Method for positioning intelligent reflecting surface, electronic equipment and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface, electronic equipment and a computer readable storage medium. The intelligent reflecting surface positioning method comprises the steps that after a base station is connected with an intelligent reflecting surface, the base station issues a positioning command to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives a feedback signal of the intelligent reflecting surface to the positioning command; under the condition that the feedback signal is positive feedback, the base station sends a downlink reference signal with a preset number of times to the intelligent reflecting surface, and receives the reflected downlink reference signal; the downlink reference signal is used for positioning the intelligent reflecting surface; and the base station determines the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals. The scheme of the embodiment of the invention at least can solve the problem that intelligent reflection surface positioning is mainly carried out manually at present.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication network technologies, and particularly to a method, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface. Background Art

[0002] As a research hotspot in future mobile communication technologies, RIS (intelligent reflecting surface) can intelligently regulate the wireless network environment and significantly improve the coverage performance of wireless communication networks. At present, RIS can only rely on manual deployment and can only be manually measured during deployment. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface.

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface, the method may include:

[0005] After the base station is connected to the intelligent reflecting surface, the base station sends a positioning command to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives a feedback signal of the intelligent reflecting surface to the positioning command;

[0006] In the case where the feedback signal is a positive feedback, the base station sends a preset number of downlink reference signals to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives the reflected downlink reference signals; the downlink reference signals are used for positioning the intelligent reflecting surface;

[0007] The base station determines the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals.

[0008] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electronic device, the electronic device includes:

[0009] One or more processors;

[0010] A memory having one or more programs stored thereon, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, enabling the one or more processors to implement the method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface;

[0011] One or more input / output I / O interfaces, connected between the processor and the memory, configured to implement information interaction between the processor and the memory.

[0012] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium, having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, by transmitting downlink reference signals a preset number of times and receiving the reflected downlink reference signals, the relative position information between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface is determined based on the transmitted and received downlink reference signals, and the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface is determined based on the relative position information. This solution can reuse the existing downlink reference signals without introducing additional reference signals and without requiring the intelligent reflecting surface to have additional processor capabilities, with low measurement overhead and high robustness. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0015] Figure 1 FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication system of RIS in the related art;

[0016] Figure 2 FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 3 FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 4 FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a method for the base station to determine the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the transmitted and received downlink reference signals provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 5 FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a method for the base station to determine the relative position information between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface according to the transmitted and received downlink reference signals provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 6 FIG. 30 is a block diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0021] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the communication perception data processing method and computer-readable storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the disclosed embodiments may be embodied in different forms and the present disclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth below. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0023] The accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the detailed embodiments to explain the present disclosure, and do not constitute a limitation to the present disclosure. By describing the detailed embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other features and advantages will become more obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0024] The present disclosure may be described with reference to the plan views and / or cross-sectional views by means of the ideal schematic diagrams of the present disclosure. Therefore, the example illustrations may be modified according to the manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances.

[0025] Without conflict, the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

[0026] The terms used in the present disclosure are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. As used in the present disclosure, the singular forms "a" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used in the present disclosure, the terms "comprising", "made of", specify the presence of the described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or their groups.

[0027] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in common dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless the present disclosure clearly defines so.

[0028] The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, but includes modifications to the configurations formed based on the manufacturing processes. Therefore, the regions illustrated in the accompanying drawings have schematic properties, and the shapes of the regions shown in the figures illustrate the specific shapes of the regions of the elements, but are not intended to be restrictive.

[0029] As a research hotspot in future mobile communication technologies such as B5G (Beyond 5G) and 6G (the sixth generation of mobile communication technology), RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) can intelligently regulate the wireless network environment and significantly improve the coverage performance of wireless communication networks. At present, RIS can only rely on manual deployment and can only be manually measured during deployment. Generally speaking, the engineering parameters measured manually have large errors. After experiencing bad weather or force majeure outdoors, the position of RIS will change, resulting in the possible failure of normal operation of RIS. For example, the codebooks of the base station and RIS fail, and the coverage performance of the cell will be affected and deteriorate sharply. If regular measurements of RIS are to be carried out, the current methods can only rely on manpower, which is time-consuming and laborious. RIS can perform regular automated measurement and maintenance by integrating measurement sensors, but this may increase the cost of RIS, and regular automated measurement may also increase the power consumption of RIS. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a measurement and maintenance process for RIS to achieve automated measurement of RIS through a measurement scheme at the base station side.

