Enhanced vulnerable road user (VRU) prediction through cloud-based processing

Abstract

Systems, apparatus, processes, and computer-readable media for wireless communication are disclosed. For example, a network device may receive a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road unit (VRU). The network device may also determine a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates generally to vehicle communications. For example, aspects of the present disclosure relate to enhanced vulnerable road user (VRU) prediction via cloud-based processing. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

[0003] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the ongoing evolution of mobile broadband promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Certain aspects of 5G NR may be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Aspects of wireless communication may include direct communication between devices, such as in vehicle-to-everything (V2X), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), and / or device-to-device (D2D) communication. There is a need for further improvement in V2X, V2V, and / or D2D technologies. Additionally, these improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects related to the present disclosure. Thus, the following summary is not to be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor is it to be considered identifying key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or delineating the scope of any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present some concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a concise form before the detailed description that follows.

[0005] Systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer-readable media for enhanced VRU prediction via cloud-based processing are disclosed. According to at least one example, a method for wireless communication at a network device is provided. The method includes: receiving, by the network device, a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and determining, by the network device, a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

[0006] In another example, a network device for wireless communication is provided. The network device includes: at least one memory; and at least one processor (e.g., configured in a circuit) communicatively coupled to the at least one memory. The at least one processor is configured to: receive a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and determine a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

[0007] In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receive a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and determine a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

[0008] In another example, a device for wireless communication is provided. The device may include: means for receiving a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and means for determining a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

[0009] In some aspects, the described apparatus or network device is a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, a truck, etc., or a component or system of an automobile, a truck, etc.), a roadside unit (RSU), or other network-enabled infrastructure equipment (e.g., a network-enabled traffic signal, etc.), a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or a so-called "smartphone" or other mobile device), a network-connected wearable device (e.g., a so-called "smartwatch"), an extended reality device (e.g., a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, or a mixed reality (MR) device), a personal computer, a laptop computer, a server computer, a robotic device, or other devices, including these devices or being a part of them. In some aspects, the apparatus includes radio detection and ranging (radar) for capturing radio frequency (RF) signals. In some aspects, the apparatus includes one or more light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensors, radar sensors, or other light-based sensors for capturing light-based (e.g., optical frequency) signals. In some aspects, the apparatus includes one camera or multiple cameras for capturing one or more images. In some aspects, the apparatus further includes a display for displaying one or more images, notifications, and / or other displayable data. In some aspects, the above apparatus may include one or more sensors that can be used to determine the position of the apparatus, the state of the apparatus (e.g., temperature, humidity level, and / or other states), and / or for other purposes.

[0010] This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to the appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all of the drawings, and each claim.

[0011] Based on the drawings and the detailed description, other objectives and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Exemplary aspects of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

[0013] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a decomposed base station architecture that can be adopted by the disclosed system for enhanced VRU prediction through cloud-based processing.

[0015] Figure 3FIG. is an illustration showing examples of various user equipments (UEs) communicating via a direct communication interface (e.g., a cellular-based PC5 sidelink interface, a DSRC interface defined by 802.11p, or other direct interfaces) and a wide area network (Uu) interface, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 4 FIG. is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing system of a vehicle, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 5 FIG. is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing system of a user equipment, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 FIG. is an illustration showing examples of devices involved in wireless communication (e.g., sidelink communication), in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figures 7A to 7D FIG. is an illustration showing an example of sensor sharing for cooperative and autonomous driving systems, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 FIG. is an illustration showing an example of sensor sharing for cooperative and autonomous driving systems, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a system for sensor sharing in wireless communication (e.g., V2X communication), in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a vehicle-based message (shown as a sensor sharing message), in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 11 FIG. is an illustration showing an example of a system for enhanced VRU prediction via cloud-based processing, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, where the system includes a bicycle VRU approaching a roundabout intersection.

[0024] Figure 12A FIG. is a side view illustration showing an example of a system for enhanced VRU prediction via cloud-based processing, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, where the system includes a bicycle VRU approaching a downhill intersection in a marked bicycle lane.

[0025] Figure 12B FIG. is a top view illustration showing an example of a system, in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure Figure 12A of

[0026] Figure 13is a diagram illustrating an example of a system for enhanced VRU prediction through cloud-based processing according to aspects of the present disclosure, wherein the system shows cloud-based collection of VRU information from a bicycle VRU.

[0027] Figure 14 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 15 An example computing system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] For illustrative purposes, some aspects of the present disclosure are provided below. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, alternative aspects can be designed. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand. Some aspects described herein can be applied independently, and some of them can be applied in combination, which is obvious to those skilled in the art. In the following description, specific details are set forth for explanation purposes to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the application. However, it will be apparent that various aspects can be implemented without these specific details. Each drawing and description are not intended to be restrictive.

[0030] The following description provides only example aspects and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the present disclosure. On the contrary, the following description of the example aspects will provide a description that can be used to implement the example aspects to those skilled in the art. It should be understood that various changes may be made to the function and arrangement of the elements without departing from the essence and scope of the present application as set forth in the appended claims.

[0031] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0032] Wireless communication systems are deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services including telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations. The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard (also known as "New Radio" or "NR") is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users.

[0033] A vehicle is an example of a system that can include wireless communication capabilities. For example, a vehicle (e.g., a motor vehicle, an autonomous vehicle, an aircraft, a sea vessel, etc.) can communicate with other vehicles and / or other devices having wireless communication capabilities. A wireless vehicle communication system includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V), vehicle-to-network (V2N), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications, which are collectively referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. V2X communication is a vehicle communication system that supports the wireless transfer of information from a vehicle to other entities (e.g., other vehicles, pedestrians with smartphones, equipped vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as cyclists, roadside units (RSUs), and / or other traffic infrastructure) within a transportation system that may affect the vehicle. The main purpose of V2X technology is to improve road safety, fuel savings, and traffic efficiency.

[0034] In a V2X communication system, information is sent from vehicle sensors (and other sources) over a wireless link to allow the information to be conveyed to other vehicles, pedestrians, VRUs, and / or traffic infrastructure. One or more vehicle-based messages (such as Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) messages) can be used to send the information, and the one or more vehicle-based messages can include Sensor Data Sharing Messages (SDSM), Basic Safety Messages (BSM), Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM), Collective Perception Messages (CPM), Decentralized Environment Messages (DENM), VRU Awareness Messages (VAM), and / or other types of vehicle-based messages. By sharing the information with other vehicles, V2X technology improves a vehicle's (and a driver's) perception of potential hazards, thus helping to reduce collisions with other vehicles and entities. Additionally, V2X technology improves traffic efficiency by providing traffic warnings to vehicles about upcoming potential road hazards and obstacles so that the vehicles can choose alternative traffic routes.

[0035] As previously mentioned, V2X technology includes V2V, V2I, and I2V communications, which can also be referred to as peer-to-peer communications. V2V, V2I, and I2V communications allow vehicles to directly communicate wirelessly with each other and with V2X-capable infrastructure (e.g., V2X-capable RSUs, V2X-capable traffic lights, etc.) while on the road. With V2V, V2I, and I2V communications, a vehicle can obtain situational awareness by receiving information about upcoming road hazards (e.g., unforeseen oncoming vehicles, accidents, and road conditions) from other vehicles and / or from V2X-capable infrastructure.

[0036] The IEEE 802.11p standard supports the use of the Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) interface for V2X wireless communication. The characteristics of the DSRC interface based on IEEE 802.11p include low latency and the use of the unlicensed 5.9 gigahertz (GHz) band. C-V2X is adopted as an alternative to the DSRC interface based on IEEE 802.11p for wireless communication. The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) supports the use of C-V2X technology. In some cases, the C-V2X technology uses Long Term Evolution (LTE) as the underlying technology, and the C-V2X functionality is based on the LTE technology. C-V2X includes multiple operation modes. One of the operation modes in each operation mode allows for direct wireless communication between vehicles through the LTE side-link PC5 interface. Similar to the DSRC interface based on IEEE 802.11p, the LTE C-V2X side-link PC5 interface operates in the 5.9 GHz band. Vehicle-based messages (such as BSM and CAM as application layer messages) are designed to be wirelessly broadcast on the DSRC interface based on 802.11p and the LTE C-V2X side-link PC5 interface.

[0037] Personal Safety Messages (PSM) (defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)) and VAM (defined by ETSI) enable C-V2X capable UEs (such as those held by pedestrians, cyclists, and other VRUs) to broadcast VRU-related information. For example, PSM includes VRU information such as VRU type, location, motion state, path history, and path prediction information. PSM and VAM receivers (such as vehicles and RSUs) can use the PSM data (VRU information) to determine whether any maneuvers or actions (such as decelerating, accelerating, turning, changing lanes) are required to respond to or avoid the VRU (such as avoiding a collision with the VRU). Unfortunately, the path prediction information element (IE) in PSM and VAM is defined as a radius of curvature in units of ten (10) centimeters (cm), which may not be sufficient for vehicles to predict VRU movement. In some cases, the path prediction in VAM is provided as a set of points that describe the latitude change, longitude change, and altitude change of the VRU at a future specific time point (such as reaching a future 10 seconds) or reaching a certain number of points (such as reaching 40 points). For pedestrians, scooters, cyclists, or other VRUs, considering the ability to quickly change direction, such predictions may be unreliable, short-lived, and insufficient for vehicles to determine whether they should take action to avoid the VRU.

[0038] Systems and techniques are provided for enhanced VRU prediction through server-based processing (e.g., cloud-based processing using one or more servers), which can result in a reduction in traffic collisions. These systems and techniques provide a method for improving VRU direction prediction, which can enhance safety by improving the ability of a vehicle to determine whether an avoidance action should be taken and what avoidance action should be taken to protect the VRU.

[0039] In one or more aspects, these systems and techniques provide a mechanism for combining VRU path history, location, and current motion state (e.g., as provided in PSM, VAM, and / or other messages including VRU-related information) with knowledge of VRU type, road topology, and VRU travel history to provide VRU path prediction. For example, a bicycle VRU approaching a downhill intersection using a marked bike lane may continue along that path. If the path is a daily path as part of a commute, as recorded by a server-based service (e.g., a cloud-based service), the likelihood of maintaining that path is greater than not maintaining that path. In one or more aspects, these systems and techniques provide an algorithm for predicting the path of a VRU based on knowledge of the type of VRU report, VRU location, VRU motion state, road topology, and VRU path history.

[0040] Additional aspects of the present disclosure are described in more detail below.

[0041] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "network entity" are not intended to be dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, and / or tracking device, etc.), a network-connected wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, smart glasses, wearable ring, and / or extended reality (XR) device (such as a virtual reality (VR) headset, an augmented reality (AR) headset or glasses, or a mixed reality (MR) headset)), a vehicle (e.g., a car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), and / or an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc., for a user to communicate via a wireless communication network. The UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variants thereof. Generally speaking, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to an external network such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the IEEE 802.11 communication standard, etc.).

[0042] In some cases, a network entity may be implemented in a centralized or monolithic base station or server architecture, or alternatively, in a disaggregated base station or server architecture, and may include one or more of a Central Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), a Radio Unit (RU), a Near-Real-Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), or a Non-Real-Time (Non-RT) RIC. In some cases, a network entity may include a server device, such as a Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) device. A base station or server (e.g., having a centralized / monolithic base station architecture or a disaggregated base station architecture) may operate according to one of several Radio Access Technologies (RATs) depending on the network in which the base station or server is deployed to communicate with User Equipments (UEs), Road Side Units (RSUs), and / or other devices, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), a network node, a Node B (NB), an Evolved Node B (eNB), a Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station is mainly used to support the wireless access of UEs, including supporting the data, voice, and / or signaling connections of the supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE may transmit signals to a base station is referred to as an Uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station may transmit signals to a UE is referred to as a Downlink (DL) or a Forward Link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) may refer to an uplink, a reverse, or a downlink, and / or a forward traffic channel.

