Method for adaptive transmission for improved UE energy consumption

Abstract

A method for improved adaptive transmission of UE energy consumption is disclosed, comprising: indicating energy storage capabilities of an energy storage device for a terminal device to store energy to a location management function of a communication network to initiate sounding reference signaling; receiving sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device from the location management function; indicating a current energy level of the energy storage device to the location management function; modifying the sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and a current energy level of the energy storage device; and transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an initial access process applicable to, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Background Art

[0002] The Internet of Things (IoT) can be defined, for example, as the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing Internet infrastructure. IoT devices are implemented in various types of embedded systems, such as wireless sensor networks, control systems, home / building automation, etc., and they typically communicate with an access point using a wireless connection. An increasing number of IoT devices are battery-free devices without energy storage capabilities or devices with energy storage that do not require manual replacement or recharging. Obtaining the required energy from an RF signal is a form of energy harvesting. Other forms of energy harvesting can include, for example, obtaining the required energy from light or from the movement of an IoT device.

[0003] In the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication network (also known as New Radio (NR)), user equipment (UE) positioning / sensing can be performed on the network side, specifically at the Location Measurement Function (LMF) by means of uplink (UL) sounding reference signals (SRS) transmitted by the UE and received by multiple transmit-receive points (TRP) and / or base stations (gNB). When the SRS is received, the gNB uses the received (RX) samples together with the transmitted (TX) samples, which are assumed to be known, for distance and speed estimation, and subsequently uses them for UE positioning (positioning mode), or for sensing other targets in the environment by the LMF ( bistatic UL sensing mode). Generally, by processing the TX and RX samples, the gNB can determine / infer the range and speed of the target (e.g., the UE and other passive targets in the environment).

[0004] The accuracy of UL positioning / sensing depends on the parameters of the SRS waveform, such as bandwidth, the number of SRS symbols in a resource block (RB), and the transmission duration. Although increasing these parameters can improve the accuracy of positioning / sensing, it also increases the computational complexity of the UE when performing TX processing. Although it can be performed by a typical NR UE, attention must be paid when it comes to energy harvesting (EH) UEs (e.g., type-C devices). The main reason is that these UEs are limited by their energy levels, i.e., energy storage such as a battery. They obtain energy through energy harvesting and perform transmission only when the energy level of the device reaches a threshold. Therefore, the UE energy level in such devices should be considered. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Now, an improved method and a technical device for implementing the method have been invented, and the above problems are alleviated by the method and the technical device. Each aspect includes a method, an apparatus, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which includes a computer program or a signal stored therein, and is characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. Various details of the embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims and the corresponding drawings and descriptions.

[0006] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of the present invention is set forth in the independent claims. Embodiments and features described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims will be construed as examples to facilitate understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0007] According to a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus, comprising: an energy storage device; means for wirelessly collecting energy into the energy storage device; means for indicating to a location management function of a communication network the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device to initiate sounding reference signaling; means for receiving from the location management function sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; means for indicating to the location management function the current energy level; means for modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and means for transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0008] A method according to a second aspect includes: indicating to a location management function of a communication network the energy storage capacity of an energy storage device of a terminal device to initiate sounding reference signaling; receiving from the location management function sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; indicating to the location management function the current energy level of the energy storage device; modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0009] An apparatus according to a third aspect includes: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform: indicating to a location management function of a communication network the energy storage capacity of an energy storage device of a terminal device to initiate sounding reference signaling; receiving from the location management function sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; indicating to the location management function the current energy level of the energy storage device; modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0010] An apparatus according to a fourth aspect includes: means for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based on an energy level of an energy storage device of a terminal device; means for reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and means for receiving information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device.

[0011] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a method, including: calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based on an energy level of an energy storage device of a terminal device; reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and receiving information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device.

[0012] An apparatus according to a sixth aspect includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform: calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based on an energy level of an energy storage device of a terminal device; reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and receiving information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device.

[0013] A computer-readable storage medium according to a further aspect includes code for use by an apparatus that, when executed by a processor, causes the apparatus to perform one or more of the above methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] To more fully understand example embodiments, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1 An exemplary block diagram of an IoT device is shown;

[0016] Figure 2 A simplified example of a system including multiple IoT devices communicating with an access point is shown;

[0017] Figure 3 A part of an exemplary radio access network is shown;

[0018] Figure 4 A signaling diagram showing communication between an IoT device and a location management function according to an embodiment to facilitate adaptively modifying sounding reference signal transmission parameters is shown;

[0019] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method for facilitating adaptively modifying sounding reference signal transmission parameters between an IoT device and a location management function;

[0020] Figure 6 An example of a resource block for positioning based on a sounding reference signal is shown;

[0021] Figure 7 illustrates an example of changing the energy capacity of a UE during energy harvesting and energy consumption;

[0022] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of operations of a UE device according to various embodiments; and

[0023] Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart of operations of a location management function according to various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In recent years, supporting various types of Internet of Things (IoT) applications with advanced wireless technologies has gained increasing interest from academic and industrial research. The Internet of Things (IoT) can be defined, for example, as the interconnection of uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within the existing Internet infrastructure. To utilize the Internet, IoT devices are provided with an addressable interface that operates as a unique identifier (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address, Bluetooth identifier (ID), Near Field Communication (NFC) ID, etc.). IoT devices can send information to one or more other devices via wired or wireless connections.

