Scheduling user equipments in group

Abstract

The invention relates to scheduling user equipments in a group. A method includes receiving one or more requests for registering a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in a group of devices. The method includes obtaining, from the one or more requests, information about a plurality of UEs in the group of devices and a plurality of data streams corresponding to the plurality of UEs. The information includes dependency information between a first data stream and a second data stream in the plurality of data streams. The method includes transmitting an instruction to configure the group of devices to a base station. The instruction includes scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority and the benefit of Greek Patent Application No. 20230101084, filed on December 29, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] Wireless communication networks provide an integrated communication platform and telecommunications services to wireless user equipment. Example telecommunications services include telephony, data (e.g., voice, audio, and / or video data), messaging, and / or other services. Wireless communication networks have radio access nodes that exchange wireless signals with wireless user equipment using wireless network protocols (such as those described in various telecommunications standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). Example wireless communication networks include Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) networks, Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR), and 6th Generation (6G) cellular networks, among others. Wireless communication networks use technologies such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), advanced channel coding, massive MIMO, beamforming, and / or other features to facilitate mobile broadband services.

[0004] In cellular communication, a user equipment (UE), such as a mobile phone, communicates with a radio access node, such as a base station, using radio resources of a radio access network (RAN). Similarly, in sidelink communication, a UE communicates directly with another UE using radio resources for sidelink communication. In mode 1 of sidelink communication, the sidelink communication resources are allocated by the base station, while in mode 2 of sidelink communication, the sidelink communication resources are allocated by the UEs in the sidelink communication. The process of allocating communication resources typically involves scheduling. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving one or more requests for registering a first UE and a second UE in a device group, where the device group corresponds to a common application executed by the first UE and the second UE. The method includes: obtaining, from the one or more requests, information about a plurality of UEs in the device group and a plurality of data streams corresponding to the plurality of UEs. The information includes dependency information between a first data stream and a second data stream among the plurality of data streams. The method includes: transmitting, to a base station, an instruction for configuring the device group. The instruction includes scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE. The scheduling information is at least based on the dependency information.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving one or more requests for registering a first UE and a second UE in a device group. The method includes: obtaining, from the one or more requests, information about a first data stream and a second data stream. The first data stream and the second data stream are associated with communications in the device group. The method includes: determining, based on the first data stream and the second data stream, a timing constraint corresponding to the device group. The timing constraint is applied between packets of the first data stream and the second data stream, between packet bursts of the first data stream and the second data stream, or between sets of protocol data units (PDUs) of the first data stream and the second data stream. The method includes: scheduling the first data stream and the second data stream based on the timing constraint. The method includes: controlling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream (i) to the first UE and the second UE respectively, or (ii) both to the first UE according to the scheduling.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: obtaining, from at least one of a first UE and a second UE, dependency information between a first data stream to be received by the first UE and a second data stream to be received by the second UE. The method includes: sending a request for registering the first UE and the second UE in a device group to a base station, where the request includes the dependency information; The method includes: receiving, from the base station, a configuration of the device group, the configuration including a timing constraint between the first data stream and the second data stream at least based on the dependency information. The method includes: scheduling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream based on the timing constraint. The method includes: controlling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream to the first UE and the second UE respectively according to the scheduling.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: sending group assignment configuration information to a plurality of UEs, the group assignment configuration information indicating a plurality of radio resource assignment parameters respectively dedicated to the plurality of UEs. The method includes: assigning the plurality of UEs to a device group. The method includes: sending a group assignment message to the plurality of UEs in the device group. The method includes: enabling the plurality of UEs to communicate with a base station at least based on the plurality of radio resource assignment parameters.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving group assignment configuration information from a base station, where the group assignment configuration information indicates one or more radio resource assignment parameters. The method includes: receiving a packet message from the base station. The packet message assigns the UE to a device group including one or more other UEs. The packet message associates the UE with the one or more radio resource assignment parameters. The method includes: receiving a group assignment message from the base station. The method includes: in response to the group assignment message, communicating with the base station at least based on the one or more radio resource assignment parameters.

[0010] Details of one or more specific implementations of these systems and methods are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, objects, and advantages of these systems and methods will be apparent from the specification, the drawings, and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 Illustrates a wireless network according to some specific implementations.

[0012] Figures 2A to 2D Each illustrates an example architecture of a wireless network in which multiple UEs are scheduled as a group according to some specific implementations.

[0013] Figure 3 Illustrates an example processing of data streams corresponding to two UEs according to some specific implementations.

[0014] Figures 4A to 4C Each illustrates an example procedure for forming a device group according to some specific implementations.

[0015] Figure 5 Illustrates an example procedure for group setup according to some specific implementations.

[0016] Figure 6A and Figure 6B Each illustrates an example procedure for group member measurement according to some specific implementations.

[0017] Figure 7 Illustrates an example wireless network having a group of UEs according to some specific implementations.

[0018] Figure 8A and Figure 8B Each illustrates an example procedure for group assignment according to some specific implementations.

[0019] Figures 9A to 9E Illustrates a flowchart of an example method for device group communication according to some specific implementations.

[0020] Figure 10 Illustrates an example UE according to some specific implementations.

[0021] Figure 11 Illustrates an example access node according to some specific implementations. Detailed implementation

[0022] A wireless network may have multiple UEs that communicate with each other and / or with a base station. In some scenarios, multiple UEs in close proximity to each other may have similar radio channel conditions. Additionally or alternatively, multiple UEs may perform wireless communication in a coordinated manner. For example, in applications of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), or mixed reality (collectively referred to as "XR"), multiple UEs may jointly perform wireless communication with an application server via a RAN or via a device-to-device (D2D) link. The channel resources used by these UEs may be similar, and the data transmitted and received by these UEs may have alignment similarities. Furthermore, when multiple UEs running the same application transfer data streams (e.g., service data flows (SDFs)) to and from an application server, or when UEs transfer multiple SDFs to and from an application server in the same application, due to the interdependencies between SDFs, it may be necessary to transfer the multiple SDFs under certain time constraints. For example, when a user plays a VR game while wearing a headset and holding a joystick, the SDFs representing audio data, image data, and motion data may need to be synchronized when being sent to the headset and the joystick separately. Since different UEs may process SDFs at different rates or speeds, and since the time between the transmission and reception of SDFs may be different for different UEs, it is necessary to schedule SDF transmission and likewise schedule reception in a coordinated manner such that the processing capabilities and transmission delays associated with each UE are taken into account. SDFs with interdependencies and alignment requirements are referred to as multimodal data streams.

[0023] Furthermore, when a base station coordinates the scheduling of SDF transmission or reception to and from multiple UEs having a group relationship, the base station signals each UE to provide the configuration required for SDF transmission or reception. If such signaling is performed individually, it may consume a large amount of network resources and potentially cause congestion, especially when the number of UEs is large. Therefore, a mechanism that can simplify such signaling is needed.

[0024] The present disclosure provides techniques that allow for coordinated scheduling of multiple UEs in a group. As discussed below, specific implementations of the present disclosure provide a device group function (DGF), which can be a network entity implemented as software or hardware that operates together with other network functions of a cellular core network (CN) to manage the setup, registration, and scheduling of a group of UEs having SDF alignment requirements. Specific implementations of the present disclosure also allow a base station to provide radio resource assignment parameters to a group of UEs in a single message, which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0025] Figure 1 Illustrates a wireless network 100 according to some specific implementations. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 102 and a base station 104 connected via one or more channels 106A, 106B across an air interface 108. The UE 102 and the base station 104 communicate using a system that supports control for managing access of the UE 102 to the network via the base station 104.

[0026] In some specific implementations, the wireless network 100 may be a non-standalone (NSA) network that combines Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth-Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication standards as defined by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technical specifications. For example, the wireless network 100 may be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) network or an NR-EUTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC) network. In some other specific implementations, the wireless network 100 may be a standalone (SA) network that combines only 5G NR. Additionally, other types of communication standards are possible, including future 3GPP systems (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11a; IEEE 802.11b; IEEE 802.11g; IEEE 802.11-2007; IEEE 802.11n; IEEE 802.11-2012; IEEE 802.11ac; or other currently or future-developed IEEE 802.11 technologies), IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.). Although terms commonly associated with 5G NR may be used herein to describe aspects, aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other systems, such as 3G, 4G, and / or systems after 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0027] In a wireless network 100, the UE 102 and any other UE in the system can be any one of, for example, a laptop computer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a machine type device (such as a smart meter or a dedicated device for healthcare), a smart transportation system, or any other wireless device. In network 100, the base station 104 provides the UE 102 with a network connection to a wider network (not shown). This UE 102 connection is provided via an air interface 108 in a base station service area provided by the base station 104. In some specific implementations, such a wider network can be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider, or can be the Internet. Each base station service area associated with the base station 104 is supported by one or more antennas integrated with the base station 104. The service area can be divided into several sectors associated with one or more specific antennas. Such sectors can be physically associated with one or more fixed antennas, or can be assigned to a physical area with one or more tunable antennas or antenna settings, and the one or more tunable antennas or antenna settings can be adjusted during a beamforming process for guiding signals to a specific sector.

