Moving anchor nodes for positioning operations

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, one or more processing devices may identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on a target node. The one or more processing devices may identify a set of candidate anchor locations based on location information of the target node, location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof. The one or more processing devices may instruct at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor locations. The one or more processing devices may configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the target node.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-capable wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in PRS processes and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G, enable high-accuracy positioning based on 5G. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the following summary is not to be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor is it to be considered identifying key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or delineating the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present in a concise form certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein prior to the detailed description that follows.

[0007] In one aspect, a method for positioning a target node includes: identifying a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; identifying a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; instructing at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0008] In one aspect, a method for positioning a target node includes: identifying a plurality of anchor positions of an anchor node, where the anchor node is deployed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; configuring the anchor node and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor node at the plurality of anchor positions; and determining a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0009] In one aspect, a method for positioning a target node includes: obtaining two or more relative positionings of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positionings is relative to the previous positioning among the two or more relative positionings; obtaining ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each positioning of the target node at the two or more relative positionings; and determining an absolute positioning of the target node based on the two or more relative positionings of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known locations of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0010] In one aspect, an apparatus for positioning a target node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; identify a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; instruct at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0011] In one aspect, an apparatus for positioning a target node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: identify a plurality of anchor positions of an anchor node, where the anchor node is deployed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; configure the anchor node and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor node at the plurality of anchor positions; and determine a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0012] In one aspect, an apparatus for positioning a target node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: obtain two or more relative positions of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions; obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each position of the target node at the two or more relative positions; and determine an absolute position of the target node based on the two or more relative positions of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0013] In one aspect, an apparatus for positioning a target node includes: means for identifying a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; means for identifying a set of candidate anchor positions based on the position information of the target node, the position information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; means for instructing at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and means for configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0014] In one aspect, an apparatus for positioning a target node includes: means for identifying a plurality of anchor positions of an anchor node, the anchor node being placed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; means for configuring the anchor node and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor node at the plurality of anchor positions; and means for determining a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0015] In one aspect, an apparatus for positioning a target node includes: means for obtaining two or more relative positions of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions; means for obtaining ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each position of the target node at the two or more relative positions; and means for determining an absolute position of the target node based on the two or more relative positions of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0016] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an apparatus for positioning a target node, cause the apparatus to: identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; identify a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; direct at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0017] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an apparatus for positioning a target node, cause the apparatus to: identify a plurality of anchor positions of an anchor node, where the anchor node is deployed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; configure the anchor node and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor node at the plurality of anchor positions; and determine a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an apparatus for positioning a target node, cause the apparatus to: obtain two or more relative positionings of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positionings is relative to the previous positioning of the two or more relative positionings; obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each positioning of the target node at the two or more relative positionings; and determine an absolute positioning of the target node based on the two or more relative positionings of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known locations of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0019] Based on the drawings and the detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings are presented to assist in describing various aspects of the present disclosure, and the drawings are provided for illustration only and not to limit the aspects.

[0021] Figure 1 Illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3CIt is a simplified block diagram of several exemplary aspects of components that can be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and are configured to support communication as taught herein.

[0024] Figure 4 Illustrates examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 5A and Figure 5B Illustrates various scenarios of interest for sidelink positioning only or combined Uu and sidelink positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 6 Illustrates an example method of positioning one or more target nodes according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figures 7A to 7D Shows various examples of candidate anchor positions relative to a target node according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 8 Shows an example of moving a physical anchor node to create multiple virtual anchor nodes according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 9A and Figure 9B Shows an example of moving a target node to work with only a limited number of anchor nodes according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 10 Illustrates an example method of positioning a target node according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 11 Illustrates another example method of positioning a target node according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 12 Illustrates yet another example method of positioning a target node according to aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0033] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description of various examples provided for illustrative purposes and the associated drawings. Alternative aspects can be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0034] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0035] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technologies and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on a particular application, in part on a desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0036] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein may be regarded as fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or direct a relevant processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, the various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each of the aspects described herein, a corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described action."

[0037] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “access terminal” or “AT”, “client device”, “wireless device”, “subscriber equipment”, “subscriber terminal”, “subscriber station”, “user terminal” or “UT”, “mobile device”, “mobile terminal”, “mobile station” or variants thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to an external network such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are possible, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards, etc.).

[0038] A base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station can be mainly used to support wireless access of UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, a base station can only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE can transmit signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term “traffic channel (TCH)” can refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0039] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Since, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, a reference to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0040] In some specific implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may send reference signals to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending signals to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0041] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter can send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver can be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, where the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal, the RF signal can also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal".

[0042] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0043] The base stations 102 may together form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, the communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via a direct connection 128), where intermediate nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0044] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: transferring user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / 5GC) on a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0045] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographical coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports the logical communication entity. In addition, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0046] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 can partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas in the geographical coverage area 110 can substantially overlap with the larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") can have a geographical coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographical coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network can also include a home eNB (HeNB), which can provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0047] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 can include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 can use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 can be through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers can be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers can be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0048] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0049] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technologies and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may enhance the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed-assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0050] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with a UE 182. The extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz, with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio bands has high path loss and a relatively short distance. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distance. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more of the base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0051] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal omnidirectionally, i.e., in all directions. With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationships such that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation while canceling in the undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0052] Transmit beams can be quasi co-located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network node are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0053] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a specific direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when the receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains in other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0054] Transmit beams and receive beams can be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that the parameters of a second beam (e.g., transmit beam or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. Then, the UE can form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0055] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0056] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band. Regarding FR2, a similar naming issue sometimes occurs, which is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz – 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the “millimeter wave” band.

[0057] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designations FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF band.

[0058] Taking the above aspects into account, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if terms such as “sub-6 GHz” are used in this document, they can generally represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if terms such as “millimeter wave” are used in this document, they can generally represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0059] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment process or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment process in that cell. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same holds for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a certain base station communicates, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0060] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0061] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCell for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCell for the UE 164.

[0062] In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capabilities (SL-UE) may communicate with the base station 102 via the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station) through the communication link 120. The SL-UEs (e.g., the UE 164, the UE 182) may also directly communicate with each other via the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capabilities) through the wireless sidelink 160. The wireless sidelink (or simply referred to as "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard, which allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. The sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs that utilize sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102, or for other reasons may not be able to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, each group of SL-UEs that communicate via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, the sidelink communication is performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0063] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. The "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (especially those employing small cell access points) have recently extended their operations into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, etc.

[0064] It should be noted that although Figure 1 only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and 182), any of the illustrated UEs can be an SL-UE. In addition, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) is capable of beamforming. In cases where the SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming over the sidelink 160.

[0065] In Figure 1 the example of, the illustrated UEs (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any of the UEs shown as a single UE 104 in the figure can receive signals 124 from one or more space vehicles (SVs) 112 in Earth orbit (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SV 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system where the UE 104 can use it as an independent source of position information. A satellite positioning system generally includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) that are positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its position on or above the Earth at least in part based on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically send signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code with a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitters can sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UE 104 can include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signals 124 in order to derive geographical location information from the SV 112.

[0066] In a satellite positioning system, the use of the signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise enable the use of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS can include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-Functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0067] In one aspect, the SV 112 can additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTN). In an NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway) which in turn is connected to elements in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in the 5GC. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately provides access to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, instead of or in addition to communication signals from the ground base station 102, the UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112.

[0068] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which is indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In Figure 1 the example of, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs in UE 104 that is connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 that is connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® etc.

[0069] Figure 2A Illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can functionally be regarded as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which cooperate to form a core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to 5GC 210, and specifically connect to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214 respectively. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 can have one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. Either (or both) of gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0070] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Additionally, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0071] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. The 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210) can be functionally regarded as the control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and the user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which cooperate to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of Short Message Service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives the key from the SEAF, and the SCM uses this key to derive the access network specific key. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0072] The functions of the UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for in-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for the interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling of the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the passing of location service messages between the UE 204 and a location server (such as the SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0073] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of the user plane functions, traffic steering configuration at the UPF 262 for routing traffic to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0074] Another optional aspect may include the LMF 270, which may communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, but the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and an external client (such as a third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0075] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may communicate with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0076] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0077] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided between the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including passing user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228s is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, SDAP layer, and PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0078] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C illustrates that can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2BSeveral example components (represented by corresponding boxes) of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as a private network) depicted herein support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components may be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Additionally, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0079] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, receiving, measuring, tuning, blocking transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one specified RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over an interested wireless communication medium (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0080] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each also include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over an interested wireless communication medium via at least one specified RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth ® , Zigbee ® , Z-Wave® , PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) to communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) components (e.g., components for transmission, components for reception, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth ® transceivers, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0081] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be respectively connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to respectively determine the positions of the UE 302 and the base station 304.

[0082] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390 respectively, and the one or more network transceivers provide components (such as components for sending, components for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (such as other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0083] The transceiver may be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (such as transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some specific implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (such as implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some specific implementations may include separate transmitter circuits and separate receiver circuits, or may be implemented in other ways in other specific implementations. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (such as, in some specific implementations, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuit (such as transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (such as UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (such as UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit may share the same plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than receive and transmit both at the same time. The wireless transceiver (such as WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) for performing various measurements, etc.