[0025] Energy harvesting IoT devices can be classified as: active IoT devices that operate using active transmission components, and passive IoT devices that operate using backscattering and possibly energy stored in an energy storage device. Backscattering passive IoT devices can have a passive communication interface, such as a Quick Response (QR) code, RFID tag, or NFC tag. IoT devices can be provided with a radio communication function to wirelessly communicate with external devices using communication interfaces that support, for example but not limited to, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) such as Wi-Fi, a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) such as Bluetooth, Wireless USB, ZigBee, NFC, RFID, or a mobile cellular network. An interface that supports Bluetooth can support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). An energy harvesting IoT device capable of wireless communication via radio frequency (RF) transmission and / or reception can be referred to as a tag UE (User Equipment). Alternatively, an IoT device can access an IP-based network via a wired network (e.g., an Ethernet-based network or a Power Line Connection (PLC)).

[0026] Figure 1A generalized example of a block diagram of the IoT device 100 is shown. Most simply, a passive IoT device may only include an I / O interface 102 that enables the IoT device to be connected and controlled within the IoT network. The I / O interface in a passive IoT device may include, for example, a barcode, a Bluetooth interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, an RFID tag, an IR interface, an NFC interface, or any other suitable I / O interface that can provide an identifier and attributes associated with the passive IoT device to another device when queried, for example, via a short-range interface.

[0027] An active IoT device is provided with an energy storage device 104, such as a rechargeable or replaceable battery. However, even a passive IoT device may have a temporary storage device to store a small amount of energy for transmitting its identifier and attributes. For this purpose, the IoT device may have a circuit that includes one or more capacitors operating as the energy storage device 104, which can be charged with the required energy. An energy harvesting IoT device can obtain the required energy from an RF signal received from another device. The IoT device may also include an antenna for receiving and sending data, such as an identifier, attributes, and application-related data, and one or more antennas for obtaining energy from the RF signal.

[0028] Thus, the IoT device may include one or more external antennas and / or one or more integrated antennas (all represented by 106) having the housing of the IoT device, including but not limited to Wi-Fi antennas, cellular antennas, satellite positioning system (SPS) antennas, etc.

[0029] The IoT device 100 may also include one or more transceivers 108 that are configured for wired and / or wireless communication functionally coupled to one or more processors 110. The processor 110 may execute application programming instructions stored in the memory 112 of the IoT device. The memory may include but is not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and / or flash cards.

[0030] Figure 2 A simplified example of a system including multiple IoT devices communicating with an access point AP, such as a base station BS, is shown. The system is depicted as including multiple active IoT devices (A1, A2, A3) having a wireless connection (A2, A3) or a wired connection (A1) to the access point. The system also includes a passive IoT device (P) having a wireless connection to the access point AP. The access point AP is connected to one or more IoT servers via the Internet. The IoT servers may control or otherwise manage attributes, activities, application data, or states associated with the IoT devices.

[0031] Note thatFigure 2 The network structure depicted is highly simplified. In particular, the RF interfaces providing wireless connections to the access points AP and the underlying network structure towards the IoT server can be very complex. As the rate at which IoT devices are expanding for various industrial and commercial applications continues to increase, it is evident that both the capacity and latency of the underlying network structure can become bottlenecks in using IoT technology. For example, the new RF interface technologies introduced in the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) 5G / NR (5th Generation / New Radio) network can provide a profitable platform for IoT technology.

[0032] Therefore, hereinafter, a radio access architecture based on Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) or New Radio (NR, 5G) will be used as an example of an access architecture to which the embodiments can be applied to describe different exemplary embodiments, but the embodiments are not limited to such an architecture. Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments can also be applied to other types of communication networks with suitable components by appropriately adjusting parameters and processes. Some examples of other options for suitable systems are Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Radio Access Network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE, the same as E-UTRA), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN or WiFi), 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), future 6th Generation (6G) mobile telecommunications system, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Personal Communication Service (PCS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, Mobile Ad-hoc NETwork (MANET), and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) or any combination thereof.

[0033] Figure 3 An example of a simplified system architecture is depicted, showing only some elements and functional entities, all of which are logical units and their implementation may be different from that shown. Figure 3 The connections shown are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the system generally also includes other functions and structures in addition to Figure 3 those functions and structures shown. However, the embodiments are not limited to the system given as an example, but those skilled in the art can apply the solution to other communication systems with the necessary attributes.

[0034] Figure 3 The example of... shows a part of an exemplary radio access network.

[0035] Figure 3User equipments 300 and 302 are shown, which are configured to wirelessly connect to an access node (such as an (e / g)NodeB) 304 providing the cell on one or more communication channels in the cell. The physical link from the user equipment to the (e / g)NodeB is referred to as the uplink or reverse link, while the physical link from the (e / g)NodeB to the user equipment is referred to as the downlink or forward link. It should be understood that the (e / g)NodeB or its functions can be implemented by using any entity such as a node, host, server, or access point suitable for such use.