[0043] The term "network entity" or "base station" (e.g., having an integrated / monolithic base station architecture or a disaggregated base station architecture) can refer to a single physical TRP or multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "network entity" or "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be a base station antenna corresponding to a cell (or a number of cell sectors) of the base station. In the case where the term "network entity" or "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, these physical TRPs can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be a serving base station that receives a measurement report from a UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal (or simply "reference signal") the UE is measuring. Since, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, a reference to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0044] In some specific implementations that support UE positioning, the network entity or base station may not support wireless access of the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections regarding the UE), but instead may send a reference signal to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0045] A roadside unit (RSU) is a device that can send messages to and receive messages from one or more UEs, other RSUs, and / or base stations via a communication link or interface (e.g., a cellular-based side link or PC5 interface, an 802.11 or WiFi TM -based dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) interface and / or other interfaces). Examples of messages that can be sent and received by the RSU include vehicle-to-everything (V2X) messages, which are described in more detail below. The RSU can be located on various transportation infrastructure systems, including roads, bridges, parking lots, toll booths, and / or other infrastructure systems. In some examples, the RSU can facilitate communication between UEs (e.g., vehicles, pedestrian user devices, and / or other UEs) and transportation infrastructure systems. In some specific implementations, the RSU can communicate with a server, a base station, and / or other systems that can perform a centralized management function.

[0046] The RSU can communicate with the communication system of the UE. For example, the intelligent transportation system (ITS) of the UE (such as a vehicle and / or other UEs) can be used to generate and sign messages for transmission to the RSU and verify the messages received from the RSU. The RSU can communicate with vehicles traveling along roads, bridges, or other infrastructure systems (such as via the PC5 interface, DSRC interface, etc.) to obtain traffic-related data (such as the time, speed, location, etc. of the vehicle). In some cases, in response to obtaining traffic-related data, the RSU can determine or estimate traffic congestion information (such as the start of traffic congestion, the end of traffic congestion, etc.), travel time, and / or other information at a specific location. In some examples, the RSU can communicate with other RSUs (such as via the PC5 interface, DSRC interface, etc.) to determine traffic-related data. The RSU can send information (such as traffic congestion information, travel time information, and / or other information) to other vehicles, pedestrian UEs, and / or other UEs. For example, the RSU can broadcast or otherwise send information to any UE (such as a vehicle, pedestrian UE, etc.) within the coverage area of the RSU.

[0047] A radio frequency signal or "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, the transmitter can send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to the receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal through a multipath channel, the receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver can be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, when the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or RF signal, the RF signal can also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal".

[0048] According to various aspects, Figure 1An exemplary wireless communication system 100 is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. In some aspects, the base stations 102 may also be referred to as “network entities” or “network nodes”. One or more of the base stations 102 may be implemented in an aggregated or monolithic base station architecture. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the base stations 102 may be implemented in a disaggregated base station architecture and may include one or more of a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a near real-time (Near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (Non-RT) RIC. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to a New Radio (NR) network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0049] The base stations 102 may together form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122 and interface to one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170) via the core network 170. Among other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: passing user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or (e.g., via the EPC or 5GC) indirectly via a backhaul link 134 (which may be wired and / or wireless).

[0050] Base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, the base stations 102 in each coverage area 110 may support one or more cells. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity. Additionally, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographical coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0051] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas in the geographical coverage area 110 may substantially overlap with a larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0052] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or a downlink (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may pass through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0053] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN AP 150 that communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 gigahertz (GHz)). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) or Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a device (e.g., a UE, etc.) that communicates with one or more UEs 104, base stations 102, APs 150, etc. using the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) spectrum. The range of the UWB spectrum may be from 3.1 GHz to 10.5 GHz.

[0054] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE and / or 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0055] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with a UE 182. The mmW base station 180 may be implemented in an integrated or monolithic base station architecture, or alternatively, in a decomposed base station architecture (e.g., including one or more of a CU, DU, RU, near-RT RIC, or non-RT RIC). The Extremely High Frequency (EHF) is a part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The Super High Frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW and / or near-mmW radio frequency bands has high path loss and a relatively short distance. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmission and / or reception) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distance. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more of the base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0056] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node or entity (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal omnidirectionally, i.e., in all directions. With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationships such that radio waves from the individual antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling in the undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0057] Transmit beams can be quasi co-located, which means that they have the same parameters for a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the transmitting antennas of the network node are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0058] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a specific direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when the receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is relatively high compared to the beam gains in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of other beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0059] Receive beams can be spatially related. Spatial relation means that parameters for a transmit beam for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about the receive beam for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from a network node or entity (e.g., a base station). The UE can then form a transmit beam based on the parameters of the receive beam for transmitting one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to the network node or entity (e.g., a base station).

[0060] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a network node or entity (e.g., a base station) is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving downlink reference signals. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a network node or entity (e.g., a base station) is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0061] In 5G, the spectrum in which a radio network node or entity (e.g., base station 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) operates is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 megahertz (MHz) to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 MHz to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure in this cell. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is the carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same holds for the primary uplink carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether it is a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency and / or component carrier that some base station is using for communication, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0062] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and other frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). In carrier aggregation, base station 102 and / or UE 104 may use a spectrum with a bandwidth of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz) per carrier, with a total of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) in each direction for transmission. The component carriers may be adjacent to each other in the spectrum or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0063] To operate on multiple carrier frequencies, base station 102 and / or UE 104 are equipped with multiple receivers and / or transmitters. For example, UE 104 may have two receivers, namely "Receiver 1" and "Receiver 2", where "Receiver 1" is a multi-band receiver that can be tuned to band (i.e., carrier frequency) "X" or band "Y", and "Receiver 2" is a single-band receiver that can be tuned to only band "Z". In this example, if UE 104 is being served in band "X", then band "X" will be referred to as the PCell or active carrier frequency, and "Receiver 1" will need to be tuned from band "X" to band "Y" (SCell) to measure band "Y" (and vice versa). In contrast, regardless of whether UE 104 is being served in band "X" or band "Y", due to the separate "Receiver 2", UE 104 can measure band "Z" without interrupting the service on band "X" or band "Y".

[0064] Wireless communication system 100 may further include UE 164, which may communicate with macro cell base station 102 on communication link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 on mmW communication link 184. For example, macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0065] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which is indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In Figure 1 the example of, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs in UE 104 connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain a cellular connection through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain a WLAN-based Internet connection through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can use any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.) to support.

[0066] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a decomposed base station architecture that can be adopted by the disclosed system for enhanced VRU prediction through server-based processing (e.g., cloud-based processing using one or more servers). The deployment of a communication system such as a 5G NR system can be arranged in various ways with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, mobility elements of the network, radio access network (RAN) nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as a base station (BS)) or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functions can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a BS (such as a NodeB (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR BS, 5G NB, AP, transmit receive point (TRP), or cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a stand-alone BS or monolithic BS) or a decomposed base station.

[0067] A converged base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU can be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, can be geographically or virtually distributed among one or more other RAN nodes. A DU can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0068] Base station type operations or network designs can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station can be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as a network configuration advocated by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functions across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as the function of virtualizing at least one unit, which can achieve flexibility in network design. The various units of a decomposed base station or a decomposed RAN architecture can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0069] As previously mentioned, Figure 2 A diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture of a decomposed base station 201 is shown. The architecture of the decomposed base station 201 can include one or more central units (CUs) 211, which can communicate directly with the core network 223 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 223 through one or more decomposed base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 227 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC 217 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 207, or both. The CU 211 can communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 231 via a corresponding midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 231 can communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 241 via a corresponding fronthaul link. The RU 241 can communicate with a corresponding UE 221 via one or more RF access links. In some embodiments, the UE 221 can be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 241.

[0070] Each of the units (i.e., CU 211, DU 231, RU 241, and the near RT RIC 227, non-RT RIC 217, and SMO framework 207) may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces, which are configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each unit among these units, or the associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of these units, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, these units may include a wired interface that is configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, these units may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as an RF transceiver), that is configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0071] In some aspects, the CU 211 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may utilize an interface that is configured to convey signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 211. The CU 211 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit - User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit - Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, the CU 211 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, the CU 211 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 131 for network control and signaling.

[0072] The DU 231 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 241. In some aspects, the DU 231 may host one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation, etc.) at least partially according to a functional split (such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). In some aspects, the DU 231 may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 231 or with control functions hosted by the CU 211.

[0073] Lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 241. In some deployments, the RUs 241 controlled by the DU 231 may correspond to logical nodes that host RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.) or both at least partially based on a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RUs 241 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 221. In some embodiments, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control plane and user plane communication with the RUs 241 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 231. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 231 and the CU 211 in a server-based (e.g., cloud-based) RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0074] The SMO framework 207 can be configured to support the RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 207 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, and these dedicated physical resources can be managed via operation and maintenance interfaces (such as the O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 207 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as the Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 291) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as the O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 211, DU 231, RU 241, and the Near RT RIC 227. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 207 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as the Open eNB (O-eNB) 213) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 207 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 241 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 207 can also include a Non-RT RIC 217 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 207.

[0075] The Non-RT RIC 217 can be configured to include logic functions that implement non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the Near RT RIC 227. The Non-RT RIC 217 can be coupled to or communicate with the Near RT RIC 227 (such as via the A1 interface). The Near RT RIC 227 can be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources through an interface (such as via the E2 interface) via data collection and actions, and this interface connects one or more CUs 211, one or more DUs 231, or both, and the O-eNB 213 to the Near RT RIC 227.

[0076] In some specific implementations, to generate the AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 227, the non-RT RIC 217 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 227 and can be received from non-network data sources or from network functions at the SMO framework 207 or the non-RT RIC 217. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 217 or the near-RT RIC 227 may be configured to tune the RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 217 may monitor the long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ an AI / ML model to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 207 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0077] Figure 3 Examples of different communication mechanisms used by various UEs are illustrated. In one example of sidelink communication, Figure 3 Examples illustrate that the vehicle 304, vehicle 305, and the RSU 303 communicate with each other using PC5, DSRC, or other device-to-device direct signaling interfaces. Additionally, the vehicle 304 and the vehicle 305 may use the network (Uu) interface to communicate with the base station 302 (shown as BS 302). In some examples, the base station 302 may include a gNB. Figure 3 Examples also illustrate that the user equipment 307 uses the network (Uu) interface to communicate with the base station 302. As described below, functionality may be transferred from a vehicle (e.g., vehicle 304) to the user equipment (e.g., user equipment 307) based on one or more characteristics or factors (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.). In an illustrative example, V2X functionality may be transferred from the vehicle 304 to the user equipment 307, after which the user equipment 307 may communicate with other vehicles (e.g., vehicle 305) through the PC5 interface (or other device-to-device direct interface, such as the DSRC interface), as Figure 3 shown.

[0078] Although Figure 3Illustrated is a particular number of vehicles (e.g., two vehicles 304 and 305) communicating with each other and / or with RSU 303, BS 302, and / or user equipment 307, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, dozens or hundreds of such vehicles may be communicating with each other and / or with RSU 303, BS 302, and / or user equipment 307. At any given point in time, each such vehicle, RSU 303, BS 302, and / or user equipment 307 may send various types of information as messages to other nearby vehicles, resulting in each vehicle (e.g., vehicle 304 and / or 305), RSU 303, BS 302, and / or user equipment 307 receiving hundreds or thousands of messages per second from other nearby vehicles, RSUs, base stations, and / or other UEs.

[0079] Although the PC5 interface is shown in Figure 3 , various UEs (e.g., vehicles, user equipment, etc.) and RSUs may communicate directly using any suitable type of direct interface such as an 802.11 DSRC interface, Bluetooth TM interface, and / or other interfaces. For example, a vehicle may communicate with a user equipment via a direct communication interface (e.g., using PC5 and / or DSRC), a vehicle may communicate with another vehicle via a direct communication interface, a user equipment may communicate with another user equipment via a direct communication interface, a UE (e.g., vehicle, user equipment, etc.) may communicate with an RSU via a direct communication interface, an RSU may communicate with another RSU via a direct communication interface, and so on.

[0080] Figure 4FIG. is a block diagram of an example of a vehicle computing system 450 that illustrates a vehicle 404. The vehicle 404 is an example of a UE that can communicate with a network (e.g., an eNB, a gNB, a positioning beacon, a position measurement unit, and / or other network entities) via a Uu interface and can communicate with other UEs using V2X communication via a PC5 interface (or other device-to-device direct interface, such as a DSRC interface). As shown, the vehicle computing system 450 may include at least a power management system 451, a control system 452, an infotainment system 454, an intelligent transportation system (ITS) 455, one or more sensor systems 456, and a communication system 458. In some cases, the vehicle computing system 450 may include or may use any type of processing device or system to implement, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application processors (APs), graphics processing units (GPUs), vision processing units (VPUs), neural network signal processors (NSPs), microcontrollers, dedicated hardware, any combination thereof, and / or other processing devices or systems.