[0028] The UE 102 includes a control circuit system 110 coupled to a transmit circuit system 112 and a receive circuit system 114. The transmit circuit system 112 and the receive circuit system 114 can each be coupled to one or more antennas. The control circuit system 110 can include various combinations of dedicated circuit systems and baseband circuit systems. The transmit circuit system 112 and the receive circuit system 114 can be adapted to transmit and receive data respectively, and can include radio frequency (RF) circuit systems and / or front-end module (FEM) circuit systems.

[0029] In various specific implementations, aspects of the transmit circuit system 112, the receive circuit system 114, and the control circuit system 110 can be integrated in various ways to implement the operations described herein. The control circuit system 110 can be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as various operations related to the UE described elsewhere in this disclosure. For example, the control circuit system 110 can process a device group configuration received from the base station 104, and control the transmit circuit system 112 and the receive circuit system 114 to perform communication in the device group.

[0030] The transmit circuit system 112 can perform various operations described in this specification. For example, the transmit circuit system 112 can use multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels for transmission. The multiple uplink physical channels can be multiplexed, for example, according to time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) and carrier aggregation. The transmit circuit system 112 can be configured to receive block data from the control circuit system 110 for transmission across the air interface 108.

[0031] The receiving circuit system 114 may perform various operations described in this specification. For example, the receiving circuit system 114 may receive multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 108 and relay these physical channels to the control circuit system 110. The multiple downlink physical channels may be multiplexed, for example, according to TDM or FDM and carrier aggregation. The transmitting circuit system 112 and the receiving circuit system 114 may respectively transmit and receive control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, videos, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0032] Figure 1 The base station 104 is also illustrated. In some embodiments, the base station 104 may be a 5G radio access network (RAN) or next-generation RAN, E-UTRAN, non-terrestrial cell, or traditional RAN (such as UTRAN). As used herein, the term "5G RAN" etc. may refer to the base station 104 operating in the NR or 5G wireless network 100, and the term "E-UTRAN" etc. may refer to the base station 104 operating in the LTE or 4G wireless network 100. The UE 102 utilizes connections (or channels) 106A, 106B, each connection including a physical communication interface or layer.

[0033] The base station 104 circuitry may include a control circuit system 116 coupled to the transmitting circuit system 118 and the receiving circuit system 120. The transmitting circuit system 118 and the receiving circuit system 120 may each be coupled to one or more antennas, which may be used to enable communication via the air interface 108. The transmitting circuit system 118 and the receiving circuit system 120 may be adapted to respectively transmit and receive data to and from any UE connected to the base station 104. The receiving circuit system 120 may receive multiple uplink physical channels from one or more UEs including the UE 102.

[0034] In Figure 1 one or more of the channels 106A, 106B are illustrated as air interfaces enabling communication couplings and may conform to cellular communication protocols such as the UMTS protocol, 3GPP LTE protocol, Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) protocol, LTE-based Unlicensed Spectrum Access (LTE-U), 5G protocol, NR protocol, NR-based Unlicensed Spectrum Access (NR-U) protocol, and / or any other communication protocol. In an embodiment, the UE 102 may directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface. The ProSe interface may alternatively be referred to as a side link (SL) interface and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to the Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Side Link Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and Physical Side Link Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0035] Figures 2A to 2DEach illustrates an example architecture of a wireless network in which multiple UEs 202A to 202D (collectively referred to as UE 202) and 203 are scheduled as a group according to some specific implementations. UE 202 and 203 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 102. Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2D also shows a base station 204, which may be similar to Figure 1 base station 104. UE 202 and 203 may be, for example, wearable XR devices configured to execute a common XR application.

[0036] In Figure 2A architecture 200A, the base station 204 communicates with UEs 202 and 203 to provide network services supplied by the CN 205. Specifically, the CN 205 obtains application data from the application server 201 and provides multiple SDFs 212 to the base station 204 for transmission to UE 202. By grouping UEs 202, the scheduling of SDF transmission can be coordinated by the DGF and executed by the base station 204 with the assistance of UE 203. For example, UE 203 may act as a management node that, for example, collects processing capacity information from UE 202, requests the DGF to register UE 202 as a device group, sets the device group based on the configuration from the DGF, and performs measurements with UE 202.

[0037] The DGF may be implemented within the CN 205 as one of the network functions, or within the base station 204. When the DGF is implemented within the CN 205, the CN 205 may receive one or more device group registration requests from the base station 204, which directly obtains the device group registration requests from each of the UEs 202 or via the management node of UE 203. When the DGF is implemented within the base station 204, the base station 204 obtains the device group registration request and provides the information indicated in the device group registration request to the DGF.

[0038] The device group registration request can provide the DGF with various information. The information can include, for example, the identifier (ID) of each of the UEs 202, the interdependencies between the UEs 202, the processing capabilities of the UEs 202, and the SDFs that each of the UEs 202 expects to transmit. The device group registration request can also indicate the interdependencies between the SDFs, and whether the interdependent SDFs communicate with the same UE or with multiple UEs. In some embodiments, the indication regarding the SDF further specifies the type of the SDF (e.g., audio or video), the format (e.g., packet stream, packet burst, or protocol data unit (PDU) set), the size (e.g., the number of packets, packet bursts, or PDUs of the SDF), and one or more quality of service (QoS) parameters associated with the SDF or with the UE 202.

[0039] The QoS parameters obtained by the DGF can include timing constraints for interdependent SDFs, such as the maximum delay between the receptions of two interdependent SDFs. The timing constraint can specify a scheduling policy for late SDFs. Alternatively or additionally, the QoS parameters can include jitter constraints specific to the SDF or to the UE and / or priority information of the SDF.

[0040] Based on the information from the device group registration request, the DGF can determine the grouping of the UEs 202. The DGF can assign an ID to the device group, associate each of the UEs 202 with the group ID, and provide the association to other network functions in the CN 205, such as the session management function (SMF) and the user plane function (UPF). After creating the device group, the DGF can add another UE to the device group or remove a UE from the device group. When multiple device groups are created, the DGF can configure the UE to switch between the device groups. The DGF can also configure the UEs 202 within the device group to perform and report measurements, so that the RAN can have up-to-date information when making scheduling and / or mobility decisions. For example, the DGF can configure the UEs in the device group to periodically or when triggered by an event measure and report the propagation delay and / or processing delay of the UE. Similarly, the DGF can configure each UE in the device group to periodically or when triggered by an event measure and report the proximity and / or quasi co-location (QCL) information of the UE with respect to the RAN. Such information can include the distance and motion information of the UE with respect to the base station 204 or the UE 203 and / or the channel conditions. In some embodiments, the DGF facilitates the information exchange between the UEs 202 within the device group by routing the information from one UE to another UE.

[0041] In Figure 2BIn architecture 200B, UE 202 uses resources scheduled by base station 204 to perform mode 1 sidelink communication. Different from architecture 200A where the SDF is provided by application server 201, architecture 200B does not involve an application server to provide the SDF. Instead, each of UEs 202B to 202D establishes a D2D link with UE 202A to transfer the SDF in sidelink communication.

[0042] In architecture 200B, the DGF can be similarly implemented within CN 205 as one of the network functions or within base station 204. To form a device group with UE 202, base station 204 can directly obtain a device group registration request from UE 202 or via the management node of UE202A. The functions and operations of the DGF in architecture 200B are similar to those described above in architecture 200A and are thus omitted for simplicity.

[0043] In Figure 2C In architecture 200C, UE 202 uses resources scheduled by UE 203 to perform mode 2 sidelink communication without involving the base station. In this case, the DGF can be implemented within UE 203, which can form a group including UE 202 based on a device group registration request received from UE 202. Based on the information received from UE 202, the DGF can schedule the SDF transfer with UE 202 by performing operations similar to those performed by the DGFs in architectures 200A and 200B.

[0044] In Figure 2D In architecture 200D, UE 203 receives network services from CN 205 via base station 204. UE 203 operates a subnetwork (e.g., as a hotspot) that allows UEs 202 to communicate locally (e.g., without going through the RAN of base station 204). In local communication, UE 202A can perform an application that transfers the SDF to UEs 202B to 202D via UE 203 as the management node. In this architecture, the DGF can be implemented within UE 203, which forms a group including all of the UEs in UE 202 or only UEs 202B to 202D. The DGF in architecture 200D can perform operations similar to those performed by the DGFs in architectures 200A to 200C.

[0045] As described above, due to the interdependencies between SDFs, multi-modal SDFs may be subject to alignment requirements such as time constraints. For SDFs transmitted with the same UE, this interdependency results in time constraints across SDFs. For SDFs transmitted with different UEs, this interdependency results in time constraints across UEs. This time constraint can be applied between corresponding packets, between corresponding packet bursts, or between corresponding sets of PDUs of interdependent SDFs. For example, this time constraint can specify a maximum time difference between the reception of a packet (or packet burst or set of PDUs) in a first SDF towards a first UE and the reception of a corresponding packet (or packet burst or set of PDUs) in a second SDF towards a second UE. This time constraint can further specify that when the delay between the two receptions is longer than a threshold, the later reception or both receptions should be discarded as invalid. Whether this time constraint is across SDFs or across UEs, the DGF according to a particular implementation is configured to schedule SDFs in a coordinated manner that takes into account the time constraint.