[0084] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., in some specific implementations, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, as well as network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific implementations) can generally be referred to as "transceivers", "at least one transceiver", or "one or more transceivers". Thus, it can be inferred whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0085] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, as well as for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can provide components for processing, such as components for determining, for calculating, for receiving, for sending, for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0086] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 respectively include memory circuits that implement memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), and the memory circuits are used to maintain information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Memories 340, 386, and 396 can thus provide components for storage, components for retrieval, components for maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may respectively include anchor placement components 342, 388, and 398. Anchor placement components 342, 388, and 398 can be hardware circuits that are respectively part of processors 332, 384, and 394 or coupled to these processors, and when executed, these hardware circuits cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, anchor placement components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., as part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, anchor placement components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules respectively stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, and when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), these memory modules cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A Illustrates possible locations of anchor placement component 342, which can be, for example, part of memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 3B Illustrates possible locations of anchor placement component 388, which can be, for example, part of memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 3C Illustrates possible locations of anchor placement component 398, which can be, for example, part of memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component.

[0087] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information unrelated to movement data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, sensors 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Additionally, sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, sensors 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0088] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing indications to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0089] Referring in more detail to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 may be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, and media access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with the broadcast of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0090] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 disposes of the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using the inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator may be used to determine the encoding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals transmitted by the UE 302 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0091] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives signals via its respective antennas 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then uses the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on the channel estimates computed by the channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals initially transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0092] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0093] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission performed by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0094] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 304 can be used by transmitter 314 to select appropriate decoding and modulation schemes and assist in spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 can modulate RF carriers with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0095] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functionality at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its respective antennas 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0096] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. The IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0097] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3Cis shown as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C the various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choices, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A the case of, a particular implementation of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop computer may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor 344, and so on. In another example, in Figure 3B the case of, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, and so on. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of the various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0098] The various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In one aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may respectively form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306. For example, in the case where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication between the different logical entities.

[0099] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C the components of may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit can use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide such functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being "performed by the UE", "performed by the base station", "performed by the network entity", etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, anchor placement components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0100] In some designs, the network entity 306 can be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 can operate differently from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., the NG RAN 220 and / or the 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 can be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0101] NR supports a variety of cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 4Examples of various positioning methods in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure illustrated by scenario 410, the UE measures the difference in the time of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from a pair of base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements), and reports these differences to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives in the assistance data the identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., serving base station) and a plurality of non-reference base stations. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0102] For DL-AoD positioning illustrated by scenario 420, the positioning entity uses a measurement report from the UE of received signal strength measurements on a plurality of downlink transmission beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0103] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to a plurality of base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and a plurality of non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the locations and relative timings of the involved base stations the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)). Based on the received-to-received (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use TDOA to estimate the location of the UE.

[0104] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink reception beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles of the reception beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0105] Downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods include: enhanced cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round-trip time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). During the RTT process, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or an SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or a PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is referred to as the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be made or adjusted to include only the time difference between the received signal and the nearest time slot boundary of the transmitted signal. Then, the two entities can transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip propagation time (i.e., the RTT) between the two entities based on these two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity can transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, and then the other entity calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined based on the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi-RTT positioning illustrated by scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or a base station) performs an RTT positioning process with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) so that the position of the first entity can be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on the distances to the second entities and the known positions of the second entities. The RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve the position accuracy, as illustrated by scenario 440.

[0106] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, the timing advance (TA), and the identifiers of the detected neighboring base stations, the estimated timing, and the signal strength. Then, the position of the UE is estimated based on this information and the known positions of the base stations.

[0107] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to a UE. For example, the assistance data may include: an identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) from which to measure reference signals, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., including the number of consecutive time slots including PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots including PRS, silence sequences, hopping sequences, reference signal identifiers, reference signal bandwidths, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may directly originate from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE itself may be able to detect adjacent network nodes without using assistance data.

[0108] In the case of an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty or search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be + / - 500 microseconds (µs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / - 32 µs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / - 8 µs.

[0109] A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as positioning estimate, location, positioning, position fix, fix, etc. A location estimate may be geodesic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or it may be civic and include a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A location estimate may be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including the area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with a certain specified or default confidence).

[0110] NR supports or implements various sidelink positioning techniques. Figure 5AIllustrates various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only positioning or combined Uu and sidelink positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure. In scenario 510, at least one peer UE with a known location can improve the Uu-based positioning of a target UE (e.g., multi-cell RTT, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), etc.) by providing additional anchors (e.g., using sidelink round-trip time (RTT) (SL-RTT)). In scenario 520, a low-end (e.g., low-capacity or "RedCap") target UE can obtain assistance from a high-end UE to determine its location using, for example, sidelink positioning and ranging procedures with the high-end UE. Compared to the low-end UE, the high-end UE can have more capabilities, such as more sensors, faster processors, more memory, more antenna elements, higher transmit power capabilities, access to additional frequency bands, or any combination thereof. In scenario 530, a relay UE (e.g., with a known location) participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE without performing uplink positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission via the Uu interface. Scenario 540 illustrates the combined positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 540, two UEs with unknown locations can be jointly positioned under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by leveraging constraints from nearby UEs.

[0111] Figure 5B Illustrates additional scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or combined Uu and sidelink positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure. In scenario 550, UEs for public safety (e.g., used by police, firefighters, etc.) can perform peer-to-peer (P2P) positioning and ranging for public safety and other purposes. For example, in scenario 550, the public safety UEs can be outside the coverage of the network and use sidelink positioning techniques to determine the location or relative distance and relative positioning between the public safety UEs. Similarly, scenario 560 shows multiple UEs outside the coverage and using sidelink positioning techniques (such as SL-RTT) to determine the location or relative distance and relative positioning.

[0112] In some aspects, a UE or other wireless device can be configured as a target node, and the positioning of the target node will be determined by performing a positioning estimation process. In some aspects, the target node can be referred to as a target UE, target wireless device, target wireless node, or simply target in the present disclosure. In some aspects, a base station, UE, SL-UE, roadside unit (RSU), or other wireless device can be configured as an anchor node with a known location and capable of performing positioning operations with the target (such as the transmission and / or reception of reference signals between the target and the anchor). In some aspects, the anchor node can be referred to as an anchor device or simply anchor in the present disclosure, and the location of the anchor node is referred to as the anchor location in the present disclosure.

[0113] The quality of the estimated localization can be quantified using a metric known as the Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP), which can correspond to the impact on the accuracy of the localization estimation process due to the geometric distribution of the anchor nodes relative to the target node. In some aspects, the calculation of the GDOP metric can use the positions of the anchor nodes and the approximate position of the target node.

[0114] For example, the localization operations with various anchor nodes can have corresponding accuracies based on the capabilities of the anchor nodes, the channel conditions, and / or the surrounding environment where the anchor nodes are located. When performing the localization estimation process of the target node based on a combination of the localization operations with the anchor nodes, the combined localization accuracy can vary based on the relative geometric relationship between the anchor nodes and the target node. In some aspects, a low GDOP value indicates better localization estimation accuracy due to a wider angular separation between the anchor nodes used to calculate the localization of the target node. In some examples, when the anchor nodes are close together relative to the target node, the geometric distribution of the anchor nodes is considered less preferred and may result in a higher GDOP value. In some examples, when the anchor nodes are spread apart relative to the target node, the geometric distribution of the anchor nodes is considered more preferred and may result in a lower GDOP value.

[0115] In some aspects, the placement or movement of the anchor nodes used to localize one or more target nodes can be controlled to improve the performance of the localization estimation process or to meet the requirements of various end - use cases (e.g., Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in industrial facilities). The measurements for the localization estimation process can be taken during and / or after the movement of the anchor nodes. In some aspects, moving an anchor node to adjust the placement of the anchor node can improve the channel conditions, avoid blockages, or improve the GDOP of the localization estimation of the target node. In some aspects, the movement of one anchor node can be used to create several virtual anchor nodes (i.e., the same anchor node performs measurements at different anchor positions at different times) in order to improve the GDOP (e.g., corresponding to a smaller GDOP value).

[0116] Thus, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, candidate anchor positions of the anchor nodes can be determined based on the position information of the target node and the position information of the anchor nodes, and the placement of the anchor nodes can be adjusted by instructing at least a subset of the anchor nodes to move based on the candidate anchor positions. Thus, the localization estimation process of the target node can be performed with the anchor nodes at the anchor positions, which provide improved localization performance and / or improved accuracy of the estimated localization.

[0117] Figure 6Illustrates an example method 600 for locating one or more target nodes in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, method 600 may be performed by a network entity (e.g., any one of the network entities, LMF, SLP, or servers described herein), a UE (e.g., any one of the UEs described herein), or a TRP or base station (e.g., any one of the TRPs or base stations described herein).

[0118] As a non-limiting example for illustration in the present disclosure, method 600 may be performed in a mixed environment including different types of nodes, including static or mobile nodes, nodes with known or unknown locations, anchor or non-anchor nodes, and / or nodes that may or may not be instructed to move for the positioning estimation process. In some aspects, for static and mobile nodes, the accuracy of the known location of the nodes may vary. In some aspects, an anchor node may be a UE, a gNB, or an SL-UE. The location of the anchor node may be known (e.g., when the anchor node is a positioning reference unit) or may be determined before and / or as part of the positioning estimation process of one or more target nodes.