[0081] The control system 452 may be configured to control one or more operations of the vehicle 404, the power management system 451, the computing system 450, the infotainment system 454, the ITS 455, and / or one or more other systems of the vehicle 404 (e.g., a braking system, a steering system, a safety system other than the ITS 455, a cab system, and / or other systems). In some examples, the control system 452 may include one or more electronic control units (ECUs). The ECU may control one or more electrical systems or subsystems in the vehicle. Examples of specific ECUs that may be included as part of the control system 452 include an engine control module (ECM), a powertrain control module (PCM), a transmission control module (TCM), a brake control module (BCM), a central control module (CCM), a central timing module (CTM), etc. In some cases, the control system 452 may receive sensor signals from one or more sensor systems 456 and may communicate with other systems of the vehicle computing system 450 to operate the vehicle 404.

[0082] The vehicle computing system 450 also includes a power management system 451. In some embodiments, the power management system 451 may include a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), a backup battery, and / or other components. In some cases, other systems of the vehicle computing system 450 may include one or more PMICs, batteries, and / or other components. The power management system 451 may perform power management functions of the vehicle 404, such as managing the power supply of the computing system 450 and / or other parts of the vehicle. For example, the power management system 451 may provide a stable power supply in view of power fluctuations (such as based on starting the vehicle's engine). In another example, the power management system 451 may perform thermal monitoring operations, such as by checking the ambient and / or transistor junction temperature. In another example, the power management system 451 may perform a certain function based on detecting a certain temperature level, such as causing a cooling system (e.g., one or more fans, an air conditioning system, etc.) to cool certain components of the vehicle computing system 450 (e.g., the control system 452, such as one or more ECUs), shutting down certain functionality of the vehicle computing system 450 (e.g., restricting the infotainment system 454, such as by turning off one or more displays, disconnecting from a wireless network, etc.), and other functions.

[0083] The vehicle computing system 450 also includes a communication system 458. The communication system 458 may include both software and hardware components for sending signals to a network (e.g., to a gNB or other network entity via the Uu interface) and / or to other UEs (e.g., to another vehicle or UE via the PC5 interface, a WiFi interface (e.g., DSRC), a Bluetooth TM interface, and / or other wireless and / or wired interfaces) and receiving signals from a network (e.g., from a gNB or other network entity via the Uu interface) and / or from other UEs (e.g., from another vehicle or UE via the PC5 interface, a WiFi interface (e.g., DSRC), a Bluetooth TM interface, and / or other wireless and / or wired interfaces). For example, the communication system 458 is configured to wirelessly send and receive information via any suitable wireless network (e.g., a 3G network, a 4G network, a 5G network, a WiFi network, a Bluetooth network, and / or other networks). The communication system 458 includes various components or devices for performing wireless communication functionality, including an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) subscriber identity module (referred to as a SIM or SIM card) 460, a user SIM 462, and a modem 464. Although the vehicle computing system 450 is shown as having two SIMs and one modem, in some embodiments, the computing system 450 may have any number of SIMs (e.g., one SIM or more than two SIMs) and any number of modems (e.g., one modem, two modems, or more than two modems).

[0084] A SIM is a device (e.g., an integrated circuit) that can securely store the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number and associated keys (e.g., encryption - decryption keys) of a specific subscriber or user. The IMSI and keys can be used to identify and authenticate the subscriber on a specific UE. The OEM SIM 460 can be used by the communication system 458 to establish a wireless connection for vehicle - based operations, such as for performing an emergency call (eCall) function, communicating with the communication system of the vehicle manufacturer (e.g., for software updates, etc.), and other operations. The OEM SIM 460 can be very important for the OEM SIM to support critical services, such as eCall for making an emergency call in the event of a car accident or other emergency. For example, eCall can include automatically dialing an emergency number (e.g., "9 - 1 - 1" in the United States, "1 - 1 - 2" in Europe, etc.) in the case of a vehicle accident and communicating the location of the vehicle to emergency services (such as the police, fire department, etc.).

[0085] The user SIM 462 can be used by the communication system 458 to perform a wireless network access function to support user data connections (e.g., for making phone calls, messaging, infotainment - related services, etc.). In some cases, the user's user equipment can be connected to the vehicle computing system 450 through an interface (e.g., through PC5, Bluetooth TM , WiFI TM (e.g., DSRC), a universal serial bus (USB) port, and / or other wireless or wired interfaces). Once connected, the user equipment can transfer the wireless network access functionality from the user equipment to the communication system of the vehicle. In such a case, the user equipment can stop performing the wireless network access functionality (e.g., during the period when the communication system 458 is performing the wireless access functionality). The communication system 458 can start interacting with the base station to perform one or more wireless communication operations, such as facilitating a phone call, sending and / or receiving data (e.g., messaging, video, audio, etc.), and other operations. In such cases, other components of the vehicle computing system 450 can be used to output the data received by the communication system 458. For example, the infotainment system 454 (described below) can display the video received by the communication system 458 on one or more displays and / or can use one or more speakers to output the audio received by the communication system 458.

[0086] A modem is a device that modulates one or more carrier signals to encode digital information for transmission and demodulates the signals to decode the transmitted information. Modem 464 (and / or one or more other modems of communication system 458) can be used for data communication of OEM SIM 460 and / or user SIM 462. In some examples, modem 464 can include a 4G (or LTE) modem, and another modem (not shown) of communication system 458 can include a 5G (or NR) modem. In some examples, communication system 458 can include one or more Bluetooth TM modems (e.g., for Bluetooth TM Low Energy (BLE) or other types of Bluetooth communication), one or more WiFi TM modems (e.g., for DSRC communication and / or other WiFi communication), broadband modems (e.g., Ultra-Wideband (UWB) modems), any combination thereof, and / or other types of modems.

[0087] In some cases, modem 464 (and / or one or more other modems of communication system 458) can be used to perform V2X communication (e.g., V2V communication with other vehicles, D2D communication with other devices, V2I communication with infrastructure systems, V2P communication with pedestrian UEs, etc.). In some examples, communication system 458 can include a V2X modem for performing V2X communication (e.g., sidelink communication via a PC5 interface or a DSRC interface), in which case the V2X modem can be separate from one or more modems for wireless network access functions (e.g., network communication via a network / Uu interface and / or sidelink communication other than V2X communication).

[0088] In some examples, communication system 458 can be or can include a telematics control unit (TCU). In some embodiments, the TCU can include a network access device (NAD) (also referred to as a network control unit or NCU in some cases). The NAD can include modem 464, Figure 4 any other modems not shown, OEM SIM 460, user SIM 462, and / or other components for wireless communication. In some examples, communication system 458 can include a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In some cases, the GNSS can be part of one or more sensor systems 456, as described below. The GNSS can provide the vehicle computing system 450 with the ability to perform one or more location services, navigation services, and / or other services that can utilize GNSS functionality.

[0089] In some cases, the communication system 458 may also include one or more wireless interfaces for sending and receiving wireless communications (e.g., including one or more transceivers and one or more baseband processors for each wireless interface), one or more wired interfaces for performing communications over one or more hardwired connections (e.g., serial interfaces such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) inputs, lighting connectors, and / or other wired interfaces), and / or other components that may allow the vehicle 404 to communicate with the network and / or other UEs.

[0090] The vehicle computing system 450 may also include an infotainment system 454 that may control content and one or more output devices of the vehicle 404 that may be used to output content. The infotainment system 454 may also be referred to as an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system or an in-car entertainment (ICE) system. The content may include navigation content, media content (e.g., video content, music or other audio content, and / or other media content), and other content. The one or more output devices may include one or more graphical user interfaces, one or more displays, one or more speakers, one or more extended reality devices (e.g., VR, AR, and / or MR headsets), one or more haptic feedback devices (e.g., one or more devices configured to vibrate the seat, steering wheel, and / or other parts of the vehicle 404), and / or other output devices.

[0091] In some examples, the computing system 450 may include an intelligent transportation system (ITS) 455. In some examples, the ITS 455 may be used to implement V2X communications. For example, the ITS stack of the ITS 455 may generate V2X messages based on information from the application layer of the ITS. In some cases, the application layer may determine whether certain conditions have been met to generate messages for use by the ITS 455 and / or generate messages to be transmitted to other vehicles (for V2V communications), pedestrian UEs (for V2P communications), and / or infrastructure systems (for V2I communications). In some cases, the communication system 458 and / or the ITS 455 may obtain controller area network (CAN) information (e.g., from other components of the vehicle via the CAN bus). In some examples, the communication system 458 (e.g., the TCU NAD) may obtain CAN information via the CAN bus and may transmit the CAN information to the PHY / MAC layer of the ITS 455. The ITS 455 may provide the CAN information to the ITS stack of the ITS 455. The CAN information may include vehicle-related information such as the forward direction of the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle, braking information, and other information. The CAN information may be provided to the ITS 455 continuously or periodically (e.g., every 1 millisecond (ms), every 10 ms, etc.).

[0092] The conditions for determining whether to generate a message can be determined using CAN information based on security-related applications and / or other applications (including applications related to road safety, traffic efficiency, infotainment, commerce, and / or other applications). In an illustrative example, ITS 455 can perform lane change assistance or negotiation. For example, using CAN information, ITS 455 can determine that the driver of vehicle 404 is attempting to change lanes from the current lane to an adjacent lane (e.g., based on the turn signal being activated, based on the user steering or turning into the adjacent lane, etc.). Based on determining that vehicle 404 is attempting to change lanes, ITS 455 can determine that a lane change condition has been met, which is associated with a message to be transmitted to other vehicles in the vicinity of that vehicle in the adjacent lane. ITS 455 can trigger the ITS stack to generate one or more messages to be sent to other vehicles, which can be used to negotiate a lane change with other vehicles. Other examples of applications include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, pedestrian avoidance or protection (e.g., when a pedestrian is detected near vehicle 404, such as based on V2P communication with the user's UE), traffic sign recognition, etc.

[0093] ITS 455 can use any suitable protocol to generate messages (e.g., V2X messages). Examples of protocols that ITS 455 can use include one or more Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards (such as SAE J2735, SAE J2945, SAE J3161, and / or other standards), which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and used for all purposes.

[0094] The security layer of ITS 455 can be used to securely sign messages from the ITS stack, which are transmitted to and verified by other UEs configured for V2X communication, such as other vehicles, pedestrian UEs, and / or infrastructure systems. The security layer can also verify messages received from such other UEs. In some embodiments, the signing and verification processes can be based on the security context of the vehicle. In some examples, the security context can include one or more encryption - decryption algorithms, public and / or private keys used with the encryption - decryption algorithms to generate signatures, and / or other information. For example, each ITS message generated by ITS 455 can be signed by the security layer of ITS 455. A signature can be derived using a public key and an encryption - decryption algorithm. The vehicle, pedestrian UE, and / or infrastructure system receiving the signed message can verify the signature to ensure that the message is from an authorized vehicle. In some examples, one or more encryption - decryption algorithms can include one or more symmetric encryption algorithms (e.g., Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), and / or other symmetric encryption algorithms), one or more asymmetric encryption algorithms using public and private keys (e.g., Rivest - Shamir - Adleman (RSA) and / or other asymmetric encryption algorithms), and / or other encryption - decryption algorithms.

[0095] In some examples, ITS 455 can determine certain actions to perform (e.g., V2X - based actions) based on messages received from other UEs. These actions can include security - related and / or other actions, such as actions for road safety, traffic efficiency, infotainment, commerce, and / or other applications. In some examples, these actions can include causing the vehicle (e.g., control system 452) to perform automated functions, such as automatic braking, automatic steering (e.g., maintaining a forward direction in a specific lane), automatic lane - change negotiation with other vehicles, and other automated functions. In an illustrative example, the communication system 458 can receive a message from another vehicle (e.g., via a PC5 interface, DSRC interface, or other device - to - device direct interface) indicating that the other vehicle is about to suddenly stop. In response to receiving the message, the ITS stack can generate a message or instruction and transmit the message or instruction to the control system 452, which can cause the control system 452 to automatically brake the vehicle 404 so that it stops before colliding with the other vehicle. In other illustrative examples, these actions can include triggering messages that warn the driver that another vehicle is in the adjacent lane of the vehicle, a message warning the driver to stop the vehicle, a message warning the driver that a pedestrian is at an upcoming intersection, a message warning the driver that a toll booth is within a certain distance (e.g., within 1 mile) of the vehicle, etc.