[0046] Figure 3 Illustrates an example processing of data streams corresponding to two UEs (UE1 and UE2) according to some particular implementations. In Figure 3 scenarios 300A and 300B, the DGF schedules five packet bursts (numbered packet burst 1 to packet burst 5) to each of UE1 and UE2 according to a time constraint in the form of a maximum packet burst distance (MPBD). In this example, the MPBD specifies a time window that starts at the time when a packet burst in one SDF is ready to be sent to the UE, which is earlier than the time when the corresponding packet burst in the other SDF is ready.

[0047] In scenario 300A, packet burst 1 for both the UE1 SDF and the UE2 SDF is ready to be sent at the same time, thus satisfying the time constraint. Therefore, the DGF can schedule the transmission of packet burst 1 for the UE1 SDF and the UE2 SDF simultaneously.

[0048] In addition, in scenario 300A, after packet burst 2 for the UE1 SDF is ready to be sent, packet burst 2 for the UE2 SDF is immediately ready to be sent. Despite the delay, both packet bursts are ready within the time window specified by the MPBD. Therefore, the DGF can keep packet burst 2 for the UE1 SDF aligned with the UE2 SDF and schedule the transmission of packet burst 2 for the UE1 SDF and the UE2 SDF simultaneously.

[0049] In addition, in scenario 300A, after the packet burst 3 for UE1 SDF is ready to be transmitted, the packet burst 3 for UE2 SDF is ready to be transmitted. Although the latency of packet burst 3 is longer than that of packet burst 2 described above, the packet bursts 3 for UE1 SDF and UE2 SDF are ready within the time window specified by the MPBD. Therefore, the DGF can keep the packet burst 3 for UE1 SDF aligned with UE2 SDF and schedule the transmission of the packet bursts 3 for UE1 SDF and UE2 SDF simultaneously.

[0050] In addition, in scenario 300A, after the packet burst 4 for UE1 SDF is ready to be transmitted, the packet burst 4 for UE2 SDF is ready to be transmitted. Here, the latency is longer than the maximum value allowed by the MPBD, which means that the packet burst 4 for UE2 SDF is ready outside the time window. Therefore, the DGF can schedule the transmission of the packet burst 4 for UE1 SDF at the end of the time window while discarding the late packet burst 4 for UE2 SDF.

[0051] In addition, in scenario 300A, after the packet burst 5 for UE1 SDF is ready to be transmitted, the packet burst 5 for UE2 SDF is ready to be transmitted. The latency is minimal and may be caused by jitter. Both packet bursts are ready within the time window specified by the MPBD. Therefore, the DGF can keep the packet burst 5 for UE1 SDF aligned with UE2 SDF and schedule the transmission of the packet bursts 5 for UE1 SDF and UE2 SDF simultaneously, taking into account, for example, the difference in processing speed between the two UEs or the difference in propagation delay on the paths to the two UEs. This can be similar to the adjustment for the packet burst 3 for UE1 SDF.

[0052] In scenario 300B, the scheduling of packets 1, 2, 3, and 5 is the same as that described in scenario 300A. For the packet burst 4 for UE1 SDF, different from scenario 300A, the DGF in scenario 300B discards both the packet burst 4 for UE1 SDF and the packet burst 4 for UE2 SDF. In other words, discarding a late packet burst in scenario 300A does not result in the discarding of the corresponding packet burst in the mutually dependent SDFs, while discarding a late packet burst in scenario 300B does result in the discarding of the corresponding packet bursts in the mutually dependent SDFs. Whether the DGF adopts the scheduling of scenario 300A or 300B can depend on, for example, the nature of the SDFs and / or the requirements of the UEs, which can be indicated to the DGF when the UE transmits its device group registration request.

[0053] Although the packet bursts shown in Scenario 300A or 300B have the same size, the packet bursts (or sets of packets or PDUs) of interdependent SDFs may have different sizes. In these cases, when determining the MPBD, the DGF may consider the different sizes. Alternatively or additionally, the interdependent SDFs may have different priorities in terms of alignment. For example, even if the corresponding packet bursts (or sets of data packets or PDUs) of the interdependent low-priority SDFs are discarded due to lateness, the packet bursts (or sets of packets or PDUs) of the high-priority SDFs may be scheduled. On the other hand, it may be specified that when the corresponding packet bursts (or sets of packets or PDUs) of the interdependent high-priority SDFs are discarded due to lateness, the packet bursts (or sets of packets or PDUs) of the low-priority SDFs should be discarded. The DGF may obtain these priority settings and priority information of the SDFs from, for example, a device group registration request, and make scheduling decisions accordingly. Other parameters that the DGF may use in scheduling include the size and interval of the packets, packet bursts, or sets of PDUs in the SDF.

[0054] Figures 4A to 4C Each illustrates an example procedure for forming a device group including UEs 402-1 and 402-2 according to some specific implementations. Figure 4A Procedure 400A is applied to the scenario where UE 402-1 acts as a management node that interacts with the DGF 421 to register both UEs 402-1 and 402-2 in the device group, while Figure 4B Procedure 400B is applied to the scenario where UEs 402-1 and 402-2 each individually interact with the DGF 421 to register themselves in the device group without going through a management node. Additionally, Figure 4C Procedure 400C illustrates establishing a group PDU session for the device group. In Figures 4A to 4C , UEs 402-1 and 402-2 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 102. The DGF 421 may be implemented within the base station or within the CN. Additionally, the application server 401 may be similar to Figure 2A application server 201. The communication between UEs 402-1 and 402-2, the DGF 421, and the application server 401 may be via the RAN operated by the base station, which is omitted in the illustration.

[0055] In Figure 4A Procedure 400A, at 411, UEs 402-1 and 402-2 register with the application server 401 as belonging to the same device group. UEs 402-1 and 402-2 may register as devices that execute an application managed by the application server 401 and expect to receive SDFs according to the application.

[0056] At 412, the UE 402-1 acting as a management node collects information from the UE 402-2 to prepare for group registration. As described above, the information collected may include, for example, the ID of the UE 402-2, the processing capabilities of the UE 402-2, the interdependencies of the SDFs that the UE 402-2 expects to transmit, and other QoS parameters of the UE 402-2. The UE 402-1 may collect information from the end-to-end (E2E) link with the UE 402-2, such as a link established via the UE 402-1 or a local link directly established between the two UEs using, for example, BLUETOOTH or WI-FI technology.

[0057] At 413, the UE 402-1 determines alignment requirements, such as timing constraints for interdependent SDFs and for interdependent UEs as specified by the application. For example, the application server 401 may provide the UE 402-1 with one or more sets of QoS flow identifiers (QFIs) of the SDFs and / or filters to identify certain packets within the SDF.

[0058] At 414, the UE 402-1 determines the initial (e.g., before forming the device group) processing delays of the UE 402-1 and 402-2. For example, the UE 402-1 may determine its own processing delay and obtain the processing delay of the UE 402-2 based on the information obtained at 412.

[0059] At 415, the UE 402-1 sends a device group registration request to the DGF 421 on behalf of itself and the UE 402-2. In this device group registration request, the UE 402-1 may provide a list of the IDs of the UE 402-1 and UE 402-2 as group members. The UE 402-1 may also provide the DGF 421 with the parameters obtained in the operations at 412 to 414.

[0060] At 416, in response to the device group registration request, the DGF 421 creates a device group including the UE 402-1 and 402-2. The DGF 421 may configure the RAN using coordinated scheduling based on the parameters received from the UE 402-1 at 415.

[0061] At 417, the DGF notifies the UE 402-1 and 402-2 of the device group setup and provides the UE 402-1 and 402-2 with the group configuration. A description of an example group setup procedure is provided later with reference to Figure 5 Describe an example group setup procedure.

[0062] In Figure 4B In procedure 400B, the operation at 431 is similar to those at 411 in procedure 400A, where the UE 402-1 and 402-2 register with the application server 401 as belonging to the same device group.

[0063] Since procedure 400B does not involve the management node, each of the UEs 402-1 and 402-2 separately obtains information and sends a request to form a group. For example, at 432-1 and 432-2, the UEs 402-1 and 402-2 respectively obtain a group ID from the application run by the application server 401. Using this group ID, the UE 402-1 determines its alignment requirements, determines its initial processing delay, and transmits a device group registration request to the DGF 421. These operations performed at 433-1, 434-1, and 435-1 may be similar to those performed by the UE 402-1 at 413 to 415 of procedure 400A, except that the operations at 413 to 415 are performed on behalf of both the UEs 402-1 and 402-2, while the operations at 433-1, 434-1, and 435-1 of procedure 400B are performed by the UE 402-1 on behalf of itself. Similarly, at 433-2, 434-2, and 435-2, the UE 402-2 determines its alignment requirements, determines its initial processing delay, and transmits a device group registration request to the DGF 421.

[0064] At 436, upon receiving the device group registration request from the UE 402-1, the DGF 421 creates a group and configures coordinated scheduling, similar to the operation at 416 of procedure 400A. Later, when the DGF 421 receives a device group registration request from the UE 402-2, at 437, the DGF 421 adds the UE 402-2 to the group and adjusts the coordinated scheduling.