[0036] A communication system typically includes more than one (e / g)NodeB. In this case, the (e / g)NodeBs can also be configured to communicate with each other via wired or wireless links designed for this purpose. These links can be used for signaling purposes. The (e / g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the communication system to which it is coupled. The NodeB can also be referred to as a base station, access point, or any other type of interface device, including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. The (e / g)NodeB includes or is coupled to a transceiver. A connection is provided from the transceiver of the (e / g)NodeB to an antenna unit, which establishes a two-way radio link to the user equipment. The antenna unit can include multiple antennas or antenna elements. The (e / g)NodeB is also connected to the core network 310 (CN or next-generation core network NGC). Depending on the system, the corresponding entity on the CN side can be a serving gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), for providing connection to an external packet data network or a mobility management entity (MME), etc. for the user equipment (UE). The CN can include network entities or nodes referred to as management entities. Examples of network entities include at least an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0037] The user equipment (also referred to as user equipment (UE), user terminal, terminal device, wireless device, mobile station (MS), etc.) shows a type of device to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned. Therefore, any feature of the user equipment described herein can be implemented using a corresponding network device, such as a relay node, eNB, and gNB. An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhaul relay) towards the base station.

[0038] A user equipment generally refers to a portable computing device including a wireless mobile communication device operating with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile station (mobile phone), smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phone, device using a wireless modem (such as an alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop computer and / or touch screen computer, tablet computer, game console, notebook, and multimedia device. It should be understood that the user equipment may also be an almost exclusive uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or video camera that loads images or video clips into a network. The user equipment may also be a device capable of operating in an Internet of Things (IoT) network, which is a scenario where objects are provided with the ability to transmit data through the network without the need for human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Thus, the user equipment may be an IoT device. The user equipment may also utilize the cloud. In some applications, the user equipment may include small portable devices with radio components (such as watches, headphones, or glasses) and perform computing in the cloud. The user equipment (or in some embodiments, a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more user equipment functions. The user equipment may also be referred to as a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, or user equipment (UE), to name just a few.

[0039] The various techniques described herein may also be applied to cyber-physical systems (CPS) (systems where collaborative computing elements control physical entities). CPS may support the implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber-physical systems, in which the physical systems discussed therein have inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals.

[0040] In addition, although the device has been depicted as a single entity, different units, processors, and / or memory units ( Figure 1 not shown in

[0041] 5G enables the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, more base stations or nodes (the so-called small cell concept) compared to LTE, including macro sites that operate in coordinated operation with smaller stations and employ multiple radio technologies depending on service requirements, use cases, and / or available spectrum. The access nodes of the radio network form transmit / receive (TX / Rx) points (TRPs), and the UE is expected to access a network of at least partially overlapping multi-TRPs (such as macro cells, small cells, pico cells, femto cells, remote radio heads, relay nodes, etc.). The access nodes may be equipped with massive MIMO antennas, i.e., very large antenna arrays composed of, for example, hundreds of antenna elements, which are implemented in a single antenna panel or in multiple antenna panels and are capable of using multiple simultaneous radio beams to communicate with the UE. A MIMO antenna with an antenna array may be provided to the UE, the antenna array being composed of, for example, dozens of antenna elements implemented in a single antenna panel or in multiple antenna panels. Thus, the UE can use one beam to access one TRP, multiple beams to access one TRP, one (common) beam to access multiple TRPs, or multiple beams to access multiple TRPs.

[0042] 5G mobile communications supports a wide range of use cases and related applications, including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing, and various forms of machine-type applications (e.g., (massive) machine-type communication (mMTC)), including vehicle safety, different sensors, and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6 GHz, cmWave, and mmWave, and is also capable of integrating with existing traditional radio access technologies (such as LTE). The integration with LTE can be implemented as a system at least in the early stage, where macro coverage is provided by LTE and 5G radio interface access is through aggregation to LTE from small cells. In other words, 5G is planned to support inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (radio interface interoperability, such as below 6 GHz-cmWave, below 6 GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of the concepts considered to be used in 5G networks is network slicing, where multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (network instances) can be created within the same infrastructure to run services with different requirements for latency, reliability, throughput, and mobility.

[0043] The frequency bands for 5G NR are divided into two frequency ranges: Frequency Range 1 (FR1) which includes the sub-6 GHz band, i.e., the band that has traditionally been used by previous standards, and also includes a new band that has been extended to cover potential new spectrum supply from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz, and Frequency Range 2 (FR2) which includes the bands in the mmWave range. Due to their shorter range and higher available bandwidth, the bands in FR2 require a slightly different approach in radio resource management compared to the bands in FR1.