[0096] In some examples, the ITS 455 may receive a large number of messages from other UEs (e.g., vehicles, RSUs, etc.). In such a case, the ITS 455 will authenticate (e.g., decode and decrypt) each message in the messages and / or determine which operations to perform. Such a large number of messages may result in a large computational load on the vehicle computing system 450. In some cases, the large computational load may cause the temperature of the computing system 450 to increase. The increase in the temperature of the components of the computing system 450 may adversely affect the ability of the computing system 450 to process a large number of incoming messages. One or more functions may transition from the vehicle 404 to another device (e.g., a user device, an RSU, etc.) based on the temperature of the vehicle computing system 450 (or its components) exceeding or approaching one or more thermal levels. Transitioning one or more functions may reduce the computational load on the vehicle 404 and help reduce the temperature of the components. A thermal load balancer may be provided that enables the vehicle computing system 450 to perform thermal-based load balancing to control the processing load depending on the temperature of the computing system 450 and the processing capabilities of the vehicle computing system 450.

[0097] The computing system 450 also includes one or more sensor systems 456 (e.g., a first sensor system to an Nth sensor system, where N is a value equal to or greater than 0). When multiple sensor systems are included, the sensor systems 456 may include different types of sensor systems that may be arranged on or in different parts of the vehicle 404. The sensor systems 456 may include one or more camera sensor systems, LIDAR sensor systems, radio detection and ranging (RADAR) sensor systems, electromagnetic detection and ranging (EmDAR) sensor systems, sound navigation and ranging (SONAR) sensor systems, sound detection and ranging (SODAR) sensor systems, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver systems (e.g., one or more global positioning system (GPS) receiver systems), accelerometers, gyroscopes, inertial measurement units (IMUs), infrared sensor systems, laser rangefinder systems, ultrasonic sensor systems, infrasound sensor systems, microphones, any combination thereof, and / or other sensor systems. It should be understood that any number of sensors or sensor systems may be included as part of the computing system 450 of the vehicle 404.

[0098] Although the vehicle computing system 450 is shown as including certain components and / or systems, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the vehicle computing system 450 may include more than Figure 4Those components shown may be more or fewer components. For example, the vehicle computing system 450 may also include one or more input devices and one or more output devices (not shown). In some specific embodiments, the vehicle computing system 450 may also include (e.g., as part of or separate from the control system 452, the infotainment system 454, the communication system 458, and / or the sensor system 456) at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-executable instructions executed by the at least one processor. The at least one processor communicates with and / or is electrically connected to (referred to as "coupled to" or "communicatively coupled to") the at least one memory. The at least one processor may include, for example, one or more microcontrollers, one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more application processors (e.g., for running or executing one or more software applications), and / or other processors. The at least one memory may include, for example, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM) (e.g., static RAM (SRAM)), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, one or more buffers, one or more databases, and / or other memory. The computer-executable instructions stored in or on the at least one memory may be executed to perform one or more of the functions or operations described herein.

[0099] Figure 5 An example of a computing system 570 of the user device 507 is illustrated. The user device 507 is an example of a UE that can be used by an end user. For example, the user device 507 may include a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a network-connected wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, glasses, an XR device, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, and / or other devices that the user uses to communicate via a wireless communication network. The computing system 570 includes software and hardware components that may be electrically coupled or communicatively coupled (or may communicate in other ways as appropriate) via a bus 589. For example, the computing system 570 includes one or more processors 584. The one or more processors 584 may include one or more CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, APs, GPUs, VPUs, NSPs, microcontrollers, dedicated hardware, any combination thereof, and / or other processing devices or systems. The bus 589 may be used by the one or more processors 584 to communicate between cores and / or with one or more memory devices 586.

[0100] The computing system 570 may also include one or more memory devices 586, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) 582, one or more SIMs 574, one or more modems 576, one or more wireless transceivers 578, an antenna 587, one or more input devices 572 (e.g., cameras, mice, keyboards, touch-sensitive screens, touch pads, keypads, microphones, etc.), and one or more output devices 580 (e.g., displays, speakers, and / or printers, etc.).

[0101] One or more wireless transceivers 578 may receive wireless signals (e.g., signal 588) via the antenna 587 from one or more other devices, such as other user devices, vehicles (e.g., vehicle 404 described above Figure 4 , the vehicle), network devices (e.g., base stations, such as eNBs and / or gNBs, WiFi routers, etc.), and / or cloud networks, etc.). In some examples, the computing system 570 may include multiple antennas. The wireless signal 588 may be transmitted via a wireless network. The wireless network may be any wireless network, such as a cellular or telecommunications network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), a wireless local area network (e.g., a WiFi network), a Bluetooth TM network, and / or other networks. In some examples, one or more wireless transceivers 578 may include an RF front end that includes one or more components, such as amplifiers, mixers for signal downconversion (also referred to as signal multipliers), frequency synthesizers (also referred to as oscillators) that supply signals to the mixers, baseband filters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), one or more power amplifiers, and other components. The RF front end may generally handle the selection of the wireless signal 588 and the conversion of the wireless signal to baseband or intermediate frequency, and may convert the RF signal to the digital domain.

[0102] In some cases, the computing system 570 may include a codec (or CODEC) configured to encode and / or decode data transmitted and / or received using one or more wireless transceivers 578. In some cases, the computing system 570 may include an encryption-decryption device or component configured to encrypt and / or decrypt (e.g., according to AES and / or DES standards) data transmitted and / or received by one or more wireless transceivers 578.

[0103] One or more SIMs 574 may each securely store the IMSI number and associated keys assigned to the user of the user equipment 507. As noted above, the IMSI and keys may be used to identify and authenticate the subscriber when accessing the network provided by the network service provider or operator associated with the one or more SIMs 574. One or more modems 576 may modulate one or more signals to encode information for transmission using one or more wireless transceivers 578. One or more modems 576 may also demodulate signals received by one or more wireless transceivers 578 to decode the transmitted information. In some examples, one or more modems 576 may include a 4G (or LTE) modem, a 5G (or NR) modem, a modem configured for V2X communication, and / or other types of modems. One or more modems 576 and one or more wireless transceivers 578 may be used to communicate data of one or more SIMs 574.

[0104] The computing system 570 may also include one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media or storage devices (e.g., one or more memory devices 586) (and / or communicate with them), which may include but are not limited to local and / or network-accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices (such as RAM and / or ROM), which may be programmable and / or flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems and / or database structures, etc.

[0105] In various aspects, the functionality may be stored as one or more computer program products (e.g., instructions or code) in the memory device 586 and executed by one or more processors 584 and / or one or more DSPs 582. The computing system 570 may also include software elements (e.g., located within one or more memory devices 586), including for example an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code, such as one or more applications, which may include computer programs implementing the functionality provided by the various aspects and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems as described herein.

[0106] Figure 6Example 600 illustrates wireless communication between devices based on sidelink communication, such as V2X or other D2D communication. This communication can be based on a time slot structure. For example, the transmitting UE 602 can send a transmission 614 that can be received by the receiving UEs 604, 606, 608. The transmission, for example, includes a control channel and / or a corresponding data channel. At least one UE can include an autonomous vehicle or an unmanned aerial vehicle. The control channel can include information for decoding the data channel and can also be used by the receiving device to avoid interference by refraining from transmitting on the occupied resources during data transmission. The number of TTIs and RBs to be occupied by the data transmission can be indicated in a control message from the transmitting device. In addition to operating as a receiving device, each of the UEs 602, 604, 606, 608 may also be capable of operating as a transmitting device. Thus, UEs 606, 608 are illustrated as transmitting transmissions 616, 620. Transmissions 614, 616, 620 (and 618 via RSU 607) can be broadcast or multicast to nearby devices. For example, UE 614 can send a communication intended to be received by other UEs within the range 601 of UE 614. Additionally / alternatively, RSU 607 can receive communication 618 from and / or send the communication to UEs 602, 604, 606, 608. UEs 602, 604, 606, 608 or RSU 607 can include a detection component. UEs 602, 604, 606, 608 or RSU 607 can also include a BSM or mitigation component.

[0107] In wireless communication, such as V2X communication, V2X entities can perform sensor sharing with other V2X entities to enable cooperation and autonomous driving. For example, referring to Figure 7A the illustration 700 of, the host vehicle (HV) 702 can detect multiple items within its environment. For example, at block 732, the HV 702 can detect the presence of a non-V2X entity (NV) 706. The HV 702 can notify other entities, such as the first remote vehicle (RV1) 704 or the roadside unit (RSU) 708, of the presence of the NV 706, provided that the RV1 704 and / or the RSU 708 itself cannot detect the NV 706. The HV 702 notifying the RV1 704 and / or the RSU 708 of the NV 706 is the sharing of sensor information. Referring to Figure 7B the illustration 710 of, the HV 702 can detect a physical obstacle 712 (such as a pothole, debris, or an object that may be an obstacle in the path of the HV 702 and / or the RV1 704 and that has not been detected by the RV1 704 and / or the RSU 708). The HV 702 can notify the RV1 and / or the RSU 708 of the obstacle 712 so that the obstacle 712 can be avoided. Referring to Figure 7CIn illustration 720, HV 702 can detect the presence of a vulnerable road user (VRU) 722 and can share the detection of the VRU 722 with RV1 704 and RSU 708 in instances where RSU 708 and / or RV1 704 may not be able to detect the VRU 722. Refer to Figure 7D In illustration 730, when the HV detects a nearby entity (e.g., NV, VRU, obstacle), it can send a sensor data sharing message (SDSM) 734 to the RV and / or RSU to share the detection of the entity. The SDSM 734 can be a broadcast message such that any receiving device in the vicinity of the HV can receive the message. In some instances, the shared information can be relayed to other entities, such as the RV. For example, refer to Figure 8 In illustration 800, HV 802 can detect the presence of NV 806 and / or VRU 822. HV 802 can broadcast an SDSM 810 to RSU 808 to report the detection of NV 806 and / or VRU 822. RSU 808 can relay the SDSM 810 received from HV 802 to a remote vehicle such that the remote vehicle knows the presence of NV 806 and / or VRU 822. For example, RSU 808 can send an SDSM 812 to RV1 804, where the SDSM 812 includes information related to the detection of NV 806 and / or VRU 822.

[0108] Figure 9 is an illustration showing an example of a system 900 for sensor sharing in wireless communication (e.g., V2X communication). In Figure 9 it, the system 900 is shown to include a plurality of equipped (e.g., having V2X capabilities) network devices. The plurality of equipped network devices includes vehicles (e.g., cars) 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and RSU 905. Also shown is a plurality of un-equipped network devices, the plurality of un-equipped network devices including un-equipped vehicles 920, VRUs (e.g., cyclists) 930, and pedestrians 940. The system 900 can include more or fewer equipped network devices and / or more or fewer un-equipped network devices than Figure 9 shown. Additionally, the system 900 can include more or fewer different types of equipped network devices (e.g., it can include equipped UEs) and / or more or fewer different types of un-equipped network devices (e.g., it can include un-equipped UEs) than Figure 9 shown. Additionally, in one or more examples, the equipped network devices can be equipped with a variety of capabilities, which can include but are not limited to C-V2X / DSRC capabilities, 4G / 5G cellular connectivity, GPS capabilities, camera capabilities, radar capabilities, and / or LIDAR capabilities.

[0109] Multiple equipped network devices may be capable of performing V2X communication. Additionally, at least some of the equipped network devices are configured to send and receive sensing signals for radar (e.g., RF sensing signals) and / or LIDAR (e.g., optical sensing signals) to detect nearby vehicles and / or objects. Additionally or alternatively, in some cases, at least some of the equipped network devices are configured to use one or more cameras to detect nearby vehicles and / or objects (e.g., by processing images captured by the one or more cameras to detect such vehicles / objects). In one or more examples, vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and RSU 905 may be configured to send and receive certain sensing signals (e.g., radar and / or LIDAR sensing signals).