[0065] At 438, the DGF 421 performs a group setup procedure similar to that performed at operation 417 of procedure 400A.

[0066] Once the SDF transmission is scheduled by the DGF, the CN can configure the SDF to be sent to the device group in one or more PDU sessions. In some specific embodiments, the CN configures multiple PDU sessions for sending multiple SDFs, where each PDU session is for a different recipient Internet Protocol (IP) address. Using these configurations, the DGF can manage the multiplexing of the SDF towards the device group in the PDU sessions. In some alternative specific embodiments, the CN configures a single group PDU session for all interdependent SDFs to communicate with the same device group. The group PDU session can be mapped to multiple IP addresses, or mapped to a single address pointing to all UEs addressed by the group PDU session, in which case the application server can treat the single address as a virtual address. Refer to Figure 4C the procedure for setting up a group PDU session, where the UE 402-1 acts as a management node on behalf of the UEs 402-1 and 402-2.

[0067] In Figure 4C in the procedure 400C, the operations at 451 can be similar to those at 411 to 414 of the procedure 400A. Therefore, for simplicity, the description of the operations at 451 is omitted.

[0068] At 452, the UE 402-1 sends a request to the CN to establish a group PDU session. This request processed by the session management function (SMF) of the CN can include parameters obtained from both the UE 402-1 and 402-2 at 451.

[0069] At 453-1 and 453-2, the CN communicates with the UE 402-1 and 402-2 via the SMF 423 to establish a group PDU session for all interdependent SDFs addressed to the UE 402-1 and 402-2. Then, the UE1 402-1 can notify the DGF 421 of the group PDU session and the interdependency of the SDFs within the session.

[0070] At 454, the UE 402-1 sends a device group registration request to the CN (specifically to the DGF 421). In addition to the information conveyed at 415 of the procedure 400A, the UE 402-1 can also include parameters related to the group PDU session at 454, such as the group address of the PDU session.

[0071] Figure 4C The illustrated scenario involves the management node UE 402-1 sending a request to establish a group PDU session. In an alternative embodiment, each of the UE 402-1 and 402-2 can individually interact with the CN to establish a group PDU session for the device group without involving the management node. The operations in these alternative embodiments can be similar to those Figure 4C referred to, and are therefore omitted for simplicity.

[0072] Figure 5 An example procedure 500 for device group setup according to some embodiments is illustrated. The procedure 500 involves the UE 502-1 and 502-2 forming a device group through the DGF521, which can be implemented within a base station (BS) 504 or the CN. The procedure 500 also involves one or more network functions of the CN, such as the UPF 531. Some or all of the operations of the procedure 500 can be implemented as the group setup operations at 417 of the procedure 400A and 438 of the procedure 400B.

[0073] At 541, the DGF 521 creates a group based on the device group registration requests received from the UE 502-1 and / or 502-2. In the procedures 400A and 400B where group creation is separate from group setup, the operations at 521 can be omitted from the group setup procedure.

[0074] At 542, in the scenario where the CN involves routers and gateways, the DGF 521 configures the routers and gateways and provides device group information to the CN (especially the UPF 531), enabling the CN to be aware of the formation of the device group and provide network services accordingly.

[0075] At 543, the UPF 531, which may be joined by the DGF 521, generates information for coordinating group scheduling.

[0076] At 544 and 545, the DGF 521 configures the device group using coordinated group scheduling via the BS 504.

[0077] Based on this configuration, the UEs 402-1 and 402-2 respectively perform constituent member measurements at 546-1 and 546-2. The following references Figure 6A and Figure 6B describe two types of constituent member measurements.

[0078] Figure 6A and Figure 6B each illustrate an example procedure of constituent member measurement according to some specific implementations. Figure 6A The procedure 600A of Figure 6B illustrates the measurement of the delay between the constituent member UE 602 and the BS 604, while the procedure 600B of

[0079] illustrates the measurement of the proximity between the UE602 and the BS 604.

[0080] At 611 of the procedure 600A, the BS 604 configures the UE 602 to report the delay measurement result. For example, the BS 604 may configure the UE 602 to report the delay measurement result periodically or when triggered by an event.

[0081] At 612, the UE 602 performs a measurement of its internal processing delay, which may indicate the processing capacity of the UE 602.

[0082] At 615, upon receiving a latency report from UE 602, BS 604 adjusts coordinated scheduling based on latency reports from UE 602 and other UEs in the device group. Thus, the scheduling performed by BS 604 managed by this DGF can be updated while continuing to consider alignment requirements.

[0083] At 621 of procedure 600B, BS 604 configures UE 602 to report proximity measurement results (e.g., distance from another UE in the device group, from BS 604, or from another reference location). For example, BS 604 can configure UE 602 to report proximity measurement results periodically or when triggered by an event.

[0084] At 622, UE 602 performs proximity measurements according to the configuration received at 621. The measurement result can indicate, for example, the distance between UE 602 and another UE in the device group.

[0085] At 623 and 624, UE 602 determines to report the measured distance to BS 604. This reporting can occur periodically or when triggered by an event, which can be configured by the DGF via BS 604 at 621. For example, the trigger event can include UE 602 being detected by a motion sensor to move more than a threshold distance or the communication quality degradation amount between UE 602 and another UE reaching a threshold. This trigger event and the involved threshold can be configured by the DGF via BS 604.

[0086] At 625, BS 604 correlates the distance information with the measured channel conditions based on the proximity measurement results received from UE 602, and the measured channel conditions can be indicated by metrics such as reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal strength indicator (RSSI). BS 604 can determine the QCL relationship between UE 602 and another UE and perform coordinated scheduling accordingly.

[0087] Figure 7 An example wireless network 700 with a set of UEs 702-1 to 702-n (collectively referred to as UEs 702) according to some specific implementations is illustrated. All UEs 702 belonging to device group A receive a multimodal data set 722 provided by application server 701 via base station 704. The data set 722 can be structured in a message with packets 720-1, 720-2... 720-n (collectively referred to as packets 720) that respectively provide radio resource assignment parameters to UEs 702. An example application of the architecture of network 700 is an XR application, where the user controls UEs 702 to perform XR tasks with application server 701.

[0088] Each UE 702 in device group A may be configured with group assignment configuration information (e.g., one or more sets of group assignment configurations) to be used when exchanging data payloads with application server 701. This group assignment configuration information may indicate dedicated radio resource assignment parameters, such as a set of physical resource blocks (PRBs), for each of the UEs 702 to communicate with application server 701 via base station 704. The allocation of this group assignment configuration information may be performed in a semi-static manner or a dynamic manner, which will be described later with reference to Figure 8A and Figure 8B this will be described.

[0089] After assigning UEs 702 to group A, base station 704 sends the data included in packet 720 to each of the UEs 702 via a single group assignment message 710, which may be identified by a group ID such as a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). By monitoring and receiving group assignment message 710 from base station 704, each of the UEs 702 can determine radio resource assignment parameters based on the group assignment configuration and the parameters received in group assignment message 710. Using the determined radio resource assignment parameters, each of the UEs 702 can determine radio resources when starting to exchange data payloads with base station 704.

[0090] Figure 8A and Figure 8B respectively illustrate example procedures 800A and 800B for group assignment according to some specific implementations. Procedures 800A and 800B are performed between BS 804 (which may be similar to Figure 7 base station 704) and UE 802 (which may be similar to Figure 7 any one of the UEs 702). Procedure 800A illustrates a semi-static method of configuring UE 802 using assignment information, while procedure 800B illustrates a dynamic method of configuring UE 802 using assignment information.

[0091] In Figure 8A procedure 800A of, at 811, BS 804 sends group assignment configuration information to UE 802, thereby providing UE802 with one or more radio resource assignment parameters, which may be organized in a dedicated resource set. In addition to indicating the dedicated resource set for UE 802, this group assignment configuration information may also include, for example, the modulation scheme, channel decoding scheme, and start offset and size of the radio resources in the frequency domain and time domain to be used by UE 802 when communicating with BS 804. This group assignment configuration information may be sent to UE 802 via, for example, secure radio resource control (RRC) signaling. When UE 802 belongs to a device group (e.g., Figure 7When BS 804 is in the group A), BS 804 can similarly send dedicated group assignment configuration information to other UEs in the device group. The group assignment configuration information received by each UE in the group can include UE-specific parameters, which may be accompanied by parameters common to all UEs in the device group.

[0092] In some specific embodiments, the group assignment configuration information is sent together with or as part of the coordinated group scheduling signaling that has been described with reference to Figures 4A to 5 The DGF assigns multiple UEs in the device group via the coordinated group scheduling signaling. For example, a message with group assignment configuration information dedicated to UE 402 can be sent from DGF 421 to Figures 4A to 4C UE 402 in via the base station during or after the group setup operation at 417 or 438.