[0119] At operation 610, the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station identifies a set of candidate anchor nodes based on one or more target nodes, such as the identity, general location, last known location, proximity, and / or connectivity of one or more target nodes, as further explained below. In some aspects, the processing device may first identify one or more target nodes to be located. The processing device may also identify candidate anchor nodes to be used to locate one or more target nodes.

[0120] In some aspects, operation 610 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor placement component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 610. In some aspects, operation 610 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor placement component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 610. In some aspects, operation 610 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor placement component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 610.

[0121] In some aspects, the target node to be located may be referred to as the primary target and may be specified by a final application (e.g., an application of V2X, industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), etc.).

[0122] In some aspects, a candidate anchor node may be referred to as a secondary target and may be determined by a positioning engine executed by a processing device to assist in the positioning estimation process of a primary target. In some aspects, identifying a set of candidate anchor nodes may be performed based on one or more last recorded positions of one or more target nodes, one or more established communication connections with one or more target nodes, one or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target nodes, an estimated GDOP of the positioning estimate of the target nodes, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes (e.g., gNB, UE, SL-UE, RUS, etc.), the node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes (e.g., the ability to move or mobility capabilities), or a combination thereof.

[0123] For example, a candidate anchor node may be a node near a previously known approximate location of one or more target nodes. The proximity of the candidate anchor node to one or more target nodes may be based on actual location information, RSRP measurements, or established connections with one or more target nodes or other nodes adjacent to the one or more target nodes.

[0124] In some aspects, a server (e.g., LMF) may act as an LCS client for the candidate anchor node to initiate a positioning session for the candidate anchor node. In some aspects, when the anchor node is a positioning reference unit (PRU), even if the position of the PRU may be known, the server may still initiate a positioning session for the PRU to obtain measurements for various operations of method 600.

[0125] In some aspects, the candidate anchor node may be based on a proposed anchor node provided by one or more target nodes or other nodes (e.g., by a gNB, RSU, or a central UE for signaling aggregation). Additionally, in some aspects, the candidate anchor node may also include any other node with a known positioning, such as a gNB in NR Uu positioning.

[0126] At operation 620, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station identifies a set of candidate anchor positions based on at least the position information of one or more target nodes, the position information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the set of candidate anchor positions may be determined with or without assuming any or all of the availability and current position information of the candidate anchor nodes. In some aspects, the set of candidate anchor positions may be specifically used to deploy anchor nodes in places where they do not currently exist or to move anchor nodes from their current positions.

[0127] In some aspects, operation 620 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor placement component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 620. In some aspects, operation 620 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor placement component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 620. In some aspects, operation 620 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor placement component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 620.

[0128] In some aspects, the set of candidate anchor positions may be identified based on an estimated GDOP of the localization estimate of one or more target nodes, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the network topology of the set of candidate anchor nodes, line-of-sight (LOS) conditions, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the location information of one or more target nodes may indicate a rough location of the one or more target nodes (e.g., based on established communication with a base station or a general area based on a previously determined localization estimate). In some aspects, the location information of the candidate anchor nodes may indicate a rough location of these candidate anchor nodes based on UE reports indicating the presence and / or relative localization estimates of other UEs.

[0129] In some aspects, the knowledge of the parameters and information for identifying the set of candidate anchor positions may be extracted based on existing reporting procedures (by the UE and / or TRP or base station performing operation 620 or by another device reporting to the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 620), or obtained in response to an explicit request (e.g., by the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 620).

[0130] In some aspects, identifying the set of candidate anchor positions may be based on a distribution pattern of GDOP for improving the localization estimate of one or more target nodes. Figures 7A to 7D Various examples of candidate anchor positions relative to target nodes in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0131] According to Figure 7AIn the example shown, in some aspects, if all candidate anchor nodes 712a, 712b, and 712c of the target node 716 are on one side of the target node 716, the candidate anchor position 722 can be on the other side of the target node 716. In some aspects, these sides can correspond to above, below, or any given direction. For example, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 can identify a region 710 that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes 712a, 712b, and 712c, and identify a reference point 714 of the region 710. The network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 can identify a candidate anchor position 722 that is on the opposite side of the reference point 714 with respect to the target node 716.

[0132] According to Figure 7B In the example shown, in some aspects, if all candidate anchor nodes 732a, 732b, 732c, and 732d of the target node 736 are on one side of the target node 736, the candidate anchor position 742 can be at a distance or height that is different from the distances or heights of the candidate anchor nodes 732a, 732b, 732c, and 732d with respect to the target node 736. In some aspects, adding a drone or a height-adjustable robotic arm as an anchor node at candidate anchor positions at different heights can improve vertical positioning accuracy. For example, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 can identify a region 730 that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes 732a, 732b, 732c, and 732d, and identify a reference point 734 of the region 730. In some examples, the distances between the candidate anchor nodes 732a, 732b, 732c, and 732d and the target node 736 are approximately the same as a reference distance R1 of the reference point 734 with respect to the target node 736. The network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 can identify a candidate anchor position 742 that is at a distance R2 that is different from the reference distance R1 of the reference point 734 with respect to the target node 736.

[0133] In some aspects, the identified candidate anchor nodes can include those identified based on Figure 7A and Figure 7B to identify those anchor nodes.

[0134] According to Figure 7CIn the example shown, in some aspects, there may be two clusters 752a and 752b of sidelink UEs (which may be all or partially identified as candidate anchor nodes), and these two clusters have good connectivity between any pair of UEs within each cluster, and these clusters are close to each other but have only a few connections across clusters. In some aspects, it may be desirable to deploy additional anchor nodes at the anchor positions 762a and 762b between the clusters to merge the two clusters 752a and 752b into a single large cluster. For example, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 may identify a first region 750a of the first cluster 752a that encompasses a set of candidate anchor nodes, and identify a second region 750b of the second cluster 752b that encompasses a set of candidate anchor nodes. A network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 may identify at least one candidate anchor position among the candidate anchor positions 762a and 762b between the first region 750a and the second region 750b for deploying an anchor node.

[0135] According to Figure 7D In the example shown, in some aspects, the set of candidate anchor nodes may include anchor nodes 772a, 772b, and 772c for a positioning estimation process of a target node 776. It may be desirable to move a potential anchor node (e.g., the movable anchor node 772a) to clear a known blockage 778 in a direct path 784 between the anchor node 772a and the target node 776. For example, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 may identify a candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes 772a that does not have a line-of-sight path 784 to the target node 776. A network entity, UE, or TRP or base station that performs operation 620 may identify a candidate anchor position 782 based on the mobility capabilities of the candidate anchor node 772a, where the identified candidate anchor position 782 has a line-of-sight path 786 to the target node 786.

[0136] Return reference Figure 6 , after operation 620, method 600 may proceed to operation 625. At operation 625, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station determines whether to modify the set of candidate anchor nodes in view of the set of candidate anchor positions or whether to modify the set of candidate anchor positions in view of the set of candidate anchor nodes, at least based on the mobility capabilities of the candidate anchor nodes. For example, if none of the candidate anchor nodes are movable or suitable to be moved to a corresponding one of the candidate anchor positions, the set of candidate anchor nodes or the set of candidate anchor positions may be modified, and method 600 may proceed to operation 610 or 620 (path "yes") to ensure the consistency of the set of candidate anchor nodes and the set of candidate anchor positions. Otherwise, method 600 may proceed to operation 630 (path "no").

[0137] For example, as Figure 7A and Figure 7BAs shown, if there is no mobile anchor node or no anchor node with the mobility capability to move to the identified anchor positions 722 or 742, the set of candidate anchor nodes may be updated (e.g., method 600 proceeds to repeat operation 610) to select an anchor node for the anchor position, even if such a new anchor node may be sub-optimal in other metrics such as RSRP. In some aspects, if there is no anchor node available to move to the identified anchor position, method 600 may continue to repeat operation 620 to update the candidate anchor positions to reconcile the candidate anchor nodes with the limitations of the mobility of the anchor nodes.

[0138] In some aspects, operation 625 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor placement component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 625. In some aspects, operation 625 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor placement component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 625. In some aspects, operation 625 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor placement component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 625.

[0139] In some aspects, method 600 may include one or more iterations of operations 610, 620, and 625. In some aspects, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing method 600 may ignore a possible inconsistency between the set of candidate anchor nodes and the set of candidate anchor positions, and operation 625 may be omitted.

[0140] At operation 630, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station instructs at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions. In some aspects, the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 630 may determine which anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, and / or the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes.

[0141] In some aspects, operation 630 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor placement component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 630. In some aspects, operation 630 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor placement component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 630. In some aspects, operation 630 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor placement component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 630.

[0142] In one example, an anchor node currently at an undesired location (e.g., based on a set of candidate anchor locations) may be moved to a corresponding candidate anchor location determined for those anchor nodes. In one example, for candidate anchor locations not identified for any particular anchor node, an anchor node from the set of candidate anchor nodes that is willing and able to be moved may be selected to be moved to such an anchor location. In some aspects, the selection may be based on multiple criteria, including whether the selected anchor node is already scheduled for use at its current location, whether the movement of the selected anchor node affects the scheduled use, and / or whether another node may be used to occupy the anchor location, taking into account the route, distance, and / or time it takes for another anchor to reach the anchor location.