[0110] In some examples, some of the equipped network devices may have sensors with higher capabilities than other equipped network devices of system 900 (e.g., GPS receivers, cameras, RF antennas, and / or optical lasers and / or optical sensors). For example, vehicle 910b may be a luxury vehicle and thus have more expensive and higher-capability sensors than other vehicles that are economy vehicles. In an illustrative example, vehicle 910b may have one or more LIDAR sensors with higher capabilities than other equipped network devices in system 900 (e.g., high-capability optical lasers and optical sensors). In an illustrative example, the LIDAR of vehicle 910b may be able to detect VRUs (e.g., cyclists) 930 and / or pedestrians 940 with a high confidence (e.g., seventy percent confidence). In another example, vehicle 910b may have a radar with higher capabilities than other equipped network devices in system 900 (e.g., high-capability RF antennas). For example, the radar of vehicle 910b may be able to detect VRUs (e.g., cyclists) 930 and / or pedestrians 940 with a certain confidence (e.g., eighty-five percent confidence). In another example, vehicle 910b may have a camera with higher capabilities than other equipped network devices in system 900 (e.g., having higher resolution capabilities, higher frame rate capabilities, better lenses, etc.).

[0111] During operation of system 900, the equipped network devices (e.g., at least one of vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and / or RSU 905) may send and / or receive sensing signals (e.g., RF and / or optical signals) to sense and detect vehicles (e.g., vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and 920) and / or objects (e.g., VRU 930 and pedestrian 940) located within and around the road. Then, the equipped network devices (e.g., at least one of vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and / or RSU 905) may use the sensing signals to determine the characteristics (e.g., motion, size, type, forward direction, and speed) of the detected vehicles and / or objects. The equipped network devices (e.g., at least one of vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and / or RSU 905) may generate at least one vehicle-based message 915 (e.g., V2X messages, such as sensor data sharing message (SDSM), basic safety message (BSM), cooperative awareness message (CAM), collective perception message (CPM), and / or other types of messages), which includes information related to the determined characteristics of the detected vehicles and / or objects.

[0112] The vehicle-based message 915 may include information related to the detected vehicle or object (e.g., the location of the vehicle or object, the accuracy of the location, the speed of the vehicle or object, the direction in which the vehicle or object is traveling, and / or other information related to the vehicle or object), traffic conditions (e.g., low-speed and / or dense traffic, high-speed traffic, information related to an accident, etc.), weather conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.), message type (e.g., emergency message, non-emergency or "regular" message, etc.), road topology (line of sight (LOS) or non-line of sight (NLOS), etc.), any combination thereof, and / or other information. In some examples, the vehicle-based message 915 may also include information about the preference of the equipped network device for receiving vehicle-based messages from certain other equipped network devices. In some cases, the vehicle-based message 915 may include the current capabilities of the equipped network device (e.g., vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d), such as the sensing capabilities of the equipped network device (which may affect the accuracy of the equipped network device in sensing vehicles and / or objects), processing capabilities, the thermal state of the equipped network device (which may affect the vehicle's ability to process data), and the health state of the equipped network device.

[0113] In some aspects, the vehicle-based message 915 can include a dynamic neighbor list (also referred to as a local dynamic map (LDM) or a dynamic surrounding map) for each of the equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d and RSU 905). For example, each dynamic neighbor list can include a list of all vehicles and / or objects located within a specific predetermined distance (or distance radius) from the corresponding equipped network device. In some cases, each dynamic neighbor list includes a map of all vehicles and / or objects located within a specific predetermined distance (or distance radius) from the corresponding equipped network device, which can include road and terrain topologies.

[0114] In some specific implementations, the vehicle-based message 915 can include specific use cases or safety warnings related to the current status of the equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d), such as a do not pass warning (DNPW) or a forward collision warning (FCW). In some examples, the vehicle-based message 915 can take the form of a standard basic safety message (BSM), a cooperative awareness message (CAM), a collective perception message (CPM), a sensor data sharing message (SDSM) (e.g., SAE J3224 SDSM), and / or other formats.

[0115] Figure 10 is an illustration of an example of a vehicle-based message (e.g., Figure 9 the vehicle-based message 915). The vehicle-based message 915 is shown as a sensor sharing message (e.g., SDSM), but can include a BSM, a CAM, a CPM, or other vehicle-based messages as described herein. In Figure 10In this context, the vehicle-based message 915 is shown as including host data 1020 and detected object data 1010a, 1010b. The host data 1020 of the vehicle-based message 915 may include information related to the sending device of the vehicle-based message 915 (e.g., a network entity equipped with a transmitter such as RSU 905 or an on-board unit (OBU) on vehicles such as vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d). The detected object data 1010a, 1010b of the vehicle-based message 915 may include information related to the detected vehicle or object (e.g., static or dynamic characteristics related to the detected vehicle or object, and / or other information related to the detected vehicle or object). Specifically, the detected object data 1010a, 1010b may include detected object CommonData, detected object VehicleData, detected object VRUData, detected obstacle ObstacleData, and detected object MisbehavingVehicleData.

[0116] These vehicle-based messages 915 are beneficial because they can provide equipped network devices (e.g., Figure 9 vehicles 910a, 910b, 910c, 910d) with awareness and understanding of upcoming potential road hazards (e.g., unforeseen oncoming vehicles, accidents, and road conditions).

[0117] As previously mentioned, Personal Safety Messages (PSM) (defined by SAE) and VAM (defined by ETSI) enable C-V2X-capable UEs (e.g., held by pedestrians, cyclists, and other VRUs) to broadcast information related to VRUs. For example, PSM includes VRU information such as VRU type, location, motion state, path history, and path prediction information. PSM and VAM receivers such as vehicles and roadside units (RSUs) can use PSM data (VRU information) to determine whether any maneuvers or actions (e.g., decelerating, accelerating, turning, changing lanes) are required to respond to or avoid the VRU (e.g., avoid colliding with the VRU). However, the path prediction information element (IE) in PSM and VAM is defined as a radius of curvature in units of approximately ten (10) centimeters (cm), which may be insufficient for vehicles to predict VRU motion. For pedestrians, scooters, cyclists, or other VRUs, such predictions may be unreliable, short-lived, and insufficient for vehicles to determine whether they should take action to avoid the VRU considering the ability to quickly change direction.

[0118] In one or more aspects, systems and techniques are provided for enhanced VRU prediction through server-based processing (e.g., cloud-based processing). As noted above, such server-based processing can result in a reduction in traffic collisions. These systems and techniques provide a method for improving VRU direction prediction, which can enhance safety by improving a vehicle's ability to determine whether an evasive action should be taken and what evasive action should be taken to protect the VRU. In one or more examples, these systems and techniques provide a mechanism for combining VRU path history, location, and current motion state (as provided in PSM, VAM, and / or other messages including VRU-related information) with knowledge of VRU type, road topology, and VRU travel history to provide VRU path prediction. In one or more examples, these systems and techniques employ algorithms for predicting the path of a VRU based on knowledge of the type of VRU report, VRU location, VRU motion state, road topology, and VRU path history.

[0119] Figure 11 , Figure 12A and Figure 12B show examples of systems 1100, 1200 for enhanced VRU prediction through server (e.g., cloud)-based processing, which can result in a reduction in traffic collisions with VRUs. Specifically, Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of system 1100 for enhanced VRU prediction through server (e.g., cloud)-based processing, where system 1100 includes a VRU 1110 in the form of a bicycle approaching a roundabout road intersection 1160.

[0120] In Figure 11 , system 1100 includes a plurality of equipped (e.g., having communication capabilities, such as having V2X capabilities) network devices. The plurality of equipped network devices can include a VRU 1110 (e.g., in the form of a bicycle), vehicles 1120a, 1120c (e.g., in the form of cars), and vehicle 1120b (e.g., in the form of a truck). The VRU 1110 (e.g., bicycle) can have associated user equipment, such as a smartphone and / or a network-connected wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch).

[0121] The disclosed system 1100 can include more or fewer equipped network devices than shown in Figure 11 . Additionally, the disclosed system 1100 can include more or fewer different types of equipped network devices than shown in Figure 11 . In some examples, the disclosed system 1100 can include, for example, Figure 11More or fewer different types of VRUs as shown. Different types of VRUs may include pedestrians and / or other types of non-motor vehicles having an associated UE (e.g., a smartphone or a network-connected wearable device), such as a scooter having an associated UE (e.g., a smartphone and / or a network-connected wearable device). Additionally, in one or more examples, the equipped network devices may be equipped with a variety of capabilities, which may include but are not limited to C-V2X / DSRC capabilities, 4G / 5G cellular connectivity, radar capabilities, and / or LIDAR capabilities.

[0122] In one or more examples, multiple equipped network devices are capable of performing V2X communications. Additionally, at least some of the equipped network devices are capable of sending and receiving sensing signals for radar (e.g., RF sensing signals) and / or sensing signals for LIDAR (e.g., optical sensing signals). In one or more examples, VRU 1110 (e.g., a bicycle), vehicles 1120a, 1120c (e.g., cars), and vehicle 1120b (e.g., a truck) may be capable of sending and receiving certain sensing signals (e.g., radar and / or LIDAR sensing signals).

[0123] In one or more aspects, the user equipment associated with VRU 1110 may detect (e.g., this may include sensing) various different types of information associated with VRU 1110 (e.g., VRU information). Different types of information in the VRU information may include but are not limited to the location of VRU 1110 (e.g., which may be determined by using the GPS receiver of the UE), the current motion state of VRU 1110 (e.g., the acceleration or deceleration of the VRU and / or the speed of the VRU), and / or the path history of VRU 1110.

[0124] In one or more examples, the path history of VRU 1110 may include the route that the VRU traveled previously at a specific time and / or date, and this route may include a pattern of frequently traveled routes. For example, an example of a route pattern may be that the driver of VRU 1110 (e.g., a bicycle) rides around a specific route every Saturday at 8 am (e.g., which may include riding around the roundabout 1160).

[0125] The UE associated with VRU 1110 (e.g., a smartphone tied to the handle of VRU 1110 or a smartwatch worn by the driver of VRU 1110) may use at least a portion of the VRU information (e.g., the location of VRU 1110, the current motion state of VRU 1110, and / or the path history of VRU 1110) to determine the path prediction information of VRU 1110.

[0126] The path prediction information may include a specific predicted path (e.g., predicted path 1130) that the VRU 1110 will travel. The path prediction information may include a curvature radius of approximately 10 cm for the predicted path 1130. In one or more examples, for the curvature radius, a flat road (e.g., roundabout intersection 1160) may be represented as being in the horizontal XY plane of a three-dimensional (3D) Cartesian coordinate system, where the VRU 1110 is located at the origin.

[0127] After a UE associated with the VRU 1110 (e.g., a bicycle) has determined the path prediction information of the VRU 1110, the UE associated with the VRU 1110 (e.g., a bicycle) may generate a message (e.g., such as a PSM, VAM, and / or other message including VRU-related information), which may include the location of the VRU 1110, the current motion state of the VRU 1110, the path history of the VRU 1110, and / or the path prediction information of the VRU 1110. In one or more examples, the path prediction information element (IO) (e.g., PSM, VAM, etc.) of the message may include the path prediction information (e.g., including the predicted path 1130 with a predicted curvature radius).

[0128] After a UE associated with the VRU 1110 (e.g., a bicycle) has generated a message (e.g., PSM, VAM, etc.), the UE associated with the VRU 1110 (e.g., a bicycle) may send the message to other equipped network devices. Other equipped network devices that may receive the message may include vehicles 1120a, 1120c (e.g., cars), vehicle 1120b (e.g., a truck), an RSU (e.g., an RSU 1320 such as Figure 13 ), a base station (e.g., a base station 1330 in the form of a gNB such as Figure 13 ), and / or a server (e.g., a cloud server 1340 such as Figure 13 ).

[0129] In one or more examples, network devices equipped in the system 1100, such as vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c, etc., can similarly (e.g., by using sensors located on the vehicle) determine their respective positions, current motion states, and / or path histories. These equipped network devices can similarly determine their respective path prediction information (e.g., including predicted paths, such as predicted paths 1150a, 1150b, 1150c) by using the positions, current motion states, and / or path histories they have determined. For example, vehicle 1120a (e.g., a car) can determine its own predicted path 1150a, vehicle 1120b (e.g., a car) can determine its own predicted path 1150b, and vehicle 1120c (e.g., a truck) can determine its own predicted path 1150c.