[0044] The current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network. Low-latency applications and services in 5G require content to be close to the radio, which leads to local breakout and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analysis and knowledge generation to occur at the data source. This approach needs to utilize resources that may not be continuously connected to the network, such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content in close proximity to cellular subscribers for faster response times. Edge computing encompasses a wide range of technologies, such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data collection, mobile signature analysis, collaborative distributed peer-to-peer ad-hoc networking and processing, which can also be classified as local cloud / fog computing and grid / mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlet, distributed data storage and retrieval, self-healing autonomous networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and / or latency-critical), mission-critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

[0045] The communication system is also capable of communicating with other networks (such as the public switched telephone network or the Internet 312), or utilizing the services provided by them. The communication network is also capable of supporting the use of cloud services. For example, at least a part of the core network operation can be performed as a cloud service (which is depicted by the "cloud" 314 in Figure 3 ). The communication system may also include a central control entity etc., providing facilities for networks of different operators to cooperate, for example, in spectrum sharing.

[0046] Edge clouds can be brought into the radio access network (RAN) by leveraging network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN). Using edge clouds can mean performing access node operations at least partly in servers, hosts, or nodes operatively coupled to remote radio heads or base stations that include radio parts. Node operations may also be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. The application of the cloud-RAN (C-RAN) architecture enables RAN real-time functions to be performed on the RAN side (in the distributed unit DU), while non-real-time functions are performed in a centralized manner (in the centralized unit CU 308).

[0047] It should also be understood that the functional distribution between core network operations and base station operations may be different from or even non-existent compared to that of LTE. Some other technological advancements that may be used are big data and all-IP, which can change the way networks are built and managed. 5G (or new radio NR) networks are being designed to support multiple tiers, where MEC servers can be placed between the core and base stations or node B (gNB). It should be understood that MEC can also be applied to 4G networks. A gNB is the next-generation node B (or new node B) that supports 5G networks (i.e., NR).

[0048] 5G can also utilize non-terrestrial nodes 306 (e.g., access nodes), for example, to enhance or supplement the coverage of 5G services by providing backhaul, wireless access to wireless devices, service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, service continuity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, service continuity for passengers on vehicles, ensuring service availability for critical communications, and / or ensuring service availability for future railway / sea / air communications. Non-terrestrial nodes can have a fixed position relative to the Earth's surface, or non-terrestrial nodes can be mobile non-terrestrial nodes that move relative to the Earth's surface. Non-terrestrial nodes can include satellites and / or HAPS. Satellite communications can utilize geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, but can also utilize low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, especially large constellations (systems in which hundreds (nanosatellites) are deployed). Each satellite in a large constellation can cover a network entity of several supporting satellites that create cells on the ground. Ground cells can be created by relay nodes 304 on the ground or by gNBs located on the ground or in satellites.

[0049] Those skilled in the art understand that the depicted system is only an example of a part of a radio access system, and in practice, the system may include multiple (e / g)NodeBs, user equipment may access multiple radio cells, and the system may also include other devices, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements, etc. At least one (e / g)NodeB may be a home (e / g)NodeB. Additionally, in the geographical area of a radio communication system, multiple different types of radio cells and multiple radio cells may be provided. A radio cell may be a macro cell (or umbrella cell), which is a large cell, usually having a diameter of up to several tens of kilometers; or a smaller cell, such as a micro cell, a femto cell, or a pico cell. Figure 3 The (e / g)NodeB(s) can provide any of these types of cells. A cellular radio system can be implemented as a multi-layer network including several types of cells. Generally, in a multi-layer network, one access node provides one or more cells of one type, so multiple (e / g)NodeBs are required to provide such a network structure.

[0050] Most existing wireless communication devices are powered by batteries that need to be replaced or recharged. The convergence of various technologies has and will support embedded systems in the Internet of Things (IoT) including multiple fields, such as wireless sensor networks, control systems, home / building automation, etc. In such technical fields, there is a growing need for IoT technologies that support battery-less devices without energy storage capabilities or devices with energy storage that do not require manual replacement or recharging.

[0051] Within 3GPP, related issues regarding relevant use cases, service scenarios, key performance indicators (KPIs), etc. were initially addressed in TR22.840. The devices considered cover battery-less type devices or devices with limited energy storage capabilities, and for both types, energy can be collected from an external energy source, such as via radio waves, light, motion, etc., instead of a rechargeable / replaceable battery. One or more capacitors can be provided to the latter type of device, for example, to store the collected energy.

[0052] Energy harvesting-based IoT devices can operate in an active mode or in a passive mode. The IoT device itself uses the energy harvested from wireless radio waves, or any other form of energy that can be harvested in its specific deployment scenario, and is expected to operate at ultra-low power in the range from dozens of microwatts to hundreds of microwatts. For example, if energy is harvested from wireless radio waves, the output power of the energy harvester will be from a few microwatts to dozens of microwatts. If one or more solar panels are used to harvest energy from solar / light, the output power may not exceed 1 mW due to the small size of the solar panels. The energy harvesting device can harvest energy and then use an active circuit to transmit like a conventional transmitter. On the other hand, some energy harvesting devices called passive devices or tags do not have an active transmission circuit and use backscattering to transmit data.