[0143] After identifying the anchor nodes to be moved and the corresponding candidate anchor locations, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station may command or instruct the anchor nodes to move to the corresponding candidate anchor locations. In some aspects, the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 630 may determine one or more movement plans for corresponding ones or more of the candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor locations. The network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 630 may determine the priority of one or more movement plans based on factors including the impact of one or more of the candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the accuracy of positioning the target node, conflict avoidance for one or more movement plans (e.g., in an IIoT scenario), or a combination thereof. The network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 630 may determine the execution sequence of one or more movement plans or the omission of a part of one or more movement plans based on the priority.

[0144] At operation 635, a network entity, UE, or TRP or base station determines whether a subset of the set of mobile candidate anchor nodes as indicated at 630 has failed. In some aspects, operation 635 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor placement component 398, any or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 635. In some aspects, operation 635 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor placement component 342, any or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 635. In some aspects, operation 635 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor placement component 388, any or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 635.

[0145] In some aspects, the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 635 may receive an indication from a candidate anchor node in the subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes, where the indication may indicate whether it was successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before a positioning time scheduled to perform a positioning estimation process for one or more target nodes. Based on the indication indicating that it was not successful to move the candidate anchor node before the positioning time, method 600 may proceed to operation 610 or 620 to update the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof (path "yes"). In some aspects, based on the indication indicating that it was not successful to move the candidate anchor node before the positioning time, method 600 may proceed to operation 630 to perform an alternative or backup set of movement plans without returning to operation 610 or 620 (path "yes"). Otherwise, method 600 may proceed to operation 640 (path "no").

[0146] In some aspects, the indicated movement of the candidate anchor node may be confirmed by various methods, such as based on an external control system, or based on whether an AGV has reached a specific charging dock or other sensors installed in the environment. In some aspects, operation 635 may be performed after operation 640, where the success or failure of the movement plan may be confirmed based on measurements from positioning operations performed with the anchor nodes (e.g., based on reception / transmission of reference signals for positioning).

[0147] In some aspects, method 600 may include one or more iterations of operations 610, 620, 630, and / or 635. In some aspects, the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing method 600 may ignore a possible failure of the movement of the candidate anchor node, and operation 635 may be omitted.

[0148] At operation 640, a network entity, a UE, or a TRP or base station configures a set of candidate anchor nodes and one or more target nodes for a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes. In some aspects, operation 640 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, a memory 396, and / or an anchor placement component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 640. In some aspects, operation 640 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, a memory 340, and / or an anchor placement component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 640. In some aspects, operation 640 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, a memory 386, and / or an anchor placement component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 640.

[0149] In some aspects, some or all of the anchor nodes and / or the one or more target nodes may be configured as a transmitting node and / or a receiving node for a positioning reference signal (e.g., PRS) based on one or more positioning methods, the one or more positioning methods including a TDOA-based positioning method, an RTT-based positioning method, an AoD-based method, or any combination thereof. A measurement report of the positioning reference signal may be processed by a server (e.g., a UE-assisted positioning process handled by an LMF), a target node (e.g., a UE-based positioning process handled by the target node), or a wireless device other than the target node (e.g., a sidelink positioning process handled by an SL-UE). In some aspects, a network entity (e.g., an LMF) may schedule the transmission of the positioning reference signal at a future positioning time at which the positioning operation will be performed. In some aspects, the future positioning time may take into account the time required to move and place the candidate anchor nodes at operation 630.

[0150] In some aspects, when performing a periodic or repeated positioning estimation process, the operations of method 600 may be performed recursively. In some aspects, the movement plan of the anchor nodes may be planned in advance considering the anchor positions of one or more subsequent repetitions of method 600.

[0151] In one example, configuring a set of candidate anchor nodes and one or more target nodes to perform a positioning operation at positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes may include configuring the one or more target nodes to perform a first positioning estimation process of the target nodes (e.g., a positioning process based on a UE). In another example, configuring a set of candidate anchor nodes and one or more target nodes to perform a positioning operation at positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes may include: configuring the target nodes to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, where the first measurement report or the second measurement report enables the server to perform a second positioning estimation process of the target nodes (e.g., a UE-assisted positioning process). In yet another example, configuring a set of candidate anchor nodes and one or more target nodes to perform a positioning operation at positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes may include configuring the target nodes to send a reference signal to another target node, receive a reference signal from another target node, send a third measurement report to another target node, or a combination thereof, where the reference signal or the third measurement report enables the other target node to perform a third positioning estimation process of the target nodes (e.g., a sidelink positioning process).

[0152] In one example, configuring a set of candidate anchor nodes and one or more target nodes to perform a positioning operation at positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes may include a combination of a positioning process based on a UE, a UE-assisted positioning process, and / or a sidelink positioning process.

[0153] In one example, the network entity, UE, or TRP or base station performing operation 640 may receive a measurement report from one or more target nodes or at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, where the measurement report includes measurements of wireless signals between the one or more target nodes and at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes (e.g., based on reception / transmission of reference signals for positioning). The network entity, UE, or TRP or base station (e.g., a location server) performing operation 640 may determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0154] In addition, given the potentially dynamic situation where the placement of a given anchor node is adjustable and / or controllable, the reports of measurements and indications of expected transmissions may be marked with timestamps and / or other identification information indicating information about the positioning of the nodes involved in those measurements / sent transmissions. In some aspects, the information about the positioning of a node may include absolute positioning or relative positioning, with or without uncertainty information. Relative positioning may be relative to other nodes or relative to the previous position of the same node (at a previous timestamp and / or position ID).

[0155] In one example, configuring a set of candidate anchor nodes and one or more target nodes for performing a positioning operation at positioning time to determine a positioning estimate for the one or more target nodes may include configuring the target nodes to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server. At least one of the first measurement report or the second measurement report may include a timestamp, information about the positioning of the target node or the anchor nodes involved in the measurement included in the at least one measurement report, or both.

[0156] In some aspects, operations 620, 630, and 640 may be configured to move an anchor node to create a number of virtual anchor nodes in order to improve GDOP. In some aspects, method 600 may further include moving one of the one or more target nodes in order to improve the accuracy of positioning.

[0157] Figure 8 An example of moving a physical anchor node to create multiple virtual anchor nodes in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some aspects, the set of candidate anchor nodes may include only one anchor node, and the set of candidate anchor positions may include multiple anchor positions where the anchor node is placed at different time points. In some aspects, although the set of candidate anchor nodes may include multiple anchor nodes, one or more of the anchor nodes may still be used to create new virtual anchor nodes.

[0158] In some aspects, as Figure 8 shown, the positioning estimation process of the target node may be performed based on measurements collected over multiple movements across one or more anchor nodes (e.g., based on reception / transmission of a reference signal for positioning). For example, when a single anchor node 802 (such as an AGV) of the target node 806 moves to multiple known anchor positions 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d and performs PRS transmission and / or reception at each of the anchor positions, these PRS transmissions and / or receptions at the anchor positions effectively make the single anchor node into multiple virtual anchor nodes at the anchor positions. In Figure 8 the example shown, the anchor positions 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d may correspond to charging stations of the AGV 802, and the AGV 802 may be used as an anchor node for the target node 806. The AGV 802 may access the charging stations at the anchor positions 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d and perform PRS transmission and / or reception at each of the charging stations. During a positioning window (e.g., a measurement gap, a PRS instance, a processing window without a measurement gap), when the target node 806 can be considered to be at the same location or not moving substantially, the AGV 802 may effectively be used as a virtual anchor node at each of the charging stations.

[0159] Figure 9A and Figure 9B illustrates an example of a mobile target node operating with only a limited number of anchor nodes, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the target node may move or be directed to move from an initial location to one or more other locations at one or more respective time points. The relative location of the target node may be obtained based on one or more relative movements performed by the target node. The location estimate of the target node may be based on ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements of the wireless target node relative to the anchor nodes at respective locations, the known locations of the anchor nodes, and information on relative location.

[0160] In some aspects, as Figure 9A shown, the location estimation process of target node 910 may be performed based on the movement of the target node, where the target node 910 (e.g., an AGV) may move to multiple locations 912a, 912b, and 912c, and the relative location of the target node between locations 912a, 912b, and 912c may be obtained based on relative movements performed by the target node. The target node may perform reception of a reference signal, transmission of a reference signal, measurement of a reference signal, or a combination thereof, at each of the multiple locations 912a, 912b, and 912c. This may enable the location estimation process to have improved accuracy with the same or fewer anchor nodes.

[0161] For example, when a location estimate of an AGV 910 (as the target node) is to be determined but only a limited number of anchor nodes are available (e.g., two anchor nodes, including anchor node 920a at location 922a and anchor node 920b at location 922b). In this example, the AGV 910 may know its location relative to its past location (e.g., relative movements 914 and 916) with sufficient accuracy based on one or more sensors mounted on the AGV 910, such as an odometer and / or a steering angle. The AGV 910 may move to different locations 912a, 912b, and 912c, and perform ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof, at each of the locations 912a, 912b, and 912c. Such movements may include horizontal and / or vertical movements.

[0162] As Figure 9BAs shown, as a non - limiting example, using a multi - dimensional scaling (MDS) algorithm, the coordinates of 912a, 912b, and 912c can be determined based on the relative positioning between 912a, 912b, and 912c (e.g., relative movements 914 and 916 performed by the target node) and relative ranging or positioning measurements of the AGV 910 at different positions 912a, 912b, and 912c with respect to the relative ranging or positioning between the anchor nodes 920a and 920b at the anchor positions 922a and 922b. Of course, in some examples, the relative ranging or positioning measurements can be performed based on an algorithm different from the MDS algorithm. Thus, the movement of the AGV 910 can create spatial diversity for the positioning estimation process. In some examples, the ranging or positioning measurements between the AGV 910 and the anchor nodes 920a and 920b can include ranging based on PRS and / or RTT measurements, angle (AoA / AoD) measurements, time - difference measurements, or a combination of both. In some aspects, even when a single positioning of the target node may be sufficient in the case of only a single anchor node, using multiple positionings of the target node can further improve the positioning accuracy.