[0130] In one or more examples, the predicted paths of vehicles (e.g., vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c), such as predicted paths 1150a, 1150b, 1150c, can be simpler than the predicted paths of VRUs (e.g., VRU 1110), such as predicted path 1130. The predicted paths of vehicles can be simpler because vehicles have a direction of motion for the forward direction and a radius of curvature associated with that forward direction, which is based on the steering wheel angle. For a VRU (e.g., in the form of a UE associated with a non-motorized vehicle or pedestrian (e.g., attached to a non-motorized vehicle or pedestrian)), there is no steering wheel angle, and thus, the determined predicted path of the VRU may not be as accurate as the determined predicted path of a vehicle.

[0131] After the equipped network devices (such as vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c, etc.) in the system 1100 have determined their respective positions, current motion states, path histories, and / or path prediction information (e.g., including predicted paths), the equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c) can each generate a message (e.g., a BSM), which can include the position of the vehicle, the current motion state of the vehicle, the path history of the vehicle, and / or the path prediction information of the vehicle.

[0132] After a equipped network device (e.g., vehicle 1120a, 1120b, 1120c) has generated a message (e.g., BSM), the equipped network device (e.g., vehicle 1120a, 1120b, 1120c) may send the message (e.g., BSM) to other equipped network devices. Other equipped network devices that may receive the message (e.g., BSM) may include but are not limited to VRU 1110, vehicle 1120a, 1120c (e.g., car), vehicle 1120b (e.g., truck), RSU (e.g., RSU 1320 such as Figure 13 ), base station (e.g., base station 1330 in the form of gNB such as Figure 13 ), and / or server (e.g., cloud server 1340 such as Figure 13 ).

[0133] Equipped network devices (e.g., servers such as cloud server 1340 such as Figure 14 ), RSUs such as RSU 1320 such as Figure 13 ), or base stations such as base station 1330 such as Figure 13 ) may receive messages (e.g., PSM, VAM, etc.) from other VRUs (e.g., bicycles) that have previously traveled through roundabout intersection 1160, messages (e.g., PSM, VAM, etc.) from VRU 1110, and / or messages (e.g., BSM) from equipped network devices (e.g., vehicle 1120a, 1120b, 1120c).

[0134] After an equipped network device (e.g., servers such as cloud server 1340 such as Figure 14 ), RSUs such as RSU 1320 such as Figure 13 ), or base stations such as base station 1330 such as Figure 13 ) has received a message (e.g., PSM, VAM, and / or other messages including VRU-related information and optionally BSM), the equipped network device (e.g., servers such as cloud server 1340 such as Figure 14 ), RSUs such as RSU 1320 such as Figure 13 ), or base stations such as base station 1330 such as Figure 13 ) may collect or store at least a portion of the information in at least a portion of the message (e.g., PSM and optionally BSM). Equipped network devices (e.g., servers such as cloud server 1340 such as Figure 14 ), RSUs such as RSU 1320 such as Figure 13 ), or base stations such as base station 1330 such as Figure 13Base stations such as base station 1330 can then determine the predicted path 1140 of VRU 1100 based on information (such as VRU information) from messages (e.g., PSM, VAM, and / or other messages including VRU-related information and optionally BSM), which includes the collected or stored VRU information. When using additional information (such as the collected VRU information) together with the VRU information specifically for VRU 1110, the predicted path 1140 of VRU 1110 can be a more accurate prediction than the predicted path 1130 of VRU 1110.

[0135] In one or more examples, equipped network devices (such as servers such as Figure 14 cloud server 1340, RSU such as Figure 13 RSU 1320, or base stations such as Figure 13 base station 1330) can determine the predicted path 1140 of VRU 1100 based on information that can include but is not limited to static information, dynamic information, historical VRU-specific information, and historical crowdsourcing information. In one or more examples, static information can include but is not limited to road type (e.g., roundabout), road gradient (e.g., steep, flat, undulating), presence of bike lanes, presence of sidewalks, and / or road signs. In some examples, dynamic information can include but is not limited to VRU (e.g., bicycle) speed, acceleration of the VRU (e.g., slow uphill, fast downhill), and / or environmental information. In one or more examples, historical VRU-specific information (e.g., information specific to VRU 1110) can include but is not limited to the previous travel history of the VRU, such as the regular commute of the VRU, the exercise path of the VRU, and / or the child pick-up and drop-off points of the VRU. In some examples, historical crowdsourcing information (e.g., information specific to VRU 1110) can include but is not limited to comparisons with paths followed by other similar VRUs (e.g., other bicycles).

[0136] After the equipped network device (such as servers such as Figure 14 cloud server 1340, RSU such as Figure 13 RSU1320, or base stations such as Figure 13 base station 1330) has determined the predicted path 1140 of VRU 1100, the equipped network device (such as servers such as Figure 14 cloud server 1340, RSU such as Figure 13 RSU 1320, or base stations such as Figure 13Base stations such as base station 1330 can send the predicted path 1140 of the VRU 1100 to other equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c, RSU, VRU, base stations, and / or servers such as cloud servers) to notify the equipped network devices of the possible future path of the VRU 1100 (e.g., the predicted path 1140). In one or more examples, when other equipped network devices in the form of vehicles (e.g., vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c) are notified of the predicted path 1140 of the VRU 1100, the equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1120a, 1120b, 1120c) may be able to avoid a possible collision with the VRU 1110.

[0137] Figure 12A FIG. 4 is a side elevation view illustrating an example of a system 1200 for enhanced VRU prediction via cloud-based processing, where the system 1200 includes a VRU 1210a in the form of a bicycle that is approaching a downhill intersection of a road 1230 in a marked bicycle lane. And, Figure 12B is a diagram showing Figure 12A a top view of the system 1200.

[0138] In Figure 12A and Figure 12B system 1200 may include multiple equipped (e.g., having V2X capabilities) network devices. The equipped network devices may include VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., each in the form of a bicycle) and vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c (e.g., each in the form of a car). The VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., bicycles) may each have associated user equipment such as a smartphone and / or a network-connected wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch).

[0139] System 1200 may include more or fewer equipped network devices as shown in, for example, Figure 12A and Figure 12B In addition, system 1100 may include more or fewer different types of equipped network devices as shown in, for example, Figure 12A and Figure 12B In some examples, system 1200 may include more or fewer equipped network devices as shown in, for example, Figure 12A and 12BMore or fewer different types of VRUs as shown. Different types of VRUs may include pedestrians and / or other types of non-motor vehicles having an associated UE (e.g., a smartphone or a network-connected wearable device), such as a scooter having an associated UE (e.g., a smartphone and / or a network-connected wearable device). In one or more examples, the equipped network device may be equipped with a variety of capabilities, which may include but are not limited to C-V2X / DSRC capabilities, 4G / 5G cellular connectivity, radar capabilities, and / or LIDAR capabilities.

[0140] In one or more examples, the equipped network device may be capable of performing V2X communication. Additionally, at least some of the equipped network devices may be capable of sending and receiving sensing signals for radar (e.g., RF sensing signals) and / or for LIDAR (e.g., optical sensing signals). In one or more examples, VRUs 1120a, 1120b (e.g., bicycles) and vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c (e.g., cars) may be capable of sending and receiving certain sensing signals (e.g., radar and / or LIDAR sensing signals).

[0141] In one or more examples, the UE associated with each of VRUs 1210a, 1210b may detect (e.g., this may include sensing) various different types of information associated with VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., VRU information). Different types of information in the VRU information may include but are not limited to the location of VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., by using GPS), the current motion state of VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., accelerating or decelerating and / or speed, such as velocity), and / or the path history of VRUs 1210a, 1210b.

[0142] In some examples, the path history of VRUs 1210a, 1210b may include the route that VRUs 1210a, 1210b traveled previously at a specific time and / or date, which may include a pattern of frequently traveled routes. An example of a route pattern may be that the driver (e.g., a bicycle rider) of VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., bicycles) may travel a specific route (e.g., which may include traveling on road 1230) at 7 am every weekday.

[0143] A UE (e.g., a smartphone tied to the handle of the VRU or a smartwatch worn by the driver of the VRU) associated with each of the VRUs 1210a, 1210b (e.g., a bicycle) can use at least a portion of the VRU information (e.g., location, current motion state, and / or path history) to determine path prediction information for its associated VRU. The path prediction information can include a specific predicted path (e.g., predicted paths 1220a, 1220b) that the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) will travel. The path prediction information can include a radius of curvature of approximately 10 cm for the predicted path (e.g., predicted paths 1220a, 1220b).

[0144] After the UE associated with the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) has determined the path prediction information for the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b), the UE associated with the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) can generate a message (e.g., PSM, VAM, and / or other messages including VRU-related information) that can include the location of the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b), the current motion state of the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b), the path history of the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b), and / or the path prediction information for the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b).

[0145] After the UE associated with the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) has generated the message (e.g., PSM, VAM, etc.), the UE associated with the VRU (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) can send the message to other equipped network devices. Other equipped network devices that can receive the message can include, but are not limited to, vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c (e.g., cars), RSU (e.g., Figure 13 RSU 1320), base stations (e.g., Figure 13 base station 1330), and / or servers (e.g., Figure 13 cloud server 1340).

[0146] The equipped network devices in system 1200 (e.g., vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c) can similarly determine their respective positions, current motion states, and / or path histories (e.g., by using sensors). These equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c) can similarly determine their respective path prediction information (e.g., including a predicted path) by using the positions, current motion states, and / or path histories they have determined. Then, the equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c) can each generate a message (e.g., BSM) that may include the position of the vehicle, the current motion state of the vehicle, the path history of the vehicle, and / or the path prediction information of the vehicle.

[0147] The equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c) can then send the message (e.g., BSM) to other equipped network devices. Other equipped network devices that can receive the message (e.g., BSM) can include but are not limited to VRUs 1210a, 1210b, vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c (e.g., cars), RSUs (e.g., Figure 13 RSU 1320), base stations (e.g., Figure 13 base station 1330), and / or servers (e.g., Figure 13 cloud server 1340).

[0148] The equipped network devices (e.g., Figure 14 cloud server 1340, Figure 13 RSU 1320, or Figure 13 base station 1330) can receive messages (e.g., PSM, VAM, and / or other VRU-related messages) from other VRUs (e.g., bicycles) on the previously traveled road 1230, messages (e.g., PSM, VAM, and / or other VRU-related messages) from VRUs 1210a, 1210b, and / or messages (e.g., BSM) from equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c). After the equipped network device (e.g., Figure 14 cloud server 1340, Figure 13 RSU 1320, or Figure 13 base station 1330) has received the message (e.g., PSM, VAM, other VRU-related messages, and optionally BSM), the equipped network device (e.g., Figure 14 cloud server 1340, Figure 13 RSU 1320, or Figure 13The base station 1330) can collect or store at least a portion of the information in at least a portion of the message (e.g., PSM, VAM, other VRU-related messages, and optionally BSM). The equipped network device (e.g., Figure 14 the cloud server 1340, Figure 13 the RSU 1320, or Figure 13 the base station 1330) can then determine the predicted paths (e.g., predicted paths 1250a, 1250b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) based on the information (e.g., VRU information) from the message (e.g., PSM, VAM, other VRU-related messages, and optionally BSM), where the information includes the collected or stored VRU information. When using additional information (e.g., the collected VRU information) together with the VRU information specific to the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b), the predicted paths (e.g., predicted paths 1250a, 1250b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) can be a more accurate prediction than the predicted paths (e.g., predicted paths 1220a, 1220b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b). In one or more examples, the equipped network device (e.g., Figure 14 the cloud server 1340, Figure 13 the RSU 1320, or Figure 13 the base station 1330) can determine the predicted paths (e.g., predicted paths 1250a, 1250b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) based on information that can include but is not limited to static information, dynamic information, historical VRU-specific information, and historical crowdsourcing information.

[0149] After the equipped network device (e.g., Figure 14 the cloud server 1340, Figure 13 the RSU 1320, or Figure 13 the base station 1330) has determined the predicted paths (e.g., predicted paths 1250a, 1250b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b), the equipped network device (e.g., Figure 14 the cloud server 1340, Figure 13 the RSU 1320, or Figure 13The base station 1330) can send the predicted paths (e.g., predicted paths 1250a, 1250b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b) to other equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles 1240a, 1240b, 1240c, RSU, VRU, base station, and / or servers such as cloud servers) to notify the equipped network devices of the possible future paths (e.g., predicted paths 1250a, 1250b) of the VRUs (e.g., VRUs 1210a, 1210b).