[0053] Communication services that support energy harvesting, also known as ambient IoT in 3GPP, have been widely used in various vertical industries, including logistics, manufacturing, transportation, energy industries, etc. Enabling passive / ambient IoT devices in public and private networks will benefit the entire 5G ecosystem. Some areas of consideration for ambient IoT research include: - Operation in extreme environmental conditions, such as high voltage, extremely high / low temperature, humid environment, etc., vibration, - Ultra-low complexity (cost), very small terminal size / form factor (e.g., millimeter thickness), maintenance-free, and longer life cycle, etc. are highly recommended. - Other scenarios where battery-powered terminals are not applicable.

[0054] Therefore, using battery-free terminals or terminals with limited energy storage capabilities (e.g., using capacitors) to support ambient IoT may become a new requirement for existing 3GPP technologies.

[0055] RFID solutions use backscattering technology. The goal of ambient IoT research is to use 3GPP technologies to enhance the coverage for backscattering RFID solutions and introduce new solutions with advanced features, such as harvesting energy from dedicated sources or ambient energy and efficiently spending energy for IoT-type data transmission.

[0056] According to one method, the following set of ambient IoT device types is considered in 3GPP: - Device A: Without an energy storage device, without independent signal generation / amplification, i.e., backscattering transmission. - Device B: With an energy storage device, without independent signal generation, i.e., backscattering transmission. Using the stored energy can include amplification of the reflected signal. - Device C: With an energy storage device, with independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

[0057] Type C devices have storage and active transmission capabilities and are expected to provide better coverage than devices of types A and B. The transmission of type C devices is similar to that of NR UEs, so the access protocol can still be used with some modifications. For example, if a type C UE device is powered by an RF signal, the gNB and dedicated 3GPP nodes can be used as an energy source.

[0058] In UL positioning / sensing, the SRS waveform is sent by the UE and received by the gNB and then passed to the LMF for processing. The processing enables the network to determine the range and speed of the target UE. Generally, different parameters of the TX waveform affect the accuracy of range and speed estimation. The accuracy of range can depend on the number of active subcarriers, i.e., the bandwidth. The accuracy of speed can depend on the total number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (i.e., the total transmission duration), and the number of SRS OFDM symbols in the resource block (RB) that controls the time resources of the TX SRS waveform.

[0059] The accuracy of UL positioning / sensing depends on the parameters of the SRS waveform, e.g., bandwidth, the number of SRS symbols in the resource block (RB), and the TX duration. Although increasing these parameters can improve the accuracy of positioning / sensing, it also increases the computational complexity of the UE when performing TX processing.

[0060] Therefore, a process is needed to control the parameters of the SRS waveform, i.e., the complexity according to the energy level of the energy harvesting IoT device (also referred to as EH-IoT in this disclosure). Otherwise, it may cause the EH-IoT device to quickly deplete the battery or even suddenly stop SRS transmission. This may affect the EH-IoT positioning process, which may be important for data transmission, and a solution is provided through this disclosure.

[0061] In the following, an enhanced method for the SRS control process will be described in more detail according to various embodiments.

[0062] The 5G NR architecture is used as an example for some embodiments and implementations, but the process will not be limited to NR only, for example, 5G-Advanced and 6G are possible implementation environments.

[0063] The process of changing SRS parameters based on the device (UE) energy level can be briefly outlined with reference to the Figure 4 and Figure 5 flowcharts as follows, where Figure 4 the signaling between the UE and the LMF is shown to facilitate adaptively modifying the SRS transmission parameters. It should be noted that the abbreviation UE is used here to represent the EH-IoT device.

[0064] At step 500, the UE indicates its own stored energy-related capabilities, i.e., the maximum energy capacity and the minimum energy threshold for initiating a transmission, to the gNB by sending an energy capability message 400 to the gNB. The gNB may decode the received message and check what it should do with the message. Here it is assumed that the gNB determines that the message is intended for the location management function, where the gNB forwards 401 the information received from the UE to the location management function LMF. It is also possible that the gNB does not need to decode the message in its entirety or only in part to determine to forward the message to the location management function.

[0065] Typically, a type C UE can operate at a specific maximum energy level. Additionally, a specific minimum energy is required to initiate a transmission.

[0066] At step 501, the LMF calculates 402 different parameters of the TX SRS waveform, such as bandwidth, total TX duration, and the number of SRS symbols in the RB, based on the UE energy level (the energy level of the UE's energy storage device). Depending on the required quality / accuracy of the range and speed estimates, the parameters of the SRS waveform can be calculated by the LMF. For positioning / sensing, there are various indicators for evaluating the performance quality, e.g., RX signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), sidelobe level (SLL) and integrated sidelobe level of the range-velocity map, detection probability and false alarm, and receiver operating characteristics. However, conventionally, the UE's energy level is not considered when determining the SRS parameters. Depending on the different parameters of the SRS waveform, the accuracy of the range and speed estimates can vary. While reducing time / frequency resources reduces the positioning / sensing performance, it imposes less complexity on the UE TX processing. Therefore, when the UE has a smaller energy level, the complexity reduction is appropriate. Thus, in some embodiments, the SRS parameters are adaptively and optimally modified based on the UE energy level (especially for type C EH IoT). The SRS parameters can be modified by the LMF based on the available energy evaluated at the UE according to the energy threshold. Some examples of the calculation of the energy threshold will be described later in this disclosure.