[0093] At 811-1, BS 804 sends a packet message to UE 802 to assign UE 802 to a device group having one or more other UEs. In some specific embodiments, the packet message is sent via, for example, an RRC message, a layer 2 (L2) media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a layer 1 (L1) message. In some specific embodiments, the packet message is sent as part of the group assignment configuration information at 811. In these specific embodiments, the operations at 811 and 811-1 can be combined. When the packet message is sent separately from the group assignment configuration information, the packet message can be sent at a time independent of the time of sending the group assignment configuration information.

[0094] At 812, UE 802 stores the dedicated assignment configuration information in its memory. Based on the stored information, UE802 can monitor the group assignment message, which can be used as a communication grant to trigger UE 802 to communicate with BS 804.

[0095] At 813, BS 804 sends the group assignment message to UE 802, for example, via downlink control information (DCI) signaling on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). When UE 802 belongs to a device group having multiple UEs, BS 804 can send a single group assignment message to all UEs in the device group, such as Figure 7 Sending group assignment message 710 to UE 702 in. The group assignment message can be used as a single communication grant for all UEs in the device group. When receiving the group assignment message, all UEs (including UE 802 and other UEs) in the device group can start communicating with BS 804. Compared with other methods where each UE is individually granted communication via a dedicated message, the method described herein simplifies the communication procedure and reduces communication overhead by allowing the sending of a single group assignment message.

[0096] The group assignment message sent at 813 may include one or more radio resource assignment parameters shared by UE 802 and other UEs in the device group. These radio resource assignment parameters in the group assignment message may supplement those radio resource assignment parameters in the dedicated resource set. Alternatively or additionally, some radio resource assignment parameters in the group assignment message may overlap with those radio resource assignment parameters in the dedicated resource set received at 811, and it is up to UE 802 to decide whether to use the radio resource assignment parameters received at 811 or to rewrite those radio resource assignment parameters with the radio resource assignment parameters in the group assignment message. UE 802 may make the decision on its own or based on the configuration of BS804.

[0097] The group assignment message common to all UEs in the device group may provide information that can be used by each UE to derive UE-specific radio resource assignment parameters. For example, in the group assignment message sent at 813, BS 804 may provide UE 802 and other UEs in the device group that the starting offset of radio resource PRB is 5 and the number of allocated PRBs is 10. Based on this information and the index of each UE in the group assigned to UE 802 by BS 804 at 811-1, each UE can derive the resources to be used when communicating with BS 804: the UE with index 1 uses the resources starting from PRB#5, the UE with index 2 uses the resources starting from PRB#15, the UE with index 3 uses the resources starting from PRB#25, and so on.

[0098] At 814, after receiving the group assignment message and determining the radio resource assignment parameters, UE 802 communicates with BS804 to exchange data payloads. For example, UE 802 may send the pending data in its buffer to BS 804 according to at least one of the parameters in the dedicated group assignment configuration information or the parameters in the group assignment message. Similarly, after receiving the group assignment message and determining the radio resource assignment parameters, other UEs in the same device group may separately send their pending data to BS804 or receive data from BS 804. In the case where UE 802 has no pending data to send, UE 802 may skip the sending.

[0099] In Figure 8B Procedure 800B, the operations at 831, 831-1, and 832 are similar to those at 811, 811-1, and 812 in Procedure 800A, where UE 802 receives and stores dedicated assignment configuration information from BS 804.

[0100] At 833, the UE 802 receives a group assignment message from the BS 804. Different from the group assignment message received at 813 in Procedure 800A, the group assignment message received at 833 does not directly provide radio resource assignment parameters. Instead, the group assignment message received at 833 triggers the UE 802 to monitor and receive, at 834, a message with UE assignment information, where the UE assignment information message provides radio resource assignment parameters dedicated to the UE 802. The UE assignment information message may dynamically grant the UE 802 to communicate with the BS 804 using the radio resource assignment parameters provided by using resources (e.g., time slots and PRBs) according to the rules given in the dedicated assignment configuration information. For example, the dedicated assignment configuration information may specify that if the group assignment message is received in time slot N, the UE with index X may receive its UE assignment information message at the Xth PRB of time slot N. As another example, the dedicated assignment configuration information may specify that if the group assignment message is received in time slot N, the UE with index X may receive its UE assignment information message at the (X + K)th PRB of time slot N, where K is an offset (e.g., 9), whose value may be a predefined constant or may be passed by the BS 804. As yet another example, the dedicated assignment configuration information may specify that if the group assignment message is received in time slot N, the UE with index X may receive its UE assignment information message at the (X + K × M)th PRB of time slot N, where K is an offset, whose value may be a predefined constant or may be passed by the BS 804, and M is the ID of the group to which the UE belongs.

[0101] After obtaining the radio resource assignment parameters from the UE assignment information message, the UE 802 transfers data to the BS 804 at 835. The operation at 835 may be similar to those at 814 in Procedure 800A.

[0102] In some specific implementations according to Procedure 800A or 800B, the radio resource assignment parameters include one or more parameters common to all UEs in the device group and one or more parameters specific to UE 802. In an example of an XR multi-user game application where the game server is wirelessly connected to multiple identical XR glasses in the network with the same characteristics (e.g., capabilities or channel conditions), the network can group the multiple glasses to receive multimodal data from the game server based on the same radio resource assignment parameters. If in the same multi-user game application, the game server is also wirelessly connected to multiple different XR devices with different characteristics, the network can still group the multiple devices to receive multimodal data from the game server, but the radio resource assignment parameters between the devices may be different. The game server can provide a subset of the radio resource assignment parameters common to all devices (e.g., independent of the device characteristics), while providing another subset of the radio resource assignment parameters specific to each device (depending on the device characteristics).

[0103] In some specific implementations, by providing radio resource assignment parameters, BS 804 can rewrite and / or override one or more configurations received by UE802 from the dedicated group assignment configuration information at 811 of Procedure 800A or at 831 of Procedure 800B. For example, BS 804 can specify one or more resources for UE 802 to use when transmitting at 814 or 835 in the dedicated group assignment configuration information, but later specify one or more different resources at 813 or 834 when providing the radio resource assignment parameters. UE 802 can be configured to determine whether to use the resources provided later or the previously configured resources. If the resources provided later are used in the radio resource assignment parameters, UE 802 can further store the actually used resources in its memory to rewrite the existing resources stored at 812 or 832.

[0104] For multiple UEs in a device group, each UE can determine whether to use a semi-static method or a dynamic method to receive radio resource assignment parameters. Alternatively or additionally, each UE can determine whether to rewrite or override its dedicated assignment configuration information using the radio resource assignment parameters received later. Each UE can make its determination independently of the choices of other UEs.

[0105] In some specific implementations, the UE is flexibly and dynamically added to a device group, removed from a device group, or switched from one device group to another according to the request of the UE or according to the decision of the network (e.g., when receiving an instruction from a base station). For example, the UE may request to be added to the device group by indicating that the UE has a relationship with the devices in the device group (e.g., the UE and those devices in the device group are configured for the same XR application). Alternatively or additionally, if multiple UEs all have data to be processed on corresponding radio bearers with the same QoS requirements, these UEs may request to be added to the same device group.

[0106] In some specific implementations, the UE may be assigned to multiple device groups and receive dedicated assignment configuration information for these groups. The base station may indicate to the UE via an L1, L2, or L3 command whether the device group to which the UE belongs is active (e.g., whether radio resource assignment parameters are to be provided for the group), and configure the UE to selectively apply the dedicated assignment configuration information of the active group. The base station may further divide a device group into multiple subgroups, and assign UEs in the same device group to different subgroups. The base station may manage the device group by dynamically adding UEs to the device group or removing UEs from the device group. The UE may be added to more than one device group.

[0107] In some specific implementations, the UE may receive multiple sets of dedicated group assignment configuration information. The UE may select the set of dedicated group assignment configuration information to be used in communication based on the base station configuration associated with the device group received in 811-1.

[0108] In some specific implementations, after receiving radio resource assignment parameters, if there is no data to be processed in the buffer of the UE, the UE skips data transmission. Alternatively or additionally, the UE does not transmit data unless the last buffer status report (BSR) sent to the network has a non-zero value.

[0109] In some specific implementations, a UE that receives a group assignment message for communication in a granted time slot may be individually granted communication in the same time slot by a message dedicated to the UE (e.g., a grant addressed only to the UE). To avoid conflicts, the UE may be configured to communicate according to one of the two grants. For example, the UE may be configured to follow the dedicated grant message while ignoring the group assignment message.

[0110] In some specific implementations, the base station signaling the group assignment message may be accompanied by sending a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) message to the UE. Alternatively or additionally, signaling the group assignment message may be accompanied by signaling the configured grant.

[0111] In some specific implementations, the UE may indicate to the base station whether the UE supports the above features. For example, the UE may indicate whether the UE supports coordinated scheduling as part of a device group, and whether the UE supports Figure 8A and Figure 8B the semi-static group assignment procedure described in

[0112] Figures 9A to 9E Flowcharts of example methods 900A to 900E for device group communication according to some specific implementations are respectively illustrated in FIGS. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes methods 900A to 900E in the context of other figures in this specification. For example, method 900A may be performed by the DGF implemented within the CN 205 of Figure 2A or Figure 2B ; method 900B may be performed by the DGF implemented within the base station 204 of Figure 2A or Figure 2B or the DGF implemented within the UE 203 of Figure 2C or Figure 2D ; method 900C may be performed by the UE 203 acting as the management node in Figure 2A or Figure 2D ; method 900D may be performed by the BS 804 of Figure 8A or Figure 8B ; and method 900E may be performed by the UE 802 of Figure 8A or Figure 8B . It should be understood that methods 900A to 900E may be performed, for example, by any suitable system, environment, software, hardware, or combination of system, environment, software, and hardware, as the case may be. In some specific implementations, the various steps of methods 900A to 900E may run in parallel, in combination, in a loop, or in any order.