[0150] Figure 13 FIG. is an example diagram showing a system 1300 for enhanced VRU prediction through cloud-based processing, where the system 1300 shows cloud-based collection (or storage) of VRU information from a VRU 1310 in the form of a bicycle. In Figure 13 it, the system 1300 may include multiple equipped (e.g., having V2X capabilities) network devices. The equipped network devices may include a VRU 1310 (e.g., in the form of a bicycle), an RSU 1320, a base station 1330 (e.g., gNB), and a server 1340 (e.g., cloud server). The VRU 1310 (e.g., bicycle) may have an associated UE, such as a smartphone and / or a wearable device (e.g., smartwatch).

[0151] The system 1300 may include more or fewer equipped network devices than shown, for example, in Figure 13 it. Additionally, the system 1300 may include more or fewer different types of equipped network devices (e.g., vehicles) than shown, for example, in Figure 13 it. In some examples, the system 1300 may include more or fewer different types of VRUs (e.g., pedestrians with associated UEs and / or non-motor vehicles with associated UEs, such as scooters) than shown, for example, in Figure 13 it. The equipped network devices may be equipped with a variety of capabilities, which may include but are not limited to C-V2X / DSRC capabilities, 4G / 5G cellular connectivity, radar capabilities, and / or LIDAR capabilities.

[0152] The equipped network devices may be capable of performing V2X communication. Additionally, at least some of the equipped network devices may be able to send and receive sensing signals for radar (e.g., RF sensing signals) and / or for LIDAR (e.g., optical sensing signals). In one or more examples, the VRU 1310, RSU 1320, and base station 1330 (e.g., gNB) may be able to send and receive certain sensing signals (e.g., radar and / or LIDAR sensing signals).

[0153] A UE associated with the VRU 1330 (e.g., a bicycle) can detect different types of information (e.g., VRU information) associated with the VRU 1310 (e.g., via sensing). The different types of information in the VRU information can include, but are not limited to, the location of the VRU 1310 (e.g., by using GPS), the current motion state of the VRU 1310 (e.g., accelerating or decelerating and / or speed, such as velocity), and / or the path history of the VRU 1310.

[0154] A UE associated with the VRU 1310 (e.g., a bicycle) can use at least a portion of the VRU information (e.g., location, current motion state, and / or path history) to determine path prediction information for its associated VRU (e.g., the VRU 1310). The path prediction information can include a specific predicted path that the VRU 1310 will travel.

[0155] After the UE associated with the VRU 1310 has determined the path prediction information for the VRU 1310, the UE associated with the VRU 1310 can generate a message (e.g., a PSM, a VAM, other types of VRU-related messages, etc.), which can include the location of the VRU 1310, the current motion state of the VRU 1310, the path history of the VRU 1310, and / or the path prediction information for the VRU 1310.

[0156] After the UE associated with the VRU 1310 has generated a message (e.g., a PSM, a VAM, other types of VRU-related messages, etc.), the UE associated with the VRU 1310 can send the message to the RSU 1320 and the base station 1330 (e.g., a gNB) (e.g., via signals 1315a, 1315b). The RSU 1320 and the base station 1330 can then send the message (e.g., or alternatively at least a portion of the message, such as the VRU information) to the server 1340 (e.g., a cloud server) (e.g., via signals 1325a, 1325b) via the network 1350 and signal 1335. After the server 1340 (e.g., a cloud server) receives the message (e.g., or at least the VRU information), the server 1340 then stores the VRU information.

[0157] Server 1340 (e.g., a cloud server) may include various different stored information 1360 related to VRU 1310, and the stored information may include, but is not limited to, map information 1370, historical VRU-specific information 1380, and / or other historical VRU information 1390. In one or more examples, the map information 1370 may include, but is not limited to, road topology information related to lanes, lane widths, inclinations / grades, speed limits, signs, bike lanes, sidewalks, shoulders, and / or environmental data. In some examples, the historical VRU-specific information 1380 may include, but is not limited to, previous commuting paths, previous exercise / recreational paths, and / or school pick-up / drop-off points for children. In some examples, the other historical VRU information 1390 may include, but is not limited to, previous commuting paths, previous exercise / recreational paths, and / or school pick-up / drop-off points for children.

[0158] Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process 1400 for wireless communication. The process 1400 may be performed by a network device or by a component, system, or apparatus of a network device (e.g., a chipset of a network device or other component or system of a network device). For example, the network device may include a server (e.g., a cloud-based server), a roadside unit (RSU), a vehicle, a base station (e.g., Figure 1 base station 102 of), a part of a base station having a decomposed architecture (e.g., Figure 2 one or more of CU 211, DU 231, RU 241, near RT RIC 227, or non-RT RIC 217 of the decomposed base station 200), or other network devices (or may be components thereof). The operations of the process 1400 may be implemented as software components executed and run on one or more processors (e.g., Figure 4 control system 452 of the vehicle computing system 450 or other systems, Figure 5 processor 584 of, Figure 15 processor 1510 of, or other processors of a network device). Further, the sending and receiving of signals by a wireless communication device in the process 1400 may be performed, for example, by one or more antennas and / or one or more transceivers of a network device (e.g., a wireless transceiver (e.g., Figure 4 communication system 458 of), Figure 5 antenna 587 and / or wireless transceiver 578 of, Figure 15 communication interface 1540 of, and / or other antennas or transceivers)).

[0159] At block 1410, a network device (or its component, system, or apparatus) may receive a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU). For example, the VRU information may include the location of the VRU, the motion state of the VRU, the path history of the VRU, the path prediction information of the VRU, any combination thereof, and / or other information. The message may include any type of message, including VRU-related information such as a personal safety message (PSM) or a VRU awareness message (VAM). In some examples, the VRU is one of a non-motor vehicle or a pedestrian. For example, the non-motor vehicle may be a bicycle, a scooter, or other non-motor vehicle. In some cases, a user equipment (UE) (e.g., a mobile phone, a network-connected wearable device such as a watch, an extended reality (XR) device such as a virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) headset or glasses) is associated with the VRU.

[0160] At block 1420, the network device (or its component, system, or apparatus) may determine a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and the stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU. In some cases, the network device (or its component, system, or apparatus) may obtain the stored VRU information (e.g., from a memory, from another device or system, etc.). In some aspects, the message (e.g., PSM or VRU) includes a path prediction information element (IE) that includes the path prediction for the VRU. In some cases, the stored VRU information includes the type of the VRU, road topology data, environmental data, the travel history of the VRU, historical crowdsourced data related to the VRU, any combination thereof, and / or other information or data.

[0161] In some aspects, the network device may send (or its component, system, or apparatus may output for sending) the path prediction for the VRU to the VRU, one or more network devices, one or more vehicles, one or more other vulnerable road users (VRUs), any combination thereof, and / or to one or more other devices or systems.

[0162] In some cases, the network device may also determine the path prediction for the VRU based on road topology information. In an illustrative example, the road topology information may be a part of the map information 1370 described in Figure 13 and may include, for example, road topology information related to lanes, lane widths, inclinations / gradients, speed limits, signs, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, shoulders, environmental data, any combination thereof, and / or other information or data.

[0163] Figure 15FIG. is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing system 1500 that may be employed by the disclosed systems for enhanced VRU prediction via cloud-based processing. Specifically, Figure 15 An example of the computing system 1500 is illustrated, which may be any computing device that forms an internal computing system, a remote computing system, a camera, or any component thereof, where components of the system communicate with each other using connection 1505. Connection 1505 may be a physical connection using a bus or a direct connection into the processor 1510 (such as in a chipset architecture). Connection 1505 may also be a virtual connection, a networking connection, or a logical connection.

[0164] In some aspects, the computing system 1500 is a distributed system, where the functions described in this disclosure may be distributed within a data center, multiple data centers, a peer-to-peer network, etc. In some aspects, one or more of the described system components represent many such components, each of which performs a part or all of the functions of the described component. In some aspects, the components may be physical or virtual devices.

[0165] The example system 1500 includes at least one processing unit (CPU or processor) 1510 and connection 1505 that communicatively couples various system components including system memory 1515 (such as read-only memory (ROM) 1520 and random access memory (RAM) 1525) to the processor 1510. The computing system 1500 may include a cache 1512 that is directly connected to, in proximity to, or integrated as part of the processor 1510 for high-speed memory.

[0166] The processor 1510 may include any general-purpose processor and hardware services or software services such as services 1532, 1534, and 1536 stored in the storage device 1530, which are configured to control the processor 1510 and dedicated processors in which software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor 1510 may be substantially a self-contained computing system that includes multiple cores or processors, buses, memory controllers, caches, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric or asymmetric.

[0167] To enable user interaction, the computing system 1500 includes an input device 1545 that may represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for voice, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, a keyboard, a mouse, motion input, speech, etc. The computing system 1500 may also include an output device 1535 that may be one or more of a plurality of output mechanisms. In some instances, a multimodal system may enable a user to provide multiple types of input / output to communicate with the computing system 1500.

[0168] The computing system 1500 may include a communication interface 1540, which can generally control and manage user input and system output. The communication interface may execute or facilitate the reception and / or transmission of wired or wireless communications using wired and / or wireless transceivers, including using audio jack / plug, microphone jack / plug, Universal Serial Bus (USB) port / plug, Apple TM Lightning TM port / plug, Ethernet port / plug, fiber optic port / plug, dedicated wired port / plug, 3G, 4G, 5G, and / or other cellular data network wireless signaling, Bluetooth TM wireless signaling, Bluetooth TM Low Energy (BLE) wireless signaling, iBeacon TM wireless signaling, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wireless signaling, Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless signaling, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) wireless signaling, 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless signaling, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signaling, Visible Light Communication (VLC), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Infrared (IR) communication wireless signaling, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) signaling, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) signaling, ad-hoc network signaling, radio wave signaling, microwave signaling, infrared signaling, visible light signaling, ultraviolet light signaling, wireless signaling along the electromagnetic spectrum, or some combination thereof.

[0169] The communication interface 1540 may also include one or more ranging sensors (e.g., LIDAR sensors, laser rangefinders, RF radars, ultrasonic sensors, and infrared (IR) sensors) configured to collect data and provide measurements to the processor 1510, whereby the processor 1510 may be configured to perform the determinations and calculations required to obtain the various measurements of the one or more ranging sensors. In some examples, the measurements may include time-of-flight, wavelength, azimuth, elevation, distance, linear velocity, and / or angular velocity, or any combination thereof. The communication interface 1540 may also include one or more global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers or transceivers for determining the location of the computing system 1500 based on one or more signals received from one or more satellites associated with one or more GNSS systems. GNSS systems include, but are not limited to, the United States' GPS, Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and Europe's Galileo GNSS. There are no restrictions on operating on any particular hardware arrangement, and thus the underlying features here can be easily replaced to obtain improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

[0170] The storage device 1530 may be a non-volatile and / or non-transitory and / or computer-readable memory device and may be a hard disk or other type of computer-readable medium that can store data accessible by a computer, such as cassette tapes, flash memory cards, solid-state memory devices, digital versatile discs, cartridges, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magnetic strips / magnetic stripes, any other magnetic storage medium, flash memory, memristor memory, any other solid-state memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) optical discs, rewritable compact discs (CD) optical discs, digital video disc (DVD) optical discs, Blu-ray disc (BDD) optical discs, holographic optical discs, another optical medium, secure digital (SD) cards, micro secure digital (microSD) cards, Memory Cards, smart card chips, EMV chips, subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, mini / micro / nano / pico SIM cards, other integrated circuit (IC) chips / cards, random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash EPROM (FLASHEPROM), cache memory (e.g., level 1 (L1) cache, level 2 (L2) cache, level 3 (L3) cache, level 4 (L4) cache, level 5 (L5) cache, or other (L#) cache), resistive random access memory (RRAM / ReRAM), phase change memory (PCM), spin transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM), other memory chips or cartridges, and / or combinations thereof.