[0163] Figure 10 Illustrates an example method 1000 for positioning a target node according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, method 1000 can be executed by one or more processing devices (such as a network entity (e.g., any of the network entities, LMF, SLP, or servers described herein), a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), or a TRP or base station (e.g., any of the TRPs or base stations described herein)).

[0164] At 1010, one or more processing devices identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node, such as based on operations 610 regarding Figure 6 the illustrated conditions and factors. In some aspects, operation 1010 can be executed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, a memory 396, and / or an anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which can be considered components for performing operation 1010. In some aspects, operation 1010 can be executed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, a memory 340, and / or an anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which can be considered components for performing operation 1010. In some aspects, operation 1010 can be executed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, a memory 386, and / or an anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which can be considered components for performing operation 1010.

[0165] At 1020, one or more processing devices identify a set of candidate anchor locations based at least on location information of a target node, location information of a set of candidate anchor nodes, mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, operation 1020 may correspond to operation 620 as illustrated with respect to Figure 6 In some aspects, operation 1020 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1020. In some aspects, operation 1020 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1020. In some aspects, operation 1020 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1020.

[0166] At 1030, one or more processing devices direct at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor locations. In some aspects, operation 1030 may correspond to operation 630 as illustrated with respect to Figure 6 In some aspects, operation 1030 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1030. In some aspects, operation 1030 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1030. In some aspects, operation 1030 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1030.

[0167] At 1040, one or more processing devices configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node. In some aspects, operation 1040 may correspond to operation 640 as illustrated with respect to Figure 6The illustrated operation 640. In some aspects, operation 1040 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor placement component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1040. In some aspects, operation 1040 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor placement component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1040. In some aspects, operation 1040 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor placement component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1040.

[0168] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1000 is to determine and control the placement and / or movement of an anchor node and / or a target node and to instruct the anchor node and / or the target node to move accordingly in order to improve the positioning performance and / or the accuracy of the estimated positioning for the target node. In some aspects, the placement and movement may be used to improve GDOP, to create virtual anchor nodes, to create spatial diversity, or any combination thereof.

[0169] Figure 11 Another example method 1100 for positioning a target node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some aspects, method 1100 may correspond to the example as referred to Figure 8 as shown, and the target node may correspond to Figure 8 the target node 806 in. In some aspects, method 1100 may be performed by one or more processing devices (such as a network entity (e.g., any one of the network entities, LMF, SLP, or servers described herein), a UE (e.g., any one of the UEs described herein), or a TRP or a base station (e.g., any one of the TRPs or base stations described herein)).

[0170] At operation 1110, one or more processing devices identify a plurality of anchor positions of an anchor node, the anchor node being placed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points. For example, the anchor node (e.g., AGV 802) may move or be instructed to move to a plurality of known anchor positions 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d. In Figure 8 the example shown, the anchor positions 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d may correspond to the charging stations of AGV 802. A network entity, a UE (e.g., the target node itself or an adjacent UE), or a TRP or a base station may obtain information about the anchor positions 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d.

[0171] In some aspects, operation 1110 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1110. In some aspects, operation 1110 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1110. In some aspects, operation 1110 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1110.

[0172] At operation 1120, one or more processing devices configure an anchor node and a target node for a positioning operation based on anchor nodes at a plurality of anchor positions. For example, a network entity, a UE (e.g., the target node itself or an adjacent UE), or a TRP or base station may configure an anchor node (e.g., AGV 802) and / or a target node (e.g., target node 806) to perform PRS transmission and / or reception when the anchor node is at each of the anchor positions. In some aspects, the positioning operation may include performing ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and the anchor node based on one or more positioning reference signals between the target node and the anchor node. These PRS transmissions and / or receptions at the anchor positions effectively make a single anchor node into multiple virtual anchor nodes at the anchor position. In some aspects, the positioning operation may be based on a ranging or positioning measurement process between AGV 802 and target node 806, including ranging based on PRS and / or RTT measurements, angle (AoA / AoD) measurements, or a combination of both.

[0173] In some aspects, operation 1120 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1120. In some aspects, operation 1120 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1020. In some aspects, operation 1120 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1120.

[0174] At operation 1130, one or more processing devices determine a positioning estimate for a target node based on the results of a positioning operation. Within a positioning window (e.g., a measurement gap, a PRS instance, a processing window without a measurement gap), the AGV 802 can effectively be used as a virtual anchor node at each charging station in the charging station when the target node 806 can be considered to be at the same location or not substantially moving. Thus, in some examples, a network entity, a UE (e.g., the target node itself or an adjacent UE), or a TRP or base station can determine an estimated positioning of the target node by using anchor nodes at different anchor positions as different virtual anchor nodes.

[0175] In some aspects, operation 1130 can be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, a memory 396, and / or an anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing operation 1130. In some aspects, operation 1130 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, a memory 340, and / or an anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing operation 1130. In some aspects, operation 1130 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, a memory 386, and / or an anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing operation 1130.

[0176] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1100 is to utilize the relative movement between the target node and the anchor nodes in order to improve the positioning performance and / or the accuracy of the estimated positioning for the target node. In some aspects, multiple anchor positions of the anchor nodes can be known, and the multiple anchor positions can create spatial diversity (e.g., by effectively creating virtual anchor nodes) for improving the accuracy of the positioning estimation process. In some aspects, the creation of virtual anchor nodes can improve the positioning accuracy in the case where the number of physical anchor nodes meets the minimum number of anchors required for the positioning process. In some aspects, the creation of virtual anchor nodes can enable the positioning process to be performed in the case where the number of physical anchor nodes fails to meet the minimum number of anchors required for the positioning process.

[0177] Figure 12 Another example method 1200 for positioning a target node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some aspects, method 1200 can correspond to the examples as shown with reference to Figure 9A and Figure 9B and the target node can correspond to Figure 9Athe AGV 910 therein. In some aspects, method 1200 may be performed by one or more processing devices such as a network entity (e.g., any of the network entities, LMF, SLP, or servers described herein), a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), or a TRP or base station (e.g., any of the TRPs or base stations described herein).

[0178] At operation 1210, one or more processing devices obtain two or more relative localizations of a target node, where each of the two or more relative localizations is relative to the previous localization among the two or more relative localizations. For example, a target node (e.g., the AGV 910) may move or be instructed to move from an initial localization 912a to localizations 912b and 912c. A network entity, a UE (e.g., the target node itself or an adjacent UE), or a TRP or base station may obtain information about the relative localizations between 912a and 912b and between 912b and 912c, such as based on relative movements 914 and 916 as Figure 9A and Figure 9B shown. In some aspects, one or more relative movements may be determined based on one or more sensors mounted on the target node.

[0179] In some aspects, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, a memory 396, and / or an anchor deployment component 398, any or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1210. In some aspects, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, a memory 340, and / or an anchor deployment component 342, any or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1210. In some aspects, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, a memory 386, and / or an anchor deployment component 388, any or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1210.

[0180] At operation 1220, one or more processing devices obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between a target node and one or more anchor nodes for each of the two or more relative positions of the target node. For example, when the target node is at a respective one of positions 912a, 912b, and 912c, a network entity, a UE (e.g., the target node itself or an adjacent UE), or a TRP or base station may obtain ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements of the target node (e.g., AGV 910) relative to anchor nodes 920a and 920b. In some aspects, the ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements may be determined based on a ranging or positioning measurement procedure between AGV 910 and anchor nodes 920a and 920b, including ranging based on PRS and / or RTT measurements, angle (AoA / AoD) measurements, or a combination of both.

[0181] In some aspects, operation 1220 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1220. In some aspects, operation 1220 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1020. In some aspects, operation 1220 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing operation 1220.

[0182] At operation 1230, one or more processing devices determine an absolute position of the target node based on two or more relative positions of the target node, ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof, and known positions of one or more anchor nodes. For example, a network entity, a UE (e.g., the target node itself or an adjacent UE), or a TRP or base station may determine the absolute position of at least one of positions 912a, 912b, and 912c based on two or more relative positions of the target node, the obtained ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements, and the known positions of one or more anchor nodes 920a and 920b. In some aspects, the absolute position may be determined based on a multidimensional scaling (MDS) algorithm.

[0183] In some aspects, operation 1230 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or anchor deployment component 398, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1230. In some aspects, operation 1230 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or anchor deployment component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1230. In some aspects, operation 1230 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or anchor deployment component 388, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing operation 1230.

[0184] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1200 is to utilize the relative movement between a target node and one or more anchor nodes in order to improve the positioning performance and / or the accuracy of the estimated positioning for the target node. In some aspects, the relative positioning of the target node may be obtained with sufficient accuracy from sensors mounted on the target node, and such relative positioning may create spatial diversity for improving the accuracy of the positioning estimation process.

[0185] In some aspects, the positioning estimation process for the target node may be performed based on a combination of methods 600, 1000, 1100, and / or 1200. For example, the positioning estimation process for the target node may be performed based on multiple anchor nodes, where at least a portion of the anchor nodes may be used based on method 600 or 1000, at least a portion of the anchor nodes may be used based on method 1100, the target node may be moved based on method 1200, or combinations thereof, in order to improve the spatial diversity between the target node and the anchor nodes for improving the accuracy of the positioning estimation process.