[0030] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by sending downlink reference signals a preset number of times and receiving the reflected downlink reference signals, the relative position information between the base station and the reconfigurable intelligent surface is determined based on the sent and received downlink reference signals, and the position information of the reconfigurable intelligent surface is determined based on the relative position information. This scheme can reuse the existing downlink reference signals without introducing additional reference signals and without requiring the reconfigurable intelligent surface to have additional processor capabilities, with small measurement overhead and high robustness.

[0031] The reconfigurable intelligent surface positioning method in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed by an electronic device such as a terminal device or a server on the base station side. The reconfigurable intelligent surface positioning method can be implemented by a processor calling computer-readable program instructions stored in a memory, or can be implemented by a server.

[0032] The solution in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to the application scenario where a terminal runs multiple operating systems simultaneously (for example, a dual operating system), such as a dual Android system on a mobile phone, and the user selects the operation of shutting down or restarting in the current system.

[0033] The solution in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be based on a Figure 1 communication system of RIS as shown. Figure 1The solid line represents the downlink reference signal, which may include but is not limited to: DMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal), PTRS (Phase-tracking reference signals), CSIRS (Channel State Information Reference Signal), PRS (Positioning Reference Signal), etc. The downlink reference signal is received by the UE (user) after passing through the direct path, being reflected by various scatterers, and being reflected by the RIS. At the same time, the downlink reference signal reaches the base station after being reflected by the RIS and the scatterers, as Figure 1 shown by the dashed line in

[0034] The solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be introduced in detail below.

[0035] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface, as Figure 2 、 Figure 3 shown, the method may include steps S11 - S13:

[0036] S11. After the base station completes the connection with the intelligent reflecting surface, the base station sends a positioning command to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives the feedback signal of the intelligent reflecting surface to the positioning command.

[0037] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a control module and a communication module may be integrated in the RIS. The control module is used to maintain the state of the RIS itself, and the state of the RIS itself may include but is not limited to: power on, normal operation, sleep, alarm, power off, etc.; the communication module is used to be responsible for interacting with the base station, and the communication method with the base station may include but is not limited to: NB-IOT (NarrowBand Internet of Things based on cellular), 5G (5th generation mobile communication technology), WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) and other wireless methods, and the communication content includes but is not limited to: reporting the RIS array configuration and / or the RIS codebook set, receiving the codebook switching command sent by the base station, etc. The RIS may integrate a sensor module (for example, it may include an address measurement sensor), or may not integrate a sensor measurement module, where the sensor module is used to measure its own state, including but not limited to absolute address, inclination angle, angular displacement, etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not sense the sensor module of the RIS.

[0038] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, before the base station sends the downlink reference signal to the intelligent reflecting surface a preset number of times according to the positioning command, the method may further include:

[0039] The base station obtains the parameter information reported by the intelligent reflecting surface, and determines whether the intelligent reflecting surface can save the positioning measurement configuration according to the parameter information; the parameter information may include, but is not limited to, any one or more of the following: array configuration information, codebook set, and whether it includes an address measurement sensor.

[0040] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the base station powers on and the RIS powers on, the RIS can be connected to the base station through the communication module. After the RIS and the base station are synchronized, the RIS can report the parameter information of the RIS to the base station.

[0041] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the RIS can be connected to multiple base stations and report parameter information to each base station. Each base station can estimate the AOA of the RIS through beam scanning or other AOA (Angle of Arrival) estimation algorithms according to the parameter information reported by the RIS, which is used for downlink codebook generation and subsequent RIS beam scanning. And when the RIS is connected to multiple base stations, each base station respectively executes the positioning measurement process for the RIS (i.e., the intelligent reflecting surface positioning method of the embodiments of the present disclosure).

[0042] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station triggers RIS positioning measurement, the base station issues a positioning command. After the RIS receives the positioning command, under normal circumstances, the RIS will reply with a feedback signal, and the feedback signal can be a positive feedback Ack or a negative feedback Nack.

