radar, or The tangential velocity of the mobile communication device relative to the first radar.

28. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: determining whether the mobile communication device is the only mobile communication device that matches the object; and In the event that it is determined that the mobile communication device is not the only mobile communication device that matches the object, further matching is performed between the mobile communication device and the object in at least one or more subsequent sensing time slots.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: When the mobile communication device is the only mobile communication device that matches the object, the mobile communication device is associated with the object.

30. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 29, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: Performing a second matching between the mobile communication device and the object within at least one sensing time slot by at least the following operations: receiving a second sensing report from a second radar, wherein the second sensing report indicates a third sensing time slot and the object sensed by the second radar and a second distance and a second speed of the object sensed in the third sensing time slot; receiving a second interactive sensing report from the mobile communication device, wherein the second interactive sensing report indicates a fourth sensing time slot and a second distance and a second speed of the mobile communication device estimated in the fourth sensing time slot; as well as determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object according to the second interaction sensing report and the second sensing report; determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first match and the second match; as well as When it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object based on the first match and the second match, the mobile communication device is associated with the object.

31. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 30, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to associate the mobile communication device with the object by at least: An identification of the mobile communication device is associated with an identification of the object.

32. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 31, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to perform at least one of the following operations via the at least mobile communication device: communicating with the object; Identify the object; or Controlling the object.

33. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 32, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: A mobile object map is established, the mobile object map indicating the location of one or more mobile objects, wherein the location of the mobile communication device is indicated in the map as the location of the object.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to at least: The mobile object map is transmitted to one or more mobile communication devices.

35. A method performed at a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being carried on an object, the method include: Receive radar configuration information; receiving a sensing radar signal from the radar according to at least the configuration information; constructing a virtual radar signal for the received sensing radar signal based at least on the configuration information and the sensing time slot in which the sensing radar signal is received; estimating a distance and a speed of the mobile communication device based on the virtual radar signal and the received sensing radar signal; and An inter-sensing report is sent to a network node, the inter-sensing report indicating the estimated distance and speed and the sensing time slot.

36. The method according to claim 35, further comprising: include: Sending a request for the configuration information of the radar to the network node; as well as The configuration information is received from the network node.

37. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 36, further comprising: include: determining that the object is sensed by the radar at the sensing time slot; as well as In response to determining that the mobile object is sensed by the radar at the sensing time slot, the virtual radar signal is constructed.

38. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: information regarding one or more waveforms of sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more sensing time slots at which the sensing radar signal is to be transmitted from the radar, information regarding one or more frequencies of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more beam directions of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, and Information regarding one or more transmit powers of the sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the radar.

39. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 38, further comprising: include: receiving data of a mobile object map from the network node, the mobile object map indicating the location of one or more objects, Wherein in the mobile object map, the location of the mobile communication device is indicated as the location of the object.

40. A method performed at a network node, the method include: A first matching is performed between the mobile communication device and the object within at least one sensing time slot by at least the following operations: receiving a first sensing report from a first radar, wherein the first sensing report indicates a first sensing time slot and the object sensed by the first radar and a first distance and a first speed of the object sensed in the first sensing time slot; receiving a first interactive sensing report from the mobile communication device, wherein the first interactive sensing report indicates a second sensing time slot and a first distance and a first speed of the mobile communication device estimated in the second sensing time slot; as well as determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object according to the first interaction sensing report and the first sensing report; When it is determined that the mobile communication device matches the object, the mobile communication device is associated with the object.

41. The method according to claim 40, further comprising: include: receiving, from the mobile communication device, a request for configuration information of the first radar; as well as In response to the request, the configuration information is sent to the mobile communication device.

42. The method according to claim 40 or 41, further comprising: include: Determining that the mobile communication device enters a sensing range of the first radar; as well as In response to determining that the mobile communication device enters the sensing range of the first radar, configuration information is sent to the mobile communication device.

43. The method according to any one of claims 41 to 42, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: information regarding one or more waveforms of sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more sensing time slots at which the sensing radar signal is to be transmitted from the radar, information regarding one or more frequencies of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, information about one or more beam directions of the sensing radar signal to be transmitted from the radar, and Information regarding one or more transmit powers of the sensing radar signals to be transmitted from the radar.

44. The method of any one of claims 40 to 43, wherein determining whether the mobile communication device matches the object include: determining whether the second sensing time slot is the same as the first sensing time slot; When it is determined that the second sensing time slot is the same as the first sensing time slot, the first distance of the mobile communication device is compared with the first distance of the object, and the first speed of the mobile communication device is compared with the first speed of the object.

45. The method according to any one of claims 40 to 44, further comprising: include: determining whether the mobile communication device is the only mobile communication device that matches the object; as well as In the event that it is determined that the mobile communication device is not the only mobile communication device that matches the object, further matching is performed between the mobile communication device and the object in at least one or more subsequent sensing time slots.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 40 to 45, further comprising: include: A mobile object map is established, the mobile object map indicating the location of one or more mobile objects, wherein the location of the mobile communication device is indicated in the map as the location of the object.

47. The method according to claim 46, further comprising: include: The mobile object map is transmitted to one or more mobile communication devices.

48. A computer readable medium having computer program code thereon, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 35 to 39.

49. A computer readable medium having computer program code thereon, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 40 to 47.

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