[0113] In Figure 9A , at 902, method 900A involves: receiving one or more requests for registering a first UE and a second UE in a device group. The one or more requests may be similar to the requests sent at 415 in Figure 4A or at 435-1 or 435-2 in Figure 4B . The device group corresponds to a common application executed by the first UE and the second UE, such as an XR application.

[0114] At 904, method 900A involves: obtaining, from the one or more requests, information about a plurality of UEs in the device group and a plurality of data streams corresponding to the plurality of UEs. The information includes dependency relationship information between a first data stream and a second data stream among the plurality of data streams. The first data stream and the second data stream may be transmitted via the same UE or two different UEs.

[0115] At 906, method 900A involves: transmitting, to a base station, an instruction for configuring the device group, the instruction including scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE. The scheduling information may be based on the dependency relationship information. The instruction may be transmitted in Figure 5 the group setup procedure.

[0116] At Figure 9B in, at 922, method 900B involves: receiving one or more requests for registering a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in a device group. The one or more requests may be similar to the requests sent at 415 in Figure 4A or Figure 4B 435-1 or 435-2 in

[0117] At 924, method 900B involves: obtaining, from the one or more requests, information about a first data stream and a second data stream. The first data stream and the second data stream are associated with communications in the device group, such as communications of video or audio data of a group of XR devices.

[0118] At 926, method 900B involves: determining, based on the first data stream and the second data stream, a timing constraint corresponding to the device group. The timing constraint may include MPBD, such as Figure 3 the MPBD illustrated in

[0119] The timing constraint is applied between packets of the first data stream and the second data stream, between packet bursts of the first data stream and the second data stream, or between sets of PDUs of the first data stream and the second data stream. Figure 3 the operation in

[0120] At 930, method 900B involves: controlling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream (i) to the first UE and the second UE respectively, or (ii) both to the first UE, according to the scheduling.

[0121] At Figure 9CIn 942, method 900C involves obtaining dependency information between a first data stream to be received by the first UE and a second data stream to be received by the second UE from at least one of the first UE and the second UE.

[0122] In 944, method 900C involves sending a request to a base station for registering the first UE and the second UE in a device group. The request includes the dependency information.

[0123] In 946, method 900C involves receiving a configuration of the device group from the base station. The configuration includes timing constraints between the first data stream and the second data stream based at least on the dependency information.

[0124] In 948, method 900C involves scheduling transmissions of the first data stream and the second data stream based on the timing constraints. The scheduling can be similar to Figure 3 the operation of.

[0125] In 950, method 900C involves respectively controlling transmissions of the first data stream and the second data stream to the first UE and the second UE according to the scheduling.

[0126] In Figure 9D In 962, method 900D involves sending group assignment configuration information to a plurality of UEs, the group assignment configuration information indicating a plurality of radio resource assignment parameters respectively dedicated to the plurality of UEs. The sending of the group assignment configuration information can be similar to Figure 8A the operation in 811 in Figure 8B or the operation in 831 in

[0127] In 964, method 900D involves assigning the plurality of UEs to a device group. The operation in 964 can be similar to Figure 8A the operation in 811-1 in Figure 8B or the operation in 831-1 in

[0128] In 966, method 900D involves sending a group assignment message to the plurality of UEs in the device group. The group assignment message can include one or more radio resource assignment parameters common to all UEs in the group. In a dynamic scheduling such as procedure 800B, the group assignment message can be accompanied or followed by UE assignment information that provides dedicated radio resource assignment parameters to each UE.

[0129] At 968, method 900D involves: causing the plurality of UEs to communicate with the base station at least based on the plurality of radio resource assignment parameters. Each UE can determine whether to rewrite or override the radio resource assignment parameters indicated in the set of assignment configuration information with the radio resource assignment parameters indicated in the set of assignment messages and (in the case of dynamic scheduling) the UE assignment information. The communication can be similar to Figure 8A the operation at 814 in Figure 8B or the operation at 835 in

[0130] At Figure 9E in, at 982, method 900E involves: receiving, from the base station, a set of assignment configuration information. The set of assignment configuration information indicates one or more radio resource assignment parameters dedicated to the UE. The receiving of the set of assignment configuration information can be similar to Figure 8A the operation at 811 in Figure 8B or the operation at 831 in

[0131] At 984, method 900E involves: receiving, from the base station, a packet message. The packet message assigns the UE to a device group including one or more other UEs and associates the UE with the one or more radio resource assignment parameters. The receiving of the group message can be similar to Figure 8A the operation at 811-1 in Figure 8B or the operation at 831-1 in

[0132] At 986, method 900E involves: receiving, from the base station, a group assignment message. The group assignment message can include one or more radio resource assignment parameters common to all UEs in the device group. In dynamic scheduling such as protocol 800B, the group assignment message can be accompanied by or followed by UE assignment information that provides dedicated radio resource assignment parameters to the UE.

[0133] At 988, method 900E involves: communicating with the base station at least based on the one or more radio resource assignment parameters in response to the group assignment message. The communication can be similar to Figure 8A the operation at 814 in Figure 8B or the operation at 835 in

[0134] Figure 10 Illustrates an example UE 1000 according to some specific implementations. UE 1000 can be similar to Figure 1 UE 102 of

[0135] The UE 1000 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a pressure sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, etc.), a video device (e.g., a camera, a video camera, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a loose IoT device.

[0136] The UE 1000 may include a processor 1002, an RF interface circuit system 1004, a memory / storage device 1006, a user interface 1008, sensors 1010, a driver circuit system 1012, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1014, one or more antennas 1016, and a battery 1018. The components of the UE 1000 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), parts of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 10 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1000. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may exist, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other specific implementations.

[0137] The components of the UE 1000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1020, which may represent any type of interface, input / output terminal, bus (local, system, or expansion), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0138] The processor 1002 may include processor circuitry, such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1022A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 1022B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 1022C. The processor 1002 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional procedures from the memory / storage device 1006) to cause the UE 1000 to perform the operations described herein.

[0139] In some specific implementations, the baseband processor circuitry 1022A may access the communication protocol stack 1024 in the memory / storage 1006 to communicate via a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuitry 1022A may access the communication protocol stack to: perform user plane functions at the Physical (PHY) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and non-access stratum. In some specific implementations, the PHY layer operations may additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuitry 1004. The baseband processor circuitry 1022A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some specific implementations, the waveforms for NR may be based on Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) “CP-OFDM” in the uplink or downlink, and Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM “DFT-S-OFDM” in the uplink.

[0140] The memory / storage 1006 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that include instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 1024), which may be executed by one or more processors in the processor 1002 to cause the UE 1000 to perform the various operations described herein. The memory / storage 1006 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1000. In some specific implementations, some of the memory / storage in the memory / storage 1006 may be located on the processor 1002 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1006 is located external to the processor 1002 but is accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1006 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as but not limited to Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0141] The RF interface circuitry 1004 may include transceiver circuitry and a Radio Frequency Front-End Module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1000 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry 1004 may include various elements arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, control circuitry, etc.

[0142] In the receive path, the RFEM can receive a radiated signal from the air interface via antenna 1016 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). The signal can be provided to the receiver of the transceiver, which down-converts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 1002.

[0143] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM can amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via antenna 1016. In various embodiments, the RF interface circuitry 1004 can be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with the NR access technology.

[0144] Antenna 1016 can include one or more antenna elements to convert an electrical signal into radio waves to travel through the air and convert the received radio waves into an electrical signal. These antenna elements can be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1016 can have antenna panels with omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple-input, multiple-output communication. Antenna 1016 can include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. Antenna 1016 can have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band including a frequency band in FR1 or FR2.

[0145] The user interface 1008 includes various input / output (I / O) devices that are designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 1000. The user interface 1008 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual component for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual component for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry can include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light-emitting diodes "LEDs") and multi-character visual outputs) or more complex outputs (such as a display device or a touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display "LCD", an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.)), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 1000.

[0146] The sensor 1010 may include a device, module, or subsystem that is designed to detect events or changes in its environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, in particular: inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems or nanoelectromechanical systems including three-axis accelerometers, three-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers; level sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors, etc.); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones, or other similar audio capture devices; and so on.