[0043] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station receives the Ack feedback from the RIS, it starts the downlink positioning measurement of the RIS.

[0044] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the base station issues a positioning command to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives the feedback signal of the intelligent reflecting surface for the positioning command, the method may further include:

[0045] In the case where the base station obtains a feedback signal and the feedback signal is a negative feedback, or in the case where the base station does not receive a feedback signal within a preset time period, the base station resends the positioning command.

[0046] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station receives a Nack or does not receive a feedback signal from the RIS within a timing window (i.e., the preset time period), it cancels the current positioning command and resends the positioning command.

[0047] S12. In the case where the feedback signal is a positive feedback, the base station sends a preset number of downlink reference signals to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives the reflected downlink reference signals; the downlink reference signals are used for the positioning of the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the base station receives the Ack feedback from the RIS and starts the downlink positioning measurement on the RIS, the base station will send a downlink reference signal to initiate the positioning measurement of the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0049] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, before the base station sends the downlink reference signal to the intelligent reflecting surface for a preset number of times, the method may further include:

[0050] The base station sends a positioning measurement configuration to the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning measurement configuration may include but is not limited to:

[0052] The total number of times T of sending the downlink reference signal, where T is a positive integer; and,

[0053] The codebook or the codebook serial number of the intelligent reflecting surface when sending the downlink reference signal T times.

[0054] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: The base station instructs the intelligent reflecting surface to save or not save the positioning measurement configuration.

[0055] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning measurement configuration can be sent at any time before sending the downlink reference signal, and the codebook of the intelligent reflecting surface can be set to be different each time when sending the downlink reference signal, and the sum of the codebooks of the intelligent reflecting surface for all T times of sending is 0. When sending this positioning measurement configuration, the base station can indicate whether the RIS saves the current positioning measurement configuration. Whether to save the positioning measurement configuration depends on the base station's strategy and the RIS's capabilities (if the RIS cache is insufficient, it can only not save the positioning measurement information). The base station can determine in advance whether the RIS can save the current positioning measurement configuration according to the parameter information reported by the RIS. If the base station determines that the RIS can save the current positioning measurement configuration, it specifies that the RIS saves the current positioning measurement configuration when sending the positioning measurement configuration. If the base station determines that the RIS cannot save the current positioning measurement configuration, it specifies that the RIS does not need to save the current positioning measurement configuration when sending the positioning measurement configuration.

[0056] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further include:

[0057] In the case where the base station determines that the intelligent reflecting surface cannot save the positioning measurement configuration, the base station sends the transmission time information of the downlink reference signal to the intelligent reflecting surface;

[0058] Wherein, the transmission time information includes any one or more of the following: time slot number, start symbol, and number of continuous symbols.

[0059] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, if the positioning measurement configuration does not need to be saved, the RIS can delete the positioning measurement configuration after completing the current positioning measurement. And the base station sends the transmission time information (starting slot number, starting symbol, number of continuous symbols, etc.) of the downlink reference signal to the RIS.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, if the positioning measurement configuration needs to be saved, the RIS needs to save the positioning measurement configuration. When the base station triggers the RIS positioning measurement subsequently, in the connected state or idle state of the RIS, the RIS switches the codebook on the specified slot and symbol according to the saved positioning measurement configuration.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station sends the downlink reference signal to the intelligent reflecting surface a preset number of times, which may include:

[0062] The base station sends the downlink reference signal on the downlink symbol supporting the guard period GP according to the positioning measurement configuration.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in a TDD (Time Division Duplexing) system, the base station sends the downlink reference signal at the downlink symbol position of the D or S slot. For the positioning of the RIS, it does not involve the processing of the UE (User Equipment). Therefore, here it is extended to send the downlink reference signal on the symbol supporting the GP (guard period, with a length of 75 microseconds) for the RIS positioning measurement.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, receiving the reflected downlink reference signal includes:

[0065] The base station obtains the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface after switching the codebook on the specified time slot and symbol according to the codebook in the positioning measurement configuration.