[0186] In the above detailed embodiments, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be construed as intending that the example clauses have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer features than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Accordingly, the following clauses are hereby considered incorporated into the description, where each clause itself may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of the dependent clause is not limited to the specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of the aspects of the dependent clauses with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or any feature with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly stated or can be readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., conflicting aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Additionally, it is also contemplated that aspects of the clauses may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0187] Specific example embodiments are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0188] Clause 1. A method for locating a target node, comprising: identifying a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; identifying a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; indicating at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0189] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the location information of the target node indicates a rough location of the target node.

[0190] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor positions is based on a distribution pattern of a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) for improving the positioning estimate of the target node.

[0191] Clause 4. The method according to Clause 3, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor positions includes: identifying a region covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; identifying a reference point of the region; and identifying one candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point with respect to the target node, at a different distance from the reference distance with respect to the target node, or a combination thereof.

[0192] Clause 5. The method according to Clause 4 further includes: updating the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on one identified candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point.

[0193] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 3, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor positions includes: identifying a first region of a first cluster that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes; identifying a second region of a second cluster that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes; and identifying one candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is between the first region and the second region.

[0194] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6 further includes: updating the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on one identified candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is between the first region and the second region.

[0195] Clause 8. The method according to Clause 3, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor positions includes: identifying one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes that does not have a line-of-sight path to the target node; and identifying one candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions based on the mobility capability of the one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, wherein one identified candidate anchor position among the candidate anchor positions has a line-of-sight path to the target node.

[0196] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8 further includes: receiving an indication from a candidate anchor node in the subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the indication indicating whether it is successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before the positioning time; and updating the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof based on the indication indicating that it is not successful to move the candidate anchor node before the positioning time.

[0197] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor positions is performed based on: the estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the network topology of the set of candidate anchor nodes, line-of-sight conditions, or a combination thereof.

[0198] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor nodes is performed based on: one or more last-recorded localizations of the target node, one or more established communication connections with the target node, one or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target node, an estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the localization estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0199] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 11, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor nodes is performed based on one or more proposed anchor nodes provided by the target node.

[0200] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, further comprising: determining one or more movement plans for respective ones of the set of mobile candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; determining the priority of the one or more movement plans based on: the impact of the one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the accuracy of localizing the target node, conflict avoidance of the one or more movement plans, or a combination thereof; determining an execution sequence of the one or more movement plans or omission of a part of the one or more movement plans based on the priority.

[0201] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 13, wherein configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the localization operation at the localization time to determine the localization estimate of the target node includes: configuring the target node to perform a first localization estimation process of the target node; configuring the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, the first measurement report or the second measurement report enabling the server to perform a second localization estimation process of the target node; configuring the target node to send a reference signal to another target node, receive a reference signal from the another target node, send a third measurement report to the another target node, or a combination thereof, the reference signal or the third measurement report enabling the another target node to perform a third localization estimation process of the target node; or a combination thereof.

[0202] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 13, wherein configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node includes: configuring the target node to send a first measurement report to the server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, wherein at least one of the first measurement report or the second measurement report includes a timestamp, information about the positioning of the target node or the anchor node involved in the measurement included in the at least one measurement report, or both.

[0203] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 15, further comprising: receiving a measurement report from the target node or at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, the measurement report including measurements of wireless signals between the target node and the at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes; and determining a positioning estimate of the target node at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0204] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 16, wherein: the set of candidate anchor positions includes a plurality of anchor positions where at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes is deployed at different time points.

[0205] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 17, further comprising: obtaining two or more relative positionings of the target node, wherein each of the two or more relative positionings is relative to the previous positioning among the two or more relative positionings, wherein the positioning estimate of the target node is based on ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes, the two or more relative positionings, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0206] Clause 19. A method for positioning a target node, comprising: identifying a plurality of anchor positions of anchor nodes, the anchor nodes being deployed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; configuring the anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor nodes at the plurality of anchor positions; and determining a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0207] Clause 20. The method according to Clause 19, wherein the anchor nodes are automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and the anchor positions correspond to the positions of the charging stations of the AGVs.

[0208] Clause 21. The method according to any one of Clauses 19 to 20, wherein the positioning operation includes performing ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements between the target node and the anchor node based on one or more positioning reference signals between the target node and the anchor node.

[0209] Clause 22. A method for positioning a target node, comprising: obtaining two or more relative positions of the target node, wherein each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions; obtaining ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or combinations thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each position of the target node at the two or more relative positions; and determining an absolute position of the target node based on the two or more relative positions of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0210] Clause 23. The method according to Clause 22, further comprising determining the two or more relative positions based on one or more sensors mounted on the target node.

[0211] Clause 24. The method according to any one of Clauses 22 to 23, wherein the method is performed by: a network server of a location management function (LMF), a base station, or the target node.

[0212] Clause 25. An apparatus for positioning a target node, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; identify a set of candidate anchor positions based on the position information of the target node, the position information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or combinations thereof; indicate movement of at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0213] Clause 26. The apparatus according to Clause 25, wherein the position information of the target node indicates a rough position of the target node.

[0214] Clause 27. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 25 to 26, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on a distribution pattern of a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) for improving the positioning estimate of the target node.

[0215] Clause 28. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the at least one processor configured to identify the set of candidate anchor positions includes the at least one processor being configured to: identify a region covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; identify a reference point of the region; and identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point with respect to the target node, at a distance different from the reference distance of the reference point with respect to the target node, or a combination thereof.

[0216] Clause 29. The apparatus according to clause 28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: update the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on an identified candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point.

[0217] Clause 30. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the at least one processor configured to identify the set of candidate anchor positions includes the at least one processor being configured to: identify a first region of a first cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; identify a second region of a second cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; and identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is between the first region and the second region.

[0218] Clause 31. The apparatus according to clause 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: update the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on an identified candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is between the first region and the second region.

[0219] Clause 32. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the at least one processor configured to identify the set of candidate anchor positions includes the at least one processor being configured to: identify a candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes that does not have a line-of-sight path to the target node; and identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions based on the mobility capability of the one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, wherein the identified candidate anchor position has a line-of-sight path to the target node.

[0220] Clause 33. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 25 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive an indication from a candidate anchor node in a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes via the at least one transceiver, the indication indicating whether it was successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before the positioning time; and update the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof based on the indication indicating that it was not successful to move the candidate anchor node before the positioning time.

[0221] Clause 34. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 25 to 33, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on: an estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the network topology of the set of candidate anchor nodes, line-of-sight conditions, or a combination thereof.

[0222] Clause 35. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 25 to 34, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on: one or more last recorded positionings of the target node, one or more established communication connections with the target node, one or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target node, an estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0223] Clause 36. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 25 to 35, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on one or more proposed anchor nodes provided by the target node.

[0224] Clause 37. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 25 to 36, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine one or more movement plans for corresponding ones of the set of candidate anchor nodes in the set of mobile candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; determine the priority of the one or more movement plans based on: the impact of the one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the precision of positioning the target node, conflict avoidance of the one or more movement plans, or a combination thereof; determine an execution sequence of the one or more movement plans or an omission of a part of the one or more movement plans based on the priority.

[0225] Clause 38. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 25 to 37, wherein the at least one processor is configured to configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node, including the at least one processor being configured to: configure the target node to perform a first positioning estimation process of the target node; configure the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configure at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, the first measurement report or the second measurement report enabling the server to perform a second positioning estimation process of the target node; configure the target node to send a reference signal to another target node, receive a reference signal from the another target node, send a third measurement report to the another target node, or a combination thereof, the reference signal or the third measurement report enabling the another target node to perform a third positioning estimation process of the target node; or a combination thereof.

[0226] Clause 39. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 25 to 37, wherein the at least one processor is configured to configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node, including the at least one processor being configured to: configure the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configure at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, wherein at least one of the first measurement report or the second measurement report includes a timestamp, information about the positioning of the target node or an anchor node involved in the measurement included in the at least one measurement report, or both.

[0227] Clause 40. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 25 to 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a measurement report from the target node or at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, the measurement report including measurements of wireless signals between the target node and the at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes; and determine a positioning estimate of the target node at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0228] Clause 41. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 25 to 40, wherein: the set of candidate anchor positions includes a plurality of anchor positions where at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes is placed at different time points.

[0229] Clause 42. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 25 to 41, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain two or more relative localizations of the target node, wherein each of the two or more relative localizations is relative to a previous one of the two or more relative localizations, and wherein the localization estimate of the target node is based on ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes, the two or more relative localizations, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0230] Clause 43. An apparatus for localizing a target node, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: identify a plurality of anchor positions of anchor nodes deployed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; configure the anchor nodes and the target node for a localization operation based on the anchor nodes at the plurality of anchor positions; and determine a localization estimate of the target node based on the result of the localization operation.

[0231] Clause 44. The apparatus according to Clause 43, wherein the anchor nodes are automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and the anchor positions correspond to the positions of the charging stations of the AGVs.

[0232] Clause 45. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 43 to 44, wherein the localization operation comprises performing ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements between the target node and the anchor nodes based on one or more localization reference signals between the target node and the anchor nodes.