[0067] At step 502, when the LMF has completed the calculation 402 of the SRS parameters, the LMF indicates the calculated SRS parameters for different energy thresholds to the UE by sending an SRS parameter message 403 to the UE.

[0068] Now assume that the UE accepts the provided parameter set, where the UE confirms the acceptance of the provided parameter set by sending an acknowledgement message 404 to the LMF.

[0069] The above assumes that the UE's energy level is high enough such that the UE can send an indication of the UE's capabilities, can receive the parameter set, and can send an acknowledgement message to the LMF at step 503. Otherwise, the UE can collect more energy and, when the energy level is high enough for the above process, the UE starts the indication process.

[0070] The UE can continue energy harvesting (or start energy harvesting if not already doing so). Once the UE energy level reaches a certain threshold, the UE indicates the energy level to the LMF at step 504. This step may be important for positioning / sensing as distance / velocity estimation can be performed by correlating the TX and RX signals. Thus, prior to the UE modifying the SRS waveform, its indication will modify the SRS waveform via this step. Then, once the LMF receives the information on the UE's energy level, the LMF knows the corresponding SRS parameters and it can use the correct SRS waveform for correlation.

[0071] At step 505, the UE modifies the SRS waveform based on the SRS parameters received from the LMF and the UE's energy level. When the operation of modifying the waveform has been performed by the UE, the UE sends the modified SRS waveform at step 506, which can be received by the gNB. Thus, the modified SRS waveform can subsequently be used for range / velocity estimation.

[0072] Figure 6 An example resource block for SRS positioning is shown, where a comb size of 4 and 12 SRS OFDM symbols is used in the RB. In this figure, the cross-hatched blocks show the subcarriers used for transmitting pilot signals in the OFDM symbols. The subcarriers are shown in Figure 6 with non-shaded blocks, which may or may not be used during SRS signaling.

[0073] Example embodiments of energy threshold calculation will be described in more detail below, but it should be noted that other implementations for threshold calculation are possible.

[0074] At step 500, based on the indication from the UE, the LMF knows the UE's maximum energy capacity (Th max ) and the minimum energy threshold (Th min ) to initiate transmission. Similarly, the LMF has certain range limitations on the quality of positioning / sensing performance. For example, if the SLL is used as a metric, these values are given by SLL max and SLL minGiven. To achieve such performance, the LMF can evaluate the required parameters of the SRS waveform based on the previous distance - velocity map or the typical relationship between the bandwidth / time for the accuracy of the range and velocity estimates. For example, the range accuracy is proportional to the total bandwidth, while the velocity accuracy is proportional to the total TX duration. Thus, the LMF can calculate the maximum and minimum values of the corresponding SRS parameters, i.e., the total SRS bandwidth, the total SRS duration, and the number of SRS OFDM symbols in the RB.

[0075] Next, the LMF will determine L steps to modify the SRS parameters, as given in Table 1 below. Table 1: SRS waveform parameters based on UE energy level

[0076] Here, 'x' represents the UE energy level (the first column of Table 1). Additionally, the other parameters are given as follows:

[0077] Here, 'round' represents the rounding operation to determine that the required variable is an integer. Thus, this process ensures that the SRS parameters (the number of SRS resource blocks Δα PRB , the duration of the SRS transmission Δα time and the number of SRS symbols in one resource block Δα symbols ) vary with the UE energy level. In this example, the SRS parameters that the LMF sends to the UE at step 505 are the sounding reference signal physical resource blocks (SRS PRB) in the second column, the SRS duration in the third column, and the number of SRS symbols in one resource block in the fourth column.

[0078] Then, the parameters in Table 1 calculated above are reported to the UE at step 502, and then the UE confirms them at step 503.

[0079] As can be seen from Equation 1 above, the differential energy ΔE is determined based on the maximum energy capacity of the UE (Th max ), the minimum energy threshold (Th min ) and the number of steps L. In this disclosure, these L steps can also be referred to as sub - ranges or energy sub - ranges.

[0080] For example, if the energy capacity of the UE is at the maximum level, the maximum number of SRS RBs, the maximum duration, and the maximum number of SRS symbols in one RB (i.e., the first row of Table 1) can be used. These maximum values can be predefined and can be UE-specific known to, for example, the LMF. On the other hand, if the energy capacity of the UE is greater than ΔE and lower than the maximum level but not greater than 2ΔE (i.e., the second row of Table 1), then the number of SRS RBs, the duration, and the number of SRS symbols in one RB as shown in the second row of Table 1 are selected.