[0066] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station starts the downlink positioning measurement of the RIS, when sending the downlink reference signal, the base station needs to switch to the full-duplex mode to receive the signals reflected by the RIS and the scatterers. The full-duplex mode includes but is not limited to: the base station uses antennas 0 to n - 1 to send the downlink reference signal, and at the same time uses antennas n to NTx - 1 to receive the reflected downlink reference signal, and the base station performs interference suppression based on its own algorithm.

[0067] S13. The base station determines the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, as Figure 4 shown, the position information includes the absolute address. The base station determines the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals, including steps S21 - S22:

[0069] S21. The base station determines the relative position information between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface according to the transmitted and received downlink reference signals.

[0070] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the relative position information may include, but is not limited to, RTT (Round-Trip Time) and AOA.

[0071] Assume that the channel response between the base station and the RIS is H1(k), and its dimension is N Tx ×N RIS , N Tx , N RIS represent the number of base station antennas and the number of RIS elements respectively, k is the subcarrier index, and the channel response between the base station and each scatterer is H2(k), and its dimension is N Tx ×N scatter , N scatter represents the number of scatterers, the downlink reference signal is x(k) = W Tx (k)·s(k), W Tx (k), s(k) represent the precoding matrix and the transmission sequence at the transmitter respectively, and their dimensions are N Tx ×N layer and N layer ×1, N layer is the number of sequences of the transmission sequence. Omitting the subcarrier index k, the reflected signal (the reflected downlink reference signal) received by the base station is:

[0072]

[0073] where W is the codebook of the RIS, which is an N RIS ×N RIS identity matrix, and Wi represents the analog weight of the i-th RIS element; Wscatter is the phase of the superposition of the echoes of each scatterer, which is an N scatter ×N scatter identity matrix and is unknown. The base station knows the transmission sequence x and can multiply by the conjugate of the transmission sequence x and normalize it to obtain:

[0074] The dimension of h(k) is N Tx ×N Tx .

[0075] Perform an IFFT (Inverse Fourier Transform) on h(k) to the time-delay domain:

[0076]

[0077] where N is a preset parameter, n represents the time-delay domain sampling points, and h τ(n) Detect the peak after coherent or non - coherent combining in the dimension of the transceiver antenna. Algorithms such as MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification) and ML (Maximum Likelihood) high - resolution algorithms can also be used to detect the peak. If there are no other scatterers, the peak corresponding to the RIS reflection signal can be detected, and the corresponding time - delay value is twice the propagation time from the base station to the RIS. However, in the actual base - station coverage environment, which is complex and has many scatterers, the distances of the scatterers may be either greater than or less than that of the RIS. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish the path of the RIS reflection and the path of the scatterer reflection from the signals in the time - delay domain.

[0078] A feasible method to distinguish the RIS reflection path and the scatterer reflection path is to use spatial filtering to suppress the null of the scatterer direction and only retain the signals in the RIS reflection direction. Then the final h τ (n) Detecting the peak in the time - delay domain can obtain the time - delay value of the RIS reflection path. This scheme depends on the self - algorithm of the base station and requires a large angle difference between the scatterer and the RIS; otherwise, effective spatial suppression cannot be performed.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, considering that the codebook of the RIS can be adjusted by itself or through the base station, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a scheme to eliminate scatterers, thereby realizing the accurate measurement of the relative position information (such as RTT) from the base station to the RIS.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the relative position information includes the round - trip time. As Figure 5 shown, the base station determines the relative position information between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface according to the transmitted and received downlink reference signals, including steps S31 - S32:

[0081] S31. The base station obtains the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface each time based on the downlink reference signal received each time and the average value of the downlink reference signals received a preset number of times.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station obtains the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface each time based on the downlink reference signal received each time and the average value of the downlink reference signals received a preset number of times, including:

[0083] The base station subtracts the average value of the downlink reference signals received a preset number of times from the downlink reference signal received each time to obtain the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface in the downlink reference signal received each time.