[0147] The drive circuitry 1012 may include software elements and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1000. The drive circuitry 1012 may include various drivers that allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present within or connected to the UE 1000. For example, the drive circuitry 1012 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from the sensor 1010 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor 1010, a driver for obtaining the actuator position of an electromechanical component or for controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0148] The PMIC 1014 may manage the power supplied to various components of the UE 1000. Specifically, with respect to the processor 1002, the PMIC 1014 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0149] In some specific implementations, the PMIC 1014 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 1000. The battery 1018 may power the UE 1000, but in some examples, the UE 1000 may be installed in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 1018 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery (such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc.). In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1018 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0150] Figure 11An access node 1100 (e.g., a base station or gNB) according to some implementations is illustrated. The access node 1100 may be similar to the base station 104 and may be substantially interchangeable therewith. The access node 1100 may include a processor 1102, an RF interface circuit system 1104, a core network (CN) interface circuit system 1106, a memory / storage device circuit system 1108, and one or more antennas 1110.

[0151] The components of access node 1100 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1112. Processor 1102, RF interface circuitry 1104, memory / storage circuitry 1108 (including communication protocol stack 1114), antenna 1110, and interconnect 1112 may be similar to those described with respect to Figure 10 Like-named elements are shown and described.For example, processor 1102 may include processor circuitry such as, for example, baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1116A, central processor unit circuitry (CPU) 1116B, and graphics processor unit circuitry (GPU) 1116C.

[0152] The CN interface circuit system 1106 may provide a connection to a core network (e.g., a 5G core network (5GC) using a 5th generation core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol (such as a carrier Ethernet protocol), or a CN based on 6G or some other suitable protocol). The network connection may be provided to / from the access node 1100 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit system 1106 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some specific implementations, the CN interface circuit system 1106 may include multiple controllers for providing connections to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0153] As used herein, terms such as "access node", "access point", etc. may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, or TRP, etc., and may include terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographical area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, terms such as "NG RAN node" etc. may refer to an access node 1100 (e.g., gNB) operating in an NR or 5G system, and terms such as "E-UTRAN node" etc. may refer to an access node 1100 (e.g., eNB) operating in an LTE or 4G system. According to various embodiments, the access node 1100 may be implemented as one or more of a dedicated physical device (such as a macrocell base station) and / or a low-power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0154] In some embodiments, all or part of the access node 1100 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer, as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In a V2X scenario, the access node 1100 may be or act as a "road side unit". The term "road side unit" or "RSU" may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where the RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", the RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", the RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on.

[0155] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted to include the phrase "configured to". A component described as configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

[0156] For one or more specific implementations, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described in the embodiments section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples in the following examples. Also, for example, the circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth in the examples section below.

[0157] Examples

[0158] In the following sections, additional exemplary specific implementations are provided.

[0159] Embodiment 1 includes a method that includes: receiving one or more requests for registering a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in a device group, where the device group corresponds to a common application executed by the first UE and the second UE; obtaining, from the one or more requests, information about a plurality of UEs in the device group and a plurality of data streams corresponding to the plurality of UEs in the device group, the information including dependency relationship information between a first data stream and a second data stream among the plurality of data streams; and transmitting, to a base station, an instruction for configuring the device group, where the instruction includes scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE, and where the scheduling information is at least based on the dependency relationship information.

[0160] Embodiment 2 includes the method according to Embodiment 1, where both the first data stream and the second data stream correspond to the first UE.

[0161] Embodiment 3 includes the method according to Embodiment 1, where the first data stream and the second data stream respectively correspond to the first UE and the second UE.

[0162] Embodiment 4 includes the method according to Embodiment 3, where transmitting the instruction for configuring the device group includes determining a timing constraint between the first data stream and the second data stream based on the dependency relationship information between the first data stream and the second data stream, and where the scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE is at least based on the timing constraint.

[0163] Embodiment 5 includes the method according to Embodiment 4, where determining the timing constraint is based on determining the processing capability of at least one of the first UE or the second UE.

[0164] Example 6 includes the method according to Example 4, the method further comprising: instructing the base station to send the first data stream and the second data stream to the first UE and the second UE respectively according to the timing constraint.

[0165] Example 7 includes the method according to Example 4, wherein the timing constraint includes a time window, and the time window is characterized by a maximum time difference between a first time when the first UE receives data corresponding to the first data stream and a second time when the second UE receives data corresponding to the second data stream during a specified time period.

[0166] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 4, the method further comprising determining the scheduling information based on at least one of the following: delay measurement results reported by the first UE and the second UE, proximity measurement results reported by the first UE and the second UE, or quasi - co - location (QCL) information between the first UE and the second UE.

[0167] Example 9 includes the method according to Example 4, wherein the instruction further includes at least one of the following: an identifier of the device group, priority information of the plurality of data streams, one or more policies for scheduling failure, or one or more UE reporting configurations.

[0168] Example 10 includes the method according to Example 1, the method further comprising: instructing a session management function (SMF) to establish a plurality of PDU sessions with the device group, wherein the plurality of PDU sessions includes a first PDU session corresponding to the first data stream and a second PDU session corresponding to the second data stream.

[0169] Example 11 includes the method according to Example 1, the method further comprising: receiving requests from the plurality of UEs for establishing a group protocol data unit (PDU) session; and instructing a session management function (SMF) to establish the group PDU session with the device group, wherein the group PDU session includes one or more member PDU sessions.

[0170] Example 12 includes the method according to Example 11, wherein the first data stream and the second data stream are sent in the same member PDU session of the one or more PDU sessions.

[0171] Embodiment 13 includes a method that includes: receiving one or more requests for registering a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in a device group; obtaining information about a first data stream and a second data stream from the one or more requests, where the first data stream and the second data stream are associated with communications in the device group; determining a timing constraint corresponding to the device group based on the first data stream and the second data stream, where the timing constraint is applied between packets of the first data stream and the second data stream, between packet bursts of the first data stream and the second data stream, or between sets of protocol data units (PDUs) of the first data stream and the second data stream; scheduling the first data stream and the second data stream based on the timing constraint; and controlling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream (i) to the first UE and the second UE respectively, or (ii) both to the first UE according to the scheduling.

[0172] Embodiment 14 includes the method according to Embodiment 13, where the information about the first data stream and the second data stream includes dependency information between the first data stream and the second data stream.

[0173] Embodiment 15 includes the method according to Embodiment 14, where the first data stream and the second data stream respectively correspond to the first UE and the second UE, and where determining the timing constraint includes: determining a time window based on the dependency information, the time window being characterized by a maximum time difference between a first time when the first UE receives data corresponding to the first data stream and a second time when the second UE receives data corresponding to the second data stream during a specified time period.

[0174] Embodiment 16 includes a method that includes: obtaining dependency information between a first data stream to be received by a first user equipment (UE) and a second data stream to be received by a second UE from at least one of the first UE and the second UE; sending a request for registering the first UE and the second UE in a device group to a base station, where the request includes the dependency information; receiving a configuration of the device group from the base station, the configuration including a timing constraint between the first data stream and the second data stream based at least on the dependency information; scheduling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream based on the timing constraint; and controlling the transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream to the first UE and the second UE respectively according to the scheduling.

[0175] Example 17 includes the method according to Example 16, wherein the dependency information corresponds to a common application executed by each of the first UE and the second UE, and wherein the application generates multimodal data including the first data stream and the second data stream.

[0176] Example 18 includes the method according to Example 17, wherein the multimodal data is directed to a plurality of UEs in the device group that each execute the application, the plurality of UEs including the first UE and the second UE.

[0177] Example 19 includes a method performed by a base station, the method including: sending group assignment configuration information to a plurality of user equipments (UEs), the group assignment configuration information indicating a plurality of radio resource assignment parameters respectively dedicated to the plurality of UEs; assigning the plurality of UEs to a device group; sending a group assignment message to the plurality of UEs in the device group; and causing the plurality of UEs to communicate with the base station based at least on the plurality of radio resource assignment parameters.

[0178] Example 20 includes the method according to Example 19, wherein the group assignment message includes one or more common radio resource assignment parameters common to the plurality of UEs in the device group, and wherein the group assignment message causes the plurality of UEs to communicate with the base station based on the one or more common radio resource assignment parameters.

[0179] Example 21 includes the method according to Example 19, the method further including: sending, separately from the group assignment message, a plurality of dynamic radio resource assignment parameters respectively dedicated to the plurality of UEs to the plurality of UEs in the device group; and causing the plurality of UEs to communicate with the base station based at least on the plurality of dynamic radio resource assignment parameters and the plurality of radio resource assignment parameters.

[0180] Example 22 includes the method according to Example 21, the method further including: causing the plurality of UEs to derive the plurality of dynamic radio resource assignment parameters according to the group assignment configuration information.

[0181] Example 23 includes the method according to Example 19, the method further including: determining that the plurality of UEs have data to be processed on a plurality of radio bearers having the same quality of service (QoS) requirements; and in response to the determination, grouping the plurality of UEs in the device group.

[0182] Example 24 includes the method according to Example 19, the method further including sending an identifier of the device group to the plurality of UEs, wherein the identifier includes a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI).

[0183] Example 25 includes the method according to Example 19, wherein assigning the plurality of UEs to the device group is performed via at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) message, a layer 2 (L2) media access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a layer 1 (L1) message.

[0184] Example 26 includes the method according to Example 19, wherein the one or more radio resource assignment parameters include one or more common parameters applicable to the plurality of UEs in the device group and one or more UE-specific parameters.