[0081] Figure 7 Shows how the energy capacity of the UE changes during energy harvesting and energy consumption as a non-limiting example. In Figure 7 , the rising curve depicts the situation where the UE manages to harvest more energy than it consumes, and the falling curve depicts the situation where the UE consumes more energy than it manages to harvest. The maximum energy capacity (Th max ) and the minimum energy threshold (Th min ) are also depicted in this figure. The dashed line marked Th curr shows the moment when the UE notifies the LMF (e.g., in Figure 5 , step 504) about the current energy capacity. Thus, the LMF knows which parameters to select for SRS transmission for the UE.

[0082] The above embodiments can have some advantages. By adaptively changing the parameters of the SRS waveform based on the UE energy level, an improvement in the optimal trade-off between the UE energy level and the accuracy of positioning / sensing can be achieved.

[0083] Figure 8 The method disclosed in the flowchart of reflects the operation of a device such as a tagged UE or a passive IoT device, where the method includes: indicating (800) to a network node the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device of the device; receiving (801) from a location management function one or more SRS parameters calculated by using the indicated energy storage capacity; reporting (802) to the location management function the energy level of the energy storage device when the energy level of the device is equal to or greater than a threshold; modifying (803) the SRS waveform based on the one or more SRS parameters received from the location management function and the energy level of the energy storage device of the device; and transmitting (804) the modified SRS waveform.

[0084] According to an embodiment, the device sends information on the energy storage capacity to a network node to be forwarded to a location management function.

[0085] According to an embodiment, the energy storage capacity includes the maximum energy capacity for initiating a transmission and the minimum energy threshold.

[0086] According to an embodiment, when the energy level of the energy storage device of the apparatus reaches at least one energy threshold, the apparatus modifies the transmitted SRS waveform based on parameters previously provided by a position management function. For example, if the energy level increases above the threshold, the SRS parameters for the energy level at that threshold will be used. On the other hand, if the energy level drops below the threshold, the SRS parameters for the energy level below the threshold (i.e., the next lower threshold) will be used.

[0087] According to an embodiment, the apparatus compares the current energy level with at least one energy threshold, based on which the apparatus selects a set of SRS parameters corresponding to the energy threshold and modifies the transmitted SRS waveform based on the selected set of SRS parameters.

[0088] On the other hand, it relates to the operation of the position management function, which is depicted in the Figure 9 flowchart of. The method includes: calculating (900) one or more SRS parameters based on the energy level of the energy storage device of the terminal device; reporting (901) the calculated one or more SRS parameters to the terminal device; and receiving (902) information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device before the terminal device modifies the SRS waveform.

[0089] According to an embodiment, the position management function calculates one or more SRS parameters for different energy thresholds.

[0090] According to an embodiment, the position management function determines the number of energy sub-ranges for modifying the SRS parameters.

[0091] According to an embodiment, the position management function divides the energy range between the maximum energy capacity and the minimum energy threshold of the energy storage device of the terminal device into equal sub-ranges based on the determined number of sub-ranges.

[0092] According to an embodiment, the position management function defines multiple sets of parameters for SRS, the parameters including one or more of the following: bandwidth, total TX duration, and the number of OFDM symbols in an RB.

[0093] An apparatus according to another aspect includes: an energy storage device having energy harvesting capabilities, at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform: indicating to a location management function of a communication network the energy storage capabilities of the apparatus's energy storage device to initiate sounding reference signaling; receiving from the location management function sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; indicating to the location management function the current energy level of the energy storage device; modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0094] An apparatus according to another aspect includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform: calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based on an energy level of a terminal device; reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and receiving information on the energy level from the terminal device.

[0095] Another aspect relates to a computer program product stored on a non-transitory storage medium, including computer program code that, when executed by at least one processor, causes an apparatus including an energy storage device having energy harvesting capabilities to perform: indicating to a location management function of a communication network the energy storage capabilities of the apparatus's energy storage device to initiate sounding reference signaling; receiving from the location management function sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; indicating to the location management function the current energy level of the energy storage device; modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0096] Another aspect relates to a computer program product stored on a non-transitory storage medium, including computer program code that, when executed by at least one processor, causes an apparatus to perform: calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based on an energy level of a terminal device; reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and receiving information on the energy level from the terminal device.

[0097] In general, various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware or in a special-purpose circuit or in any combination thereof. Although the various aspects of the present invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, special-purpose circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers, or other computing devices, or in some combination thereof.

[0098] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is generally a highly automated process. Sophisticated and powerful software tools are available to convert a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0099] Programs such as those provided by Synopsys, Inc. of Mountain View, California and Cadence Design of San Jose, California use well-established design rules and a pre-stored library of design modules to automatically route conductors and place components on a semiconductor chip. Once the design for the semiconductor circuit is complete, the resulting design in a standardized electronic format (e.g., Opus, GDSII, etc.) can be transferred to a semiconductor manufacturing facility or "fab" for fabrication.

[0100] The foregoing description has provided a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention by way of example and not limitation. However, in view of the foregoing description, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended examples. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of the present invention will still fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0101] In addition, various implementations of the present disclosure may be described with reference to the following clauses, the features of which may be combined in any reasonable manner.