[0084] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, transmit the downlink reference signal T times. And before that, the base station sends the positioning measurement configuration to the RIS, and the t - th time uses the codebook Wt , where \(t = 1, 2, \ldots, T\), and it satisfies:

[0085]

[0086] Then, for the \(t\)-th transmission of the downlink reference signal, the reflected downlink reference signal received by the base station is:

[0087]

[0088] Here, the downlink reference signals received \(T\) times can be averaged:

[0089]

[0090] Subtracting this average value (the average value of the \(T\) reflected signals) from the received downlink reference signal (i.e., the transmitted signal) at the \(t\)-th time, we can obtain:

[0091]

[0092] Therefore, using the condition that the sum of the \(T\) codebooks is equal to 0, the channel of the scatterers can be eliminated, and only the downlink reference signal reflected by the RIS and the noise are retained, that is, only the reflected signal of the RIS is retained.

[0093] S32. Determine the time difference between the downlink reference signal sent by the base station and the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface received by the base station as the round-trip time between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0094] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, determining the time difference between the downlink reference signal sent by the base station and the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface received by the base station includes:

[0095] Transform the obtained reflected signal of the intelligent reflecting surface into the time-delay domain to obtain the first signal;

[0096] After combining the first signals corresponding to the multiple receiving antennas of the base station obtained each time, detect the peak value among the multiple first signals; the peak value corresponds to the possible reflection path of the intelligent reflecting surface;

[0097] Determine the time-delay value corresponding to the earliest peak value greater than the preset threshold from the peak values detected multiple times, and multiply the time-delay value by the preset sampling rate as the time difference.

[0098] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, is transformed into the time-delay domain, and the peak value is detected after coherently or incoherently combining the dimensions of the time-delay domain signal for the transmitting and receiving antennas:

[0099]

[0100] p threshold is the set threshold, \(n\)RIS Corresponding to the possible RIS reflection paths, the delay value n0 corresponding to the earliest detected tap greater than the threshold can be considered as the reflection path of the RIS. Multiplying n0 by the sampling rate is equal to the round-trip time RTT from the RIS to the base station. Similarly, algorithms such as MUSIC and ML high-resolution can also be used to detect peak estimation.

[0101] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the angle of arrival AOA is calculated according to existing algorithms, and the detailed algorithms for the angle of arrival AOA are not limited herein.

[0102] S22. The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the relative position information.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the relative position information includes: round-trip time and angle of arrival;

[0104] The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the relative position information, including:

[0105] The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent transmitting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to whether the intelligent transmitting surface includes an address measurement sensor.

[0106] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to whether the intelligent transmitting surface includes an address measurement sensor, including:

[0107] In the case where the intelligent transmitting surface does not include an address measurement sensor, the base station sends the round-trip time and the angle of arrival to a preset positioning server, and the positioning server calculates the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the round-trip time and the angle of arrival.

[0108] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the case where the intelligent reflecting surface does not include an address measurement sensor, the base station may determine the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to the number of base stations connected to the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in the case where the intelligent reflecting surface is connected to one or two base stations, the base station sends the RTT and the AOA to a preset positioning server, and the positioning server calculates the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the GPS (Global Positioning System) information of one or two base stations, the angle information of one or two base stations, the RTT, and the AOA;

[0110] When the intelligent reflecting surface is connected to more than two base stations, the base stations send the RTT and AOA to a preset positioning server, and the positioning server calculates the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface according to a preset algorithm. The preset algorithm may include, but is not limited to, the multi-RTT (multi-path round-trip time) algorithm, or an algorithm that fuses RTT and AOA (for example, determining the distance from the base station to the intelligent reflecting surface according to RTT, determining an annular area with this distance as the radius based on this distance, taking the base station as the vertex, determining the intersection point of AOA and the wake-up area, so as to locate the position of the intelligent reflecting surface).

[0111] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the RIS is connected to only 1 or 2 base stations, the base stations report the measured AOA and RTT to the positioning server LMF. The LMF calculates the absolute address of the RIS according to the GPS information of all reported base stations (for example, it may include, but is not limited to, information such as longitude, latitude, and altitude), the angle information of all reported base stations (for example, it may include, but is not limited to, information such as down-tilt angle and azimuth angle), and the AOA and RTT reported by all reported base stations. When the RIS is connected to more than two (i.e., greater than or equal to 3) base stations, the LMF uses the multi-RTT algorithm or the algorithm that fuses RTT and AOA to calculate the absolute address of the RIS based on the AOA and RTT reported by more than two base stations.