[0233] Clause 46. An apparatus for localizing a target node, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain two or more relative localizations of the target node, wherein each of the two or more relative localizations is relative to a previous one of the two or more relative localizations; obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each localization of the target node at the two or more relative localizations; and determine an absolute localization of the target node based on the two or more relative localizations of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0234] Clause 47. The apparatus according to clause 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the two or more relative positions based on one or more sensors mounted on the target node.

[0235] Clause 48. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 46 to 47, wherein the apparatus is: a network server of a Location Management Function (LMF), a base station, or the target node.

[0236] Clause 49. An apparatus for positioning a target node, comprising: means for identifying a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; means for identifying a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; means for instructing at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and means for configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0237] Clause 50. The apparatus according to clause 49, wherein the location information of the target node indicates a rough location of the target node.

[0238] Clause 51. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 50, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on a distribution pattern of a Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) for improving the positioning estimate of the target node.

[0239] Clause 52. The apparatus according to clause 51, wherein the means for identifying the set of candidate anchor positions comprises: means for identifying a region covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; means for identifying a reference point of the region; and means for identifying one candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point with respect to the target node, at a different distance from the reference distance with respect to the target node, or a combination thereof.

[0240] Clause 53. The apparatus according to clause 52, further comprising: means for updating the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on the identified one candidate anchor position on the opposite side of the reference point in the set of candidate anchor positions.

[0241] Clause 54. The apparatus according to clause 51, wherein the component for identifying the set of candidate anchor positions comprises: a component for identifying a first region of a first cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; a component for identifying a second region of a second cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; and a component for identifying a candidate anchor position between the first region and the second region in the set of candidate anchor positions.

[0242] Clause 55. The apparatus according to clause 54, further comprising: a component for updating the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on the identified one candidate anchor position between the first region and the second region in the set of candidate anchor positions.

[0243] Clause 56. The apparatus according to clause 51, wherein the component for identifying the set of candidate anchor positions comprises: a component for identifying a candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes that has no line-of-sight path to the target node; and a component for identifying a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions based on the mobility capability of the one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, wherein the identified one candidate anchor position among the candidate anchor positions has a line-of-sight path to the target node.

[0244] Clause 57. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 56, further comprising: a component for receiving an indication from a candidate anchor node in the subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the indication indicating whether it is successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before the positioning time; and a component for updating the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof.

[0245] Clause 58. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 57, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on: the estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the network topology of the set of candidate anchor nodes, line-of-sight conditions, or a combination thereof.

[0246] Clause 59. The apparatus according to any one of clauses 49 to 58, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on: one or more last recorded positionings of the target node, one or more established communication connections with the target node, one or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target node, the estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0247] Clause 60. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 59, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on one or more proposed anchor nodes provided by the target node.

[0248] Clause 61. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 60, further comprising: components for determining one or more movement plans for respective ones or more of the candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; components for determining the priority of the one or more movement plans based on: the influence of the one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the accuracy of positioning the target node, conflict avoidance of the one or more movement plans, or a combination thereof; components for determining an execution sequence of the one or more movement plans or omission of a part of the one or more movement plans based on the priority.

[0249] Clause 62. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 61, wherein the components for configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node include: components for configuring the target node to perform a first positioning estimation process of the target node; components for configuring the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, the first measurement report or the second measurement report enabling the server to perform a second positioning estimation process of the target node; components for configuring the target node to send a reference signal to another target node, receive a reference signal from the another target node, send a third measurement report to the another target node, or a combination thereof, the reference signal or the third measurement report enabling the another target node to perform a third positioning estimation process of the target node; or a combination thereof.

[0250] Clause 63. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 61, wherein the components for configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node include: components for configuring the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, wherein at least one of the first measurement report or the second measurement report includes a timestamp, information about the positioning of the target node or the anchor node involved in the measurement included in the at least one measurement report, or both.

[0251] Clause 64. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 63 further comprises: means for receiving a measurement report from at least one anchor node among the set of the target node or candidate anchor nodes, the measurement report including measurements of a wireless signal between the target node and the at least one anchor node among the set of candidate anchor nodes; and means for determining a position estimate of the target node based at least in part on the measurement report.

[0252] Clause 65. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 64, wherein: the set of candidate anchor positions includes a plurality of anchor positions where at least one anchor node among the set of candidate anchor nodes is placed at different time points.

[0253] Clause 66. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 49 to 65 further comprises: means for obtaining two or more relative positions of the target node, wherein each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions, and wherein the position estimate of the target node is based on ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof, between the target node and one or more anchor nodes, the two or more relative positions, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0254] Clause 67. An apparatus for positioning a target node, comprising: means for identifying a plurality of anchor positions of anchor nodes, the anchor nodes being placed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; means for configuring the anchor nodes and the target node based on the anchor nodes at the plurality of anchor positions to perform a positioning operation; and means for determining a position estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0255] Clause 68. The apparatus according to Clause 67, wherein the anchor node is an automated guided vehicle (AGV), and the anchor position corresponds to the position of a charging station of the AGV.

[0256] Clause 69. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 67 to 68, wherein the positioning operation includes performing ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements between the target node and the anchor node based on one or more positioning reference signals between the target node and the anchor node.

[0257] Clause 70. A device for positioning a target node, comprising: components for obtaining two or more relative positions of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions; components for obtaining ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each position of the target node at the two or more relative positions; and components for determining an absolute position of the target node based on the two or more relative positions of the target node, the ranging measurements, and known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0258] Clause 71. The device according to Clause 70, further comprising components for determining the two or more relative positions based on one or more sensors mounted on the target node.

[0259] Clause 72. The device according to any one of Clauses 70 to 71, wherein the device is: a network server of a Location Management Function (LMF), a base station, or the target node.

[0260] Clause 73. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a device for positioning a target node, cause the device to: identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; identify a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; instruct at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move based on the set of candidate anchor positions; and configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

[0261] Clause 74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 73, wherein the location information of the target node indicates a rough position of the target node.

[0262] Clause 75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 74, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on a distribution pattern of a Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) for improving the positioning estimate of the target node.

[0263] Clause 76. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 75, wherein the instructions that cause the device to identify the set of candidate anchor positions include instructions that cause the device to: identify a region that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes; identify a reference point of the region; and identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point with respect to the target node, at a distance different from a reference distance of the reference point with respect to the target node, or a combination thereof.

[0264] Clause 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 76, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to: update the set of candidate anchor nodes at least based on an identified candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point.

[0265] Clause 78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 75, wherein the instructions that cause the device to identify the set of candidate anchor positions include instructions that cause the device to: identify a first region of a first cluster that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes; identify a second region of a second cluster that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes; and identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is between the first region and the second region.

[0266] Clause 79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 78, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to: update the set of candidate anchor nodes at least based on an identified candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is between the first region and the second region.

[0267] Clause 80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 75, wherein the instructions that cause the device to identify the set of candidate anchor positions include instructions that cause the device to: identify a candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes that does not have a line-of-sight path to the target node; and identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions based on a mobility capability of the one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, wherein the identified candidate anchor position in the candidate anchor positions has a line-of-sight path to the target node.

[0268] Clause 81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 80 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to perform the following operations: receiving an indication from a candidate anchor node in the subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the indication indicating whether it is successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before the positioning time; and updating the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof.

[0269] Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 81, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on: an estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, network topologies of the set of candidate anchor nodes, line-of-sight conditions, or a combination thereof.

[0270] Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 82, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on: one or more last recorded positionings of the target node, one or more established communication connections with the target node, one or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target node, an estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0271] Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 83, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on one or more proposed anchor nodes provided by the target node.

[0272] Clause 85. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 84 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to perform the following operations: determining one or more movement plans for moving corresponding ones of the set of candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; determining priorities of the one or more movement plans based on: the influence of the one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the precision of positioning the target node, conflict avoidance of the one or more movement plans, or a combination thereof; determining an execution sequence of the one or more movement plans or omission of a part of the one or more movement plans based on the priorities.

[0273] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 85, wherein the instructions that cause the device to configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node include instructions that cause the device to perform the following operations: configuring the target node to perform a first positioning estimation process of the target node; configuring the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, the first measurement report or the second measurement report enabling the server to perform a second positioning estimation process of the target node; configuring the target node to send a reference signal to another target node, receive a reference signal from the another target node, send a third measurement report to the another target node, or a combination thereof, the reference signal or the third measurement report enabling the another target node to perform a third positioning estimation process of the target node; or a combination thereof.

[0274] Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 85, wherein the instructions that cause the device to configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the positioning estimate of the target node include instructions that cause the device to perform the following operations: configuring the target node to send a first measurement report to a server or configuring at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, wherein at least one of the first measurement report or the second measurement report includes a timestamp, information about the positioning of the target node or an anchor node involved in the measurement included in the at least one measurement report, or both.

[0275] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 87, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to perform the following operations: receiving a measurement report from the target node or at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, the measurement report including measurements of wireless signals between the target node and the at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes; and determining a positioning estimate of the target node at least in part based on the measurement report.

[0276] Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 88, wherein: the set of candidate anchor positions includes a plurality of anchor positions where at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes is deployed at different time points.

[0277] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 73 to 89 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to perform the following operations: obtain two or more relative positions of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions, and where the positioning estimation of the target node is based on ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes, the two or more relative positions, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0278] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a device for positioning a target node, cause the device to: identify a plurality of anchor positions of anchor nodes, where the anchor nodes are placed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; configure the anchor nodes and the target node based on the anchor nodes at the plurality of anchor positions for a positioning operation; and determine a positioning estimation of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

[0279] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 91, where the anchor nodes are automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and the anchor positions correspond to the positions of the charging stations of the AGVs.