[0102] Clause 1. A device, comprising: an energy storage device; means for wirelessly harvesting energy into the energy storage device; means for indicating to a location management function of a communication network the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device to initiate sounding reference signaling; means for receiving from the location management function sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; means for indicating to the location management function a current energy level; means for modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and means for transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0103] Clause 2. The device according to clause 1, comprising: means for sending the indication of the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device to a network node to be forwarded to the location management function.

[0104] Clause 3. The device according to clause 1 or 2, wherein the energy storage capacity includes at least one of a maximum energy capacity and a minimum energy threshold for initiating a transmission.

[0105] Clause 4. The apparatus according to Clause 3, comprising: means for modifying the sounding reference signaling waveform when the energy level of the energy storage device reaches at least one energy threshold.

[0106] Clause 5. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, comprising: means for comparing the current energy level of the energy storage device with at least one energy threshold; and means for selecting, based on the comparison, the parameter corresponding to the energy threshold from the sounding reference signaling waveform parameters received from the location management function, wherein the means for modifying the sounding reference signaling waveform is configured to: modify the sounding reference signaling waveform based on the selected sounding reference signaling waveform parameter.

[0107] Clause 6. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, wherein the sounding reference signaling parameters include one or more of the following: bandwidth, the total transmission duration of the sounding reference signaling, and the number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols of the sounding reference signal in a resource block.

[0108] Clause 7. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding clauses, comprising: means for receiving the sounding reference signaling parameters along radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0109] Clause 8. A method, comprising: the location management function of a communication network indicating the energy storage capacity of an energy storage device of a terminal device to initiate sounding reference signaling; receiving, from the location management function, sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device; indicating to the location management function the current energy level of the energy storage device; modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; and transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

[0110] Clause 9. An apparatus, comprising: means for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based at least on the energy level of an energy storage device of a terminal device; means for reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and means for receiving information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device.

[0111] Clause 10. The apparatus according to Clause 9, wherein the means for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters is configured to: use, in addition to the energy level, the accuracy of at least one of the determined range and speed of the terminal device.

[0112] Clause 11. The apparatus according to Clause 9 or 10 includes: components for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters for different energy thresholds.

[0113] Clause 12. The apparatus according to Clause 9, 10 or 11 includes: components for determining the number of energy sub-ranges for modifying the sounding reference signaling parameters.

[0114] Clause 13. The apparatus according to Clause 12 includes: components for dividing the energy range between the maximum energy capacity and the minimum energy threshold into sub-ranges based on the determined number of the sub-ranges.

[0115] Clause 14. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 9 to 13 includes: components for defining a plurality of sets of parameters for the sounding reference signaling, the parameters including one or more of the following: bandwidth, total transmission duration, and the number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols of the sounding reference signaling in a resource block.

[0116] Clause 15. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 9 to 14 includes: components for receiving an indication of the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device of the terminal device from a network node.

[0117] Clause 16. The apparatus according to any one of Clauses 9 to 14, wherein the apparatus is one of a network node and a location management function of a wireless communication network.

[0118] Clause 17. A method includes: calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based on the energy level of an energy storage device of a terminal device; reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; and receiving information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: An energy storage device; Components for wirelessly collecting energy into the energy storage device; Components for indicating the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device to a location management function of a communication network to initiate sounding reference signaling; Components for receiving sounding reference signaling parameters for one or more energy levels of the energy storage device from the location management function; Components for indicating the current energy level to the location management function; Components for modifying a sounding reference signaling waveform based on the sounding reference signaling parameters received from the location management function and the current energy level of the energy storage device; And Components for transmitting the sounding reference signaling waveform.

2. The device according to claim 1, comprising: Components for sending the indication of the energy storage capacity of the energy storage device to a network node for forwarding to the location management function.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the energy storage capacity includes at least one of a maximum energy capacity for initiating a transmission and a minimum energy threshold.

4. The device according to claim 3, comprising: Components for modifying the sounding reference signaling waveform when the energy level of the energy storage device reaches at least one energy threshold.

5. The device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: Components for comparing the current energy level of the energy storage device with at least one energy threshold; And Components for selecting, based on the comparison, parameters corresponding to the energy threshold from the sounding reference signaling waveform parameters received from the location management function, wherein the components for modifying the sounding reference signaling waveform are configured to: modify the sounding reference signaling waveform based on the selected sounding reference signaling waveform parameters.

6. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sounding reference signaling parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth, The total transmission duration of the sounding reference signaling, and The number of sounding reference signal orthogonal frequency division multiplexing symbols in a resource block.

7. A device for communication, comprising: Components for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters based at least on the energy level of an energy storage device of a terminal device; Components for reporting the calculated one or more sounding reference signaling parameters to the terminal device; And Components for receiving information on the energy level of the energy storage device from the terminal device.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the components for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters are configured to: in addition to the energy level, also use the accuracy of measurement of at least one of the determined range and speed of the terminal device.

9. The device according to claim 7 or 8, comprising: Components for calculating one or more sounding reference signaling parameters for different energy thresholds.

10. The device according to claim 7 or 8, comprising: Components for determining the number of energy sub-ranges for modifying the sounding reference signaling parameters.

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