[0112] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the RIS does not have an address measurement sensor, the base stations use the calculation result of the LMF as the final absolute address measurement result of the RIS.

[0113] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the base stations determine the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to whether the intelligent transmitting surface includes an address measurement sensor, including:

[0114] When the intelligent transmitting surface includes an address measurement sensor, the base stations perform weighted processing on the measurement values of the address measurement sensor reported by the intelligent reflecting surface and the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface determined by the preset positioning server based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival, to obtain the final absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0115] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the intelligent transmitting surface includes an address measurement sensor, the base stations perform weighted processing (such as weighted average) on the measurement values of the address measurement sensor reported by the intelligent reflecting surface and the calculation result of the positioning server when the intelligent reflecting surface does not include an address measurement sensor (the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface determined by the positioning server based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival), to obtain the final absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface.

[0116] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the absolute address of the RIS is not measured for the first time, the base station can make a judgment based on the current measurement value and the historical measurement value. When the difference is greater than a preset difference threshold for multiple consecutive times (the number threshold can be set, for example, 3 times), it is considered that the position of the RIS has shifted, and an alarm message is sent to the server.

[0117] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, at least the following advantages are included:

[0118] The RIS in the solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure does not need to integrate an address measurement sensor module. The base station can locate the RIS when the cell is idle or when serving UEs within the coverage of the serving cell. The solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure has low measurement overhead and high robustness. It can reuse the existing downlink reference signals without introducing additional reference signals, and there is no need for the RIS to have additional processor capabilities. Based on the positioning of the RIS, the base station can adaptively generate an automated codebook to optimize the cell coverage performance; the base station can maintain the status of the RIS based on the automatically measured RIS address, judge whether the status of the RIS is normal, and timely alarm the server about the status of the RIS.

[0119] Several detailed embodiments of the solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure are given below.

[0120] Embodiment 1

[0121] The RIS uses a communication module to complete the connection with the base station, and the RIS reports the array configuration information and sensor capabilities. Assume that the RIS is only connected to 1 base station and is used to improve the coverage of this base station, and the RIS does not integrate an address measurement sensor. Assume that there are k UEs in the current cell, k ≤ T, and k is a positive integer. At this time, it is necessary to send downlink reference signals not only on the UE service slot but also on the idle symbols; the base station needs to send the downlink reference signals k times for the downlink channel measurement of k UEs. The RIS codebook used when sending the downlink reference signal for the t-th time is Wt, where t = 1,..., k; the base station needs to calculate the codebook Wt corresponding to the downlink reference signal sent on the idle symbols, where t = k + 1,..., T, and it needs to satisfy The base station sends positioning measurement configuration to the RIS, with a total of T times of sending downlink reference signals. The sequence number of the codebook Wt of the RIS for the T - time sending of downlink reference signals or the codebook Wt is sent, and it is indicated that the RIS does not save them. Therefore, the base station also sends the sending time of the downlink reference signal (starting slot number, starting symbol, number of continuous symbols, etc.) to the RIS. After receiving the positioning command, the RIS feeds back Ack and switches to the corresponding codebook at the corresponding sending time. After the base station receives the feedback Ack of the RIS for the positioning command, it starts the downlink channel measurement of the serving UE and the positioning of the RIS. The base station uses antennas 0 to n - 1 to send downlink reference signals. At the same time, the base station uses antennas n to NT x - 1 to receive the reflected downlink reference signals. Based on the T - time measurement, the base station calculates the RTT of the path from the base station to the RIS. Since the RIS is only connected to one base station, the base station needs to use an algorithm that combines RTT and AOA to calculate the absolute address of the RIS. The base station reports the measured RTT and AOA to the positioning server LMF. After the LMF locates the RIS and obtains the absolute address of the RIS, it sends the absolute address of the RIS to the base station, and the base station performs the address maintenance of the RIS.