[0280] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 92, where the positioning operation includes performing ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements between the target node and the anchor nodes based on one or more positioning reference signals between the target node and the anchor nodes.

[0281] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a device for positioning a target node, cause the device to: obtain two or more relative positions of the target node, where each of the two or more relative positions is relative to the previous position among the two or more relative positions; obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each position of the target node at the two or more relative positions; and determine the absolute position of the target node based on the two or more relative positions of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

[0282] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 94 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the device, cause the device to perform the following operations: determining the two or more relative positions based on one or more sensors installed on the target node.

[0283] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 94 to 95, wherein the device is: a network server of a Location Management Function (LMF), a base station, or the target node.

[0284] Those skilled in the art should understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may have been mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0285] In addition, those skilled in the art should understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0286] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0287] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software modules may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0288] In one or more example aspects, the functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0289] While the foregoing discloses exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Additionally, the functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims according to aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular form.

Claims

1. A method for locating a target node, comprising: Identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; Identify a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; Based on the set of candidate anchor positions, instruct at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes to move; And Configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location information of the target node indicates a rough location of the target node.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set identifying the candidate anchor positions is based on a distribution pattern of a Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) for improving the location estimate of the target node.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the set identifying the candidate anchor positions comprises: Identify a region covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; Identify a reference point of the region; And Identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point relative to the target node, at a distance different from the reference distance of the reference point relative to the target node, or a combination thereof.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: Update the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on one identified candidate anchor position on the opposite side of the reference point in the set of candidate anchor positions.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the set identifying the candidate anchor positions comprises: Identify a first region of a first cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; Identify a second region of a second cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; And Identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions between the first region and the second region.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: Update the set of candidate anchor nodes based at least on one identified candidate anchor position between the first region and the second region in the set of candidate anchor positions.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the set identifying the candidate anchor positions comprises: Identify a candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes that has no line-of-sight path to the target node; And Based on the mobility capabilities of the one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, identify a candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions, and the identified one candidate anchor position in the candidate anchor positions has a line-of-sight path to the target node.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive an indication from a candidate anchor node in the subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the indication indicating whether it is successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before the positioning time; And Based on the indication indicating that it is not successful to move the candidate anchor node before the positioning time, update the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the set identifying the candidate anchor positions is performed based on: an estimated Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) of the location estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, The network topology of the set of candidate anchor nodes a line-of-sight condition, or a combination thereof.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor nodes is performed based on: one or more last recorded localizations of the target node, one or more established communication connections with the target node, one or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target node, an estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the localization estimate of the target node, the node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the set of candidate anchor nodes is performed based on one or more proposed anchor nodes provided by the target node.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determine one or more movement plans for moving corresponding one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; Determine the priority of the one or more movement plans based on: The impact of the one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the accuracy of positioning the target node, Collision avoidance of the one or more movement plans, or A combination thereof; And Based on the priority, determine the execution sequence of the one or more movement plans or the omission of a part of the one or more movement plans.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the localization estimate of the target node comprises: Configure the target node to perform a first positioning estimation process of the target node; Configure the target node to send a first measurement report to the server or configure at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, where the first measurement report or the second measurement report enables the server to perform a second positioning estimation process of the target node; Configure the target node to send a reference signal to another target node, receive a reference signal from the another target node, send a third measurement report to the another target node, or a combination thereof, where the reference signal or the third measurement report enables the another target node to perform a third positioning estimation process of the target node; or A combination thereof.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein configuring the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform the positioning operation at the positioning time to determine the localization estimate of the target node comprises: Configure the target node to send a first measurement report to the server or configure at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes to send a second measurement report to the server, where at least one of the first measurement report or the second measurement report includes a timestamp, information about the positioning of the target node or the anchor nodes involved in the measurement of the report included in the at least one measurement report, or both.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Receive a measurement report from the target node or at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, where the measurement report includes measurements of wireless signals between the target node and the at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes; and Determine a positioning estimate of the target node based at least in part on the measurement report.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The set of candidate anchor positions includes a plurality of anchor positions where at least one anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes is placed at different time points.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Obtain two or more relative positionings of the target node, where each positioning in the two or more relative positionings is relative to the previous positioning in the two or more relative positionings, where the positioning estimate of the target node is based on ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof, between the target node and one or more anchor nodes, the two or more relative positionings, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

19. A method for locating a target node, comprising: Identify a plurality of anchor positions of anchor nodes, where the anchor nodes are placed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; Configure the anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor nodes at the plurality of anchor positions; and Determine a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the anchor node is an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV), and the anchor position corresponds to the position of the charging station of the AGV.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the positioning operation includes performing ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements between the target node and the anchor node based on one or more positioning reference signals between the target node and the anchor node.

22. A method for locating a target node, comprising: Obtain two or more relative positionings of the target node, where each positioning in the two or more relative positionings is relative to the previous positioning in the two or more relative positionings; Obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof, between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each positioning of the target node at the two or more relative positionings; and Determine the absolute positioning of the target node based on the two or more relative positionings of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising determining the two or more relative positions based on one or more sensors mounted on the target node.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the method is performed by: a network server of a Location Management Function (LMF), a base station, or the target node.

25. An apparatus for locating a target node, comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Identify a set of candidate anchor nodes based on the target node; Identify a set of candidate anchor positions based on the location information of the target node, the location information of the set of candidate anchor nodes, the mobility capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or a combination thereof; Indicate movement of at least a subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; And Configure the set of candidate anchor nodes and the target node to perform a positioning operation at a positioning time to determine a positioning estimate of the target node.

26. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on a distribution pattern of a Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) for improving the positioning estimate of the target node.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify the set of candidate anchor positions includes the at least one processor being configured to: Identify a region covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; Identify a reference point of the region; and Identify one candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions that is on the opposite side of the reference point with respect to the target node, at a distance different from a reference distance of the reference point with respect to the target node, or a combination thereof.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify the set of candidate anchor positions includes the at least one processor being configured to: Identify a first region of a first cluster covering the set of candidate anchor nodes; Identify a second region of a second cluster that encompasses the set of candidate anchor nodes; And Identify one candidate anchor position between the first region and the second region in the set of candidate anchor positions.

29. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify the set of candidate anchor positions includes the at least one processor being configured to: Identify one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes that has no line-of-sight path to the target node; and Identify one candidate anchor position in the set of candidate anchor positions based on a mobility capability of the one candidate anchor node in the set of candidate anchor nodes, wherein the identified one candidate anchor position in the candidate anchor positions has a line-of-sight path to the target node.

30. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Receive an indication from a candidate anchor node in the subset of the set of candidate anchor nodes via the at least one transceiver, the indication indicating whether it is successful to move the candidate anchor node based on the set of candidate anchor positions before the positioning time; and Update the set of candidate anchor nodes, the set of candidate anchor positions, or a combination thereof based on the indication indicating that it is not successful to move the candidate anchor node before the positioning time.

31. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on one or more proposed anchor nodes provided by the target node.

32. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Determine one or more movement plans for the corresponding one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of mobile candidate anchor nodes based on the set of candidate anchor positions; Determine the priority of the one or more movement plans based on: The impact of the one or more candidate anchor nodes in the set of candidate anchor nodes on the accuracy of positioning the target node, Collision avoidance of the one or more movement plans, or A combination thereof; And Determine an execution sequence of the one or more movement plans or omission of a portion of the one or more movement plans based on the priority.

33. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the set of candidate anchor positions is identified based on: The estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, The node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, The network topology of the set of candidate anchor nodes, The line-of-sight condition, or A combination thereof.

34. The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the set of candidate anchor nodes is identified based on: One or more last recorded positionings of the target node, One or more established communication connections with the target node, One or more signal strengths of signals measured by the target node, The estimated geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) of the positioning estimate of the target node, The node types of the set of candidate anchor nodes, The node capabilities of the set of candidate anchor nodes, or A combination thereof.

35. An apparatus for positioning a target node, comprising: Memory; At least one transceiver; And At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Identify a plurality of anchor positions of an anchor node, the anchor node being placed at the plurality of anchor positions at different time points; Configure the anchor node and the target node to perform a positioning operation based on the anchor node at the plurality of anchor positions; And Determine a positioning estimate of the target node based on the result of the positioning operation.

36. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the anchor node is an automated guided vehicle (AGV), and the anchor position corresponds to the position of a charging station of the AGV.

37. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the positioning operation includes performing ranging, angle, and / or timing measurements between the target node and the anchor node based on one or more positioning reference signals between the target node and the anchor node.

38. An apparatus for positioning a target node, comprising: Memory; At least one transceiver; And At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Obtain two or more relative positionings of the target node, where each positioning of the two or more relative positionings is relative to the previous positioning of the two or more relative positionings; Obtain ranging measurements, angle measurements, timing measurements, or a combination thereof between the target node and one or more anchor nodes for each positioning of the target node at the two or more relative positionings; And Determine an absolute positioning of the target node based on the two or more relative positionings of the target node, the ranging measurements, and the known positions of the one or more anchor nodes.

39. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the two or more relative positionings based on one or more sensors mounted on the target node.

40. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the apparatus is: a network server of a location management function (LMF), a base station, or the target node.

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