[0185] Example 27 includes a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method including: receiving group assignment configuration information from a base station, wherein the group assignment configuration information indicates one or more radio resource assignment parameters; receiving a packet message from the base station, wherein the packet message assigns the UE to a device group including one or more other UEs, and wherein the packet message associates the UE with the one or more radio resource assignment parameters; receiving a group assignment message from the base station; and communicating with the base station in response to the group assignment message, at least based on the one or more radio resource assignment parameters.

[0186] Example 28 includes the method according to Example 27, wherein the group assignment message includes one or more common radio resource assignment parameters shared by the UE and one or more other UEs in the device group.

[0187] Example 29 includes the method according to Example 27, the method further including: receiving, in response to the group assignment message, one or more dynamic radio resource assignment parameters dedicated to the UE from the base station.

[0188] Example 30 includes the method according to Example 29, wherein communicating with the base station is further at least based on the one or more dynamic radio resource assignment parameters.

[0189] Example 31 includes the method according to Example 30, the method further including: determining whether to rewrite the one or more radio resource assignment parameters indicated by the group assignment configuration information with the one or more dynamic radio resource assignment parameters.

[0190] Example 32 includes the method according to Example 29, the method further including: deriving the one or more dynamic radio resource assignment parameters based on the group assignment configuration information.

[0191] Embodiment 33 includes the method according to Embodiment 32, wherein deriving the one or more dynamic radio resource assignment parameters includes: determining an index of the UE in the device group according to the group assignment configuration information; and determining a radio resource start offset associated with the UE based on the index of the UE, wherein communication with the base station is performed according to the radio resource start offset.

[0192] Embodiment 34 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, the method further including indicating to the base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling that the UE supports group assignment.

[0193] Embodiment 35 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, the method further including sending a request to be scheduled as part of the device group to the base station.

[0194] Embodiment 36 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, wherein the group assignment configuration information is first group assignment configuration information indicating that the UE is assigned to a first device group, and wherein the method further includes: receiving second group assignment configuration information from the base station, the second group assignment configuration information indicating that the UE is assigned to a second device group; and receiving an instruction to communicate with the base station as part of the first device group using the first group assignment configuration information.

[0195] Embodiment 37 includes the method according to Embodiment 36, the method further including: receiving a handover instruction to dynamically hand over from the first device group to the second device group.

[0196] Embodiment 38 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, wherein the group assignment configuration information includes a plurality of configuration sets, and wherein the method further includes receiving a selection instruction from the base station, the selection instruction indicating the configuration set to be used for communication with the base station in the device group.

[0197] Embodiment 39 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, wherein the group assignment configuration information includes the packet message.

[0198] Embodiment 40 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, the method further including receiving a removal message to remove the UE from the device group.

[0199] Embodiment 41 includes the method according to Embodiment 27, wherein communicating with the base station includes: sending the uplink data in response to determining that the UE has uplink data to be processed; and skipping uplink transmission in response to determining that the UE does not have uplink data to be processed.

[0200] Example 42 includes the method according to Example 27, wherein the one or more radio resource assignment parameters include one or more common parameters applicable to all UEs in the device group and one or more UE-specific parameters.

[0201] Example 43 includes one or more processors, the one or more processors including circuitry configured to execute instructions that cause a communication device to perform the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0202] Example 44 includes a communication device, the communication device including one or more processors configured to execute the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0203] Example 45 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to execute the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0204] Example 46 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to execute one or more elements of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or related thereto or any other method or process described herein.

[0205] Example 47 may include a device including logic components, modules, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or related thereto or any other method or process described herein.

[0206] Example 48 may include the method, technique, or process according to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or related thereto, or a part or segment thereof.

[0207] Example 49 may include a device including: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the method, technique, or process according to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or related thereto or a part thereof.

[0208] Example 50 may include the signal according to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or related thereto, or a part or segment thereof.

[0209] Example 51 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message, or a portion or section thereof, as described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0210] Example 52 may include a signal encoded with data, or a portion or section thereof, as described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0211] Example 53 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message, or a portion or section thereof, as described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 42 or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0212] Example 54 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0213] Example 55 may include a computer program that includes instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element will cause the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 42. Operations or actions performed by the instructions executed by the processing element may include a method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0214] Example 56 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0215] Example 57 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0216] Example 58 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. Operations or actions performed by the system may include a method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0217] Example 59 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein. Operations or actions performed by the device may include a method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0218] The previously described Examples 1 to 42 can be implemented using the following: a computer-implemented method; a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions to perform the computer-implemented method; and a computer system including a computer memory interoperably coupled to a hardware processor configured to execute the computer-implemented method or the instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0219] A system (e.g., a base station, a device including one or more baseband processors, etc.) can be configured to perform a particular operation or the action by virtue of software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof installed on the system that causes the system to perform the action in operation. The operation or action performed by the system can include the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 42.

[0220] Unless otherwise explicitly stated, any one of the above embodiments can be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the specific implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings, or may be acquired from practice of various specific implementations.

[0221] Although the above specific implementations have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to cover all such variations and modifications.

[0222] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: receiving one or more requests to register a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in a device group, wherein the device group corresponds to a common application executed by the first UE and the second UE; acquiring, from the one or more requests, information about a plurality of UEs in the device group and a plurality of data flows corresponding to the plurality of UEs in the device group, the information comprising dependency relationship information between a first data flow and a second data flow in the plurality of data flows; as well as An instruction for configuring the device group is transmitted to a base station, wherein the instruction includes scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE, and wherein the scheduling information is based on at least the dependency information. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein both the first data stream and the second data stream correspond to the first UE. 3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first data stream and the second data stream correspond to the first UE and the second UE, respectively.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein transmitting the instruction for configuring the device group includes determining a timing constraint between the first data flow and the second data flow based on the dependency information between the first data flow and the second data flow, and Wherein the scheduling information for the first UE and the second UE is based at least on the timing constraint.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the timing constraint is based on determining a processing capability of at least one of the first UE or the second UE.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: The base station is instructed to send the first data stream and the second data stream to the first UE and the second UE respectively according to the timing constraint.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the timing constraint comprises a time window, the time window being characterized by a maximum time difference between a first time at which the first UE receives data corresponding to the first data stream and a second time at which the second UE receives data corresponding to the second data stream during a specified time period.

8. The method according to claim 4 also includes determining the scheduling information based on at least one of the following: delay measurement results reported by the first UE and the second UE, proximity measurement results reported by the first UE and the second UE, or quasi-co-location (QCL) information between the first UE and the second UE.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the instructions further include at least one of: an identifier of the device group, priority information of the plurality of data streams, one or more policies for scheduling failure, or one or more UE reporting configurations.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Instruct a session management function (SMF) to establish a plurality of PDU sessions with the device group, wherein the plurality of PDU sessions include a first PDU session corresponding to the first data flow and a second PDU session corresponding to the second data flow.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request to establish a group protocol data unit (PDU) session from the plurality of UEs; as well as Instruct a session management function (SMF) to establish the group PDU session with the device group, wherein the group PDU session includes one or more member PDU sessions. 12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the first data stream and the second data stream are sent in a same member PDU session of the one or more PDU sessions.

13. A method comprising: receiving one or more requests to register a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in a device group; obtaining information about a first data flow and a second data flow from the one or more requests, wherein the first data flow and the second data flow are associated with communications in the device group; determining a timing constraint corresponding to the device group based on the first data flow and the second data flow, wherein the timing constraint is applied between packets of the first data flow and the second data flow, between bursts of packets of the first data flow and the second data flow, or between sets of protocol data units (PDUs) of the first data flow and the second data flow; scheduling the first data flow and the second data flow based on the timing constraint; as well as The first data stream and the second data stream are controlled according to the scheduling to (i) be sent to the first UE and the second UE respectively, or (ii) be sent to the first UE. 14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the information about the first data stream and the second data stream comprises dependency relationship information between the first data stream and the second data stream.

15. The method according to claim 14, The first data stream and the second data stream correspond to the first UE and the second UE respectively, and Wherein determining the timing constraint comprises: A time window is determined based on the dependency information, the time window being characterized by a maximum time difference between a first time when the first UE receives data corresponding to the first data stream and a second time when the second UE receives data corresponding to the second data stream during a specified time period.

16. A method comprising: acquiring, from at least one of a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE, dependency information between a first data stream to be received by the first UE and a second data stream to be received by the second UE; Sending a request for registering the first UE and the second UE in a device group to a base station, wherein the request includes the dependency information; receiving, from the base station, a configuration of the device group, the configuration comprising a timing constraint between the first data flow and the second data flow based at least on the dependency information; scheduling transmission of the first data stream and the second data stream based on the timing constraint; as well as The sending of the first data stream and the second data stream to the first UE and the second UE is controlled respectively according to the scheduling. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the dependency information corresponds to a common application executed by each of the first UE and the second UE, and wherein the application generates multimodal data including the first data stream and the second data stream.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the multimodal data is directed to a plurality of UEs in the device group that each execute the application, the plurality of UEs including the first UE and the second UE.

19. One or more processors comprising circuitry configured to execute instructions for causing a communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A communication device, comprising one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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