[0122] Embodiment 2

[0123] The RIS uses the communication module to complete the connection with the base station, and the RIS reports the array configuration information and sensor capabilities. Assume that the RIS is connected to 3 base stations and is used to improve the coverage under these 3 base stations, and the RIS does not integrate an address measurement sensor. Base stations 1 to 3 measure the RTT of the path from the base station to the RIS in sequence. Assume that the number of UEs in the 3 cells is not greater than T. Therefore, these 3 cells need to send downlink reference signals not only on the UE service slot but also on the idle symbols; the base station needs to send the downlink reference signals k times for the downlink channel measurement of k UEs. The RIS codebook used for the t - th sending of the downlink reference signal is Wt, where t = 1,..., k; the base station needs to calculate the codebook Wt corresponding to the downlink reference signal sent on the idle symbols, where t = k + 1,..., T, and it needs to satisfy The base station sends measurement configurations to the RIS, with a total of T times of sending downlink reference signals. For these T times of sending downlink reference signals, the codebook Wt sequence number or the codebook Wt of the RIS is sent, and the RIS is instructed to save it. Subsequently, the base station sends a positioning command in the RIS connected state, instructing the RIS to switch the codebook in the slots and symbols in the idle state. After receiving the positioning command, the RIS sends back an Ack and switches to the corresponding codebook at the corresponding moment. After receiving the feedback Ack from the RIS, the base station starts the downlink channel measurement of the serving UE and the positioning measurement of the RIS. The base station uses antennas 0 to n - 1 to send downlink reference signals, and the base station uses antennas n to NT x - 1 to receive the reflected downlink reference signals. Based on the T measurements, the base station calculates the RTT of the path from the base station to the RIS. Since the RIS is connected to 3 base stations, the 3 base stations report the measured RTTs to the positioning server LMF. Subsequently, the LMF calculates the absolute address of the RIS and sends it to the 3 base stations for RIS address maintenance.

[0124] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an electronic device 100, as Figure 6 shown, the electronic device 100 includes:

[0125] One or more processors 101;

[0126] A memory 102, on which one or more programs are stored. When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors 101, the one or more processors 101 implement the method for positioning the intelligent reflecting surface;

[0127] One or more input / output I / O interfaces 103, connected between the processor 101 and the memory 102, configured to implement the information interaction between the processor 101 and the memory 102.

[0128] Among them, the processor 101 is a device with data processing capabilities, which includes but is not limited to a central processing unit (CPU), etc.; the memory 102 is a device with data storage capabilities, which includes but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM, more specifically such as SDRAM, DDR, etc.), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory (FLASH); the I / O interface (read / write interface) 103 is connected between the processor 101 and the memory 102 and can implement the information interaction between the processor 101 and the memory 102, which includes but is not limited to a data bus (Bus), etc.

[0129] In some embodiments, the processor 101, the memory 102, and the I / O interface 103 are interconnected through a bus 104 and are further connected to other components of the computing device.

[0130] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface as described above is implemented.

[0131] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or some of the functional modules / units disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof.

[0132] In a hardware implementation, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned above does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component can have multiple functions, or one function or step can be executed by several physical components in cooperation.

[0133] Some or all of the physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or can be implemented as hardware, or can be implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which can include a computer storage medium (or non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or transitory medium). As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM, more specifically SDRAM, DDR, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (FLASH), or other disk memories; compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), or other optical disc memories; magnetic cartridges, tapes, disk storage, or other magnetic memories; any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, communication media typically includes computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transmission mechanism, and can include any information delivery medium.