[0171] The storage device 1530 may include software services, servers, services, etc., and when the code defining such software is executed by the processor 1510, the code causes the system to perform functions. In some aspects, the hardware services performing specific functions may include software components for performing functions stored in a computer-readable medium connected to the necessary hardware components (such as the processor 1510, connection 1505, output device 1535, etc.). The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portable storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying instructions and / or data. The computer-readable medium may include non-transitory media in which data can be stored and which do not include carrier waves and / or transient electronic signals propagated wirelessly or over a wired connection. Examples of non-transitory media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks or tapes, optical storage media such as compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs)), flash memory, memory, or memory devices. The computer-readable medium may have code and / or machine-executable instructions stored thereon, which may represent a process, function, subroutine, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. By passing and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents, a code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit. The information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or sent via any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0172] Specific details are provided in the above description to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects and examples presented herein, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the present application is not limited thereto. Thus, although the exemplary aspects of the present application have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the various inventive concepts may be implemented and employed in other various ways, and the appended claims are not to be construed as including such variations, unless limited by the prior art. The various features and aspects of the above applications may be used singly or in combination. In addition, without departing from the broader scope of this specification, the aspects may be used in any number of environments and applications beyond those described herein. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. For purposes of illustration, the methods are described in a particular order. It should be understood that in alternative aspects, the methods may be performed in a different order than that described.

[0173] For purposes of clarity, in some instances, the present technology may be presented as including separate functional blocks that include devices, device components, steps, or routines in a method embodied in software or a combination of hardware and software. Additional components other than those shown and / or described herein may be used. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown in block diagram form as components to avoid obscuring these aspects in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the aspects.

[0174] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0175] The various aspects may be described above as a process or method that is depicted as a flowchart, flow diagram, data flow diagram, structure diagram, or block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be rearranged. The process is terminated when the operations of the process are completed, but the process may have additional steps not included in the figure. The process may correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subprogram, etc. When the process corresponds to a function, the termination of the process may correspond to the function returning to the calling function or the main function.

[0176] The processes and methods according to the above examples can be implemented using computer-executable instructions stored or otherwise obtained from a computer-readable medium. Such instructions can include, for example, instructions and data that cause a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or processing device to configure a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or processing device to perform a function or group of functions in other ways. Part of the computer resources used can be accessed via a network. The computer-executable instructions can be, for example, binary, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, source code. Examples of computer-readable media that can be used to store instructions, the information used, and / or the information created during the methods according to the described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, etc.

[0177] In some aspects, computer-readable storage devices, media, and memories can include wires or wireless signals such as bitstreams. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media explicitly exclude media such as power consumption, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals themselves.

[0178] Those skilled in the art should understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned in the above description can in some cases be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0179] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof, and can be in any form factor. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments (e.g., computer program product) for performing the necessary tasks can be stored in a computer-readable or machine-readable medium. The processor can execute the necessary tasks. Examples of form factors include: laptop devices, smart phones, mobile phones, tablet devices, or other personal computers with small form factors, personal digital assistants, rack-mounted devices, stand-alone devices, etc. The functionality described herein can also be embodied in peripheral devices or plug-in cards. By additional example, such functionality can also be implemented on a circuit board with different chips or different processes executing on a single device.

[0180] Instructions, the media for conveying such instructions, the computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are example components for providing the functions described in this disclosure.

[0181] The techniques described herein may also be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may be implemented in any of a variety of devices, such as a general-purpose computer, a wireless communication device (e.g., a cellular phone), or an integrated circuit device with multiple uses, including applications in wireless communication devices (e.g., cellular phones) and other devices. Any feature described as a module or component may be implemented together in an integrated logic device or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. If implemented in software, the techniques may be at least partially realized by a computer-readable data storage medium including program code that includes instructions for performing one or more of the methods, algorithms, and / or operations described above. The computer-readable data storage medium may form a part of a computer program product, which may include packaging material. The computer-readable medium may include a memory or data storage medium, such as random access memory (RAM) (e.g., synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM)), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic or optical data storage media, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the techniques may be at least partially realized by a computer-readable communication medium that carries or conveys program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed, read, and / or executed by a computer, such as a propagated signal or wave.

[0182] The program code may be executed by a processor, which may include one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general-purpose microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuits. Such a processor may be configured to perform any of the techniques described in this disclosure. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor; however, in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Thus, as used herein, the term "processor" may refer to any of the foregoing structures, any combination of the foregoing structures, or any other structure or device suitable for implementing the techniques described herein.

[0183] Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that, without departing from the scope of this specification, the less than (“<”) and greater than (“>”) symbols or terms used herein may be replaced by the less than or equal to (“≤”) and greater than or equal to (“≥”) symbols, respectively.

[0184] In cases where a component is described as “configured to” perform certain operations, such a configuration can be achieved, for example, by designing an electronic circuit or other hardware to perform the operations, by programming a programmable electronic circuit (e.g., a microprocessor or other suitable electronic circuit) to perform the operations, or any combination thereof.

[0185] The phrase “coupled to” or “communicatively coupled to” means that any component is physically connected to another component directly or indirectly, and / or any component communicates with another component directly or indirectly (e.g., connected to the other component through a wired or wireless connection and / or other suitable communication interfaces).

[0186] Claim language or other language that recites “at least one of” a set and / or “one or more” of a set indicates that one member of the set or multiple members of the set (in any combination) satisfy the claim. For example, claim language that recites “at least one of A and B” or “at least one of A or B” means A, B, or A and B. In another example, claim language that recites “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” means A, B, C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, or A and B and C. The language “at least one of” a set and / or “one or more” of a set does not limit the set to the items listed in the set. For example, claim language that recites “at least one of A and B” or “at least one of A or B” may mean A, B, or A and B, and may additionally include items not listed in the set of A and B.

[0187] Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure include:

[0188] Aspect 1. A network device for wireless communication, the network device comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the at least one memory and configured to: receive a message including VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and determine a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

[0189] Aspect 2. The network device according to aspect 1, wherein the VRU information includes at least one of a location of the VRU, a motion state of the VRU, a path history of the VRU, or path prediction information of the VRU.

[0190] Aspect 3. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 or 2, wherein the message is one of a Personal Safety Message (PSM) or a VRU Awareness Message (VAM).

[0191] Aspect 4. The network device according to Aspect 3, wherein the PSM or the VRU includes a Path Prediction Information Element (IE), and the Path Prediction Information Element (IE) includes a path prediction for the VRU.

[0192] Aspect 5. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein the stored VRU information includes at least one of the type of the VRU, road topology data, environmental data, the travel history of the VRU, or historical crowdsourced data related to the VRU.

[0193] Aspect 6. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the stored VRU information.

[0194] Aspect 7. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to output the path prediction for the VRU for transmission to at least one of the VRU, one or more network devices, one or more vehicles, or one or more other Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs).

[0195] Aspect 8. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to further determine the path prediction for the VRU based on road topology information.

[0196] Aspect 9. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein the VRU is one of a non-motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

[0197] Aspect 10. The network device according to Aspect 9, wherein the non-motor vehicle is one of a bicycle or a scooter.

[0198] Aspect 11. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, wherein a User Equipment (UE) is associated with the VRU.

[0199] Aspect 12. The network device according to Aspect 11, wherein the UE is one of a mobile phone or a wearable device.

[0200] Aspect 13. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 12, wherein the network device is one of a server, a Road Side Unit (RSU), or a base station.

[0201] Aspect 14. The network device according to Aspect 13, wherein the server is a cloud-based server.

[0202] Aspect 15. A method for wireless communication at a network device, the method comprising: receiving, by the network device, a message comprising VRU information corresponding to a Vulnerable Road User (VRU); and determining, by the network device, a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

[0203] Aspect 16. The method according to aspect 15, wherein the VRU information comprises at least one of a location of the VRU, a motion state of the VRU, a path history of the VRU, or path prediction information of the VRU.

[0204] Aspect 17. The method according to any one of aspects 15 or 16, wherein the message is one of a Personal Safety Message (PSM) or a VRU Awareness Message (VAM).

[0205] Aspect 18. The method according to aspect 17, wherein the PSM or the VRU comprises a Path Prediction Information Element (IE), and the Path Prediction Information Element (IE) comprises a path prediction for the VRU.

[0206] Aspect 19. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 18, wherein the stored VRU information comprises at least one of a type of the VRU, road topology data, environmental data, a travel history of the VRU, or historical crowdsourced data related to the VRU.

[0207] Aspect 20. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 19, the method further comprising obtaining, by the network device, the stored VRU information.

[0208] Aspect 21. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 20, the method further comprising sending, by the network device, the path prediction for the VRU to at least one of the VRU, one or more network devices, one or more vehicles, or one or more other Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs).

[0209] Aspect 22. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 21, wherein determining, by the network device, the path prediction for the VRU is further based on road topology information.

[0210] Aspect 23. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 22, wherein the VRU is one of a non-motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

[0211] Aspect 24. The method according to aspect 23, wherein the non-motor vehicle is one of a bicycle or a scooter.

[0212] Aspect 25. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 24, wherein a user equipment (UE) is associated with the VRU.

[0213] Aspect 26. The method according to aspect 25, wherein the UE is one of a mobile phone or a wearable device.

[0214] Aspect 27. The method according to any one of aspects 15 to 26, wherein the network device is one of a server, a roadside unit (RSU), or a base station.

[0215] Aspect 28. The method according to aspect 27, wherein the server is a cloud-based server.

[0216] Aspect 29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the operations according to any one of aspects 15 to 28.

[0217] Aspect 30. An apparatus for processing image data, the apparatus comprising: one or more components for performing the operations according to any one of aspects 15 to 28.

[0218] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, where the elements recited in the singular are not intended to mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather "one or more".

Claims

1. A network device for wireless communication, the network device comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor, the at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to: receive a message comprising VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and determine a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

2. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the VRU information comprises at least one of a location of the VRU, a motion state of the VRU, a path history of the VRU, or path prediction information of the VRU.

3. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the message is one of a personal safety message (PSM) or a VRU awareness message (VAM).

4. The network device according to claim 3, wherein the PSM or the VRU comprises a path prediction information element (IE), the path prediction information element (IE) comprising a path prediction for the VRU.

5. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the stored VRU information comprises at least one of a type of the VRU, road topology data, environmental data, a travel history of the VRU, or historical crowdsourced data related to the VRU.

6. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain the stored VRU information.

7. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to output the path prediction for the VRU for transmission to at least one of the VRU, one or more network devices, one or more vehicles, or one or more other vulnerable road users (VRUs).

8. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the path prediction for the VRU based on road topology information.

9. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the VRU is one of a non-motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

10. The network device according to claim 9, wherein the non-motor vehicle is one of a bicycle or a scooter.

11. The network device according to claim 1, wherein a user equipment (UE) is associated with the VRU.

12. The network device according to claim 11, wherein the UE is one of a mobile phone or a wearable device.

13. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the network device is one of a server, a roadside unit (RSU), or a base station.

14. The network device according to claim 13, wherein the server is a cloud-based server.

15. A method for wireless communication at a network device, the method comprising: receiving, by the network device, a message comprising VRU information corresponding to a vulnerable road user (VRU); and The network device determines a path prediction for the VRU based on the VRU information and the stored VRU information corresponding to the VRU.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the VRU information includes at least one of a location of the VRU, a motion state of the VRU, a path history of the VRU, or path prediction information of the VRU.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the message is one of a personal safety message (PSM) or a VRU awareness message (VAM).

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the PSM or the VRU includes a path prediction information element (IE), and the path prediction information element (IE) includes a path prediction for the VRU.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the stored VRU information includes at least one of a type of the VRU, road topology data, environmental data, a travel history of the VRU, or historical crowdsourcing data related to the VRU.

20. The method according to claim 15, the method further includes the network device obtaining the stored VRU information.

21. The method according to claim 15, the method further includes the network device sending the path prediction for the VRU to at least one of the VRU, one or more network devices, one or more vehicles, or one or more other vulnerable road users (VRUs).

22. The method according to claim 15, wherein the network device determining the path prediction for the VRU is further based on road topology information.

23. The method according to claim 15, wherein the VRU is one of a non-motor vehicle or a pedestrian.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the non-motor vehicle is one of a bicycle or a scooter.

25. The method according to claim 15, wherein a user equipment (UE) is associated with the VRU.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the UE is one of a mobile phone or a wearable device.

27. The method according to claim 15, wherein the network device is one of a server, a roadside unit (RSU), or a base station.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the server is a cloud-based server.

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