[0134] The present disclosure has disclosed exemplary embodiments, and although specific terms are employed, they are used only and should be construed only as general illustrative meanings and not for the purpose of limitation. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, unless otherwise expressly specified, features, characteristics, and / or elements described in connection with a particular embodiment may be used alone or in combination with features, characteristics, and / or elements described in connection with other embodiments. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that various forms and details of changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface, characterized in that, The method includes: After the base station completes the connection with the intelligent reflecting surface, the base station sends a positioning command to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives a feedback signal of the intelligent reflecting surface for the positioning command. When the feedback signal is a positive feedback, the base station sends a downlink reference signal a preset number of times to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives the reflected downlink reference signal; the downlink reference signal is used for the positioning of the intelligent reflecting surface. The base station determines the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Before the base station sends the downlink reference signal a preset number of times to the intelligent reflecting surface, the method further includes: The base station sends a positioning measurement configuration to the intelligent reflecting surface. The positioning measurement configuration includes: The total number of times T of sending the downlink reference signal, where T is a positive integer; and The codebook or the codebook serial number of the intelligent reflecting surface when sending the downlink reference signal T times.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The method further includes: The base station instructs the intelligent reflecting surface to save or not save the positioning measurement configuration.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the base station determines that the intelligent reflecting surface cannot save the positioning measurement configuration, the base station sends the transmission time information of the downlink reference signal to the intelligent reflecting surface. Wherein, the transmission time information includes any one or more of the following: time slot number, start symbol, and number of continuous symbols.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein The receiving the reflected downlink reference signal includes: The base station obtains the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface after switching the codebook at the specified time slot and symbol according to the codebook or the codebook serial number in the positioning measurement configuration.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Before the base station sends the downlink reference signal a preset number of times to the intelligent reflecting surface according to the positioning command, the method further includes: The base station obtains the parameter information reported by the intelligent reflecting surface and determines whether the intelligent reflecting surface can save the positioning measurement configuration according to the parameter information; the parameter information includes any one or more of the following: array configuration information, codebook set, and whether it includes an address measurement sensor.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The position information includes an absolute address. The base station determines the position information of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals, including: The base station determines the relative position information between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals. The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the relative position information.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The relative position information includes the round-trip time. The base station determines the relative position information between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface according to the sent and received downlink reference signals, including: The base station obtains the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface each time based on each received downlink reference signal and the average value of the preset number of received downlink reference signals. Determine the time difference between the base station sending the downlink reference signal and receiving the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface as the round-trip time between the base station and the intelligent reflecting surface.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The base station obtains the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface each time based on the downlink reference signal received each time and the average value of the downlink reference signals received for the preset number of times, including: The base station subtracts the average value of the downlink reference signals received for the preset number of times from the downlink reference signal received each time to obtain the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface in the downlink reference signal received each time.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The determination of the time difference between the downlink reference signal sent by the base station and the downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface includes: Transforming the obtained downlink reference signal reflected by the intelligent reflecting surface into the time delay domain to obtain a first signal; Merging the first signals corresponding to the multiple receiving antennas of the base station obtained each time and detecting the peak values in the multiple first signals; the peak values correspond to the possible reflection paths of the intelligent reflecting surface; Determining the time delay value corresponding to the earliest peak value greater than the preset threshold from the peak values detected multiple times, and multiplying the time delay value by the preset sampling rate as the time difference.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein The relative position information includes the round-trip time and the angle of arrival. The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the relative position information, including: The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to whether the intelligent transmitting surface includes the address measurement sensor.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to whether the intelligent transmitting surface includes the address measurement sensor, including: In the case where the intelligent transmitting surface does not include the address measurement sensor, the base station sends the round-trip time and the angle of arrival to a preset positioning server, and the positioning server calculates the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface according to the round-trip time and the angle of arrival.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The base station determines the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival according to whether the intelligent transmitting surface includes the address measurement sensor, including: In the case where the intelligent transmitting surface includes the address measurement sensor, the base station performs weighted processing on the measurement value of the address measurement sensor reported by the intelligent reflecting surface and the absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface determined by the preset positioning server based on the round-trip time and the angle of arrival to obtain the final absolute address of the intelligent reflecting surface.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein After the base station sends a positioning command to the intelligent reflecting surface and receives the feedback signal of the intelligent reflecting surface for the positioning command, the method further includes: In the case where the base station obtains the feedback signal and the feedback signal is a negative feedback, or in the case where the base station does not receive the feedback signal within the preset duration, the base station resends the positioning command.

15. An electronic device, characterized in that, The electronic device includes: One or more processors; A memory on which one or more programs are stored, and when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface according to any one of claims 1-14; One or more input / output I / O interfaces, connected between the processor and the memory, configured to implement information interaction between the processor and the memory.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method for positioning an intelligent reflecting surface according to any one of claims 1-14 is implemented.

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