Vision-based channel state information (vCSI) for enhanced resource allocation

Abstract

In an aspect, a network node (e.g., a network server, a base station, a location server, etc.) may obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations. The network node may determine a set of base stations of the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

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

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

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

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

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

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a network node includes: obtaining visual-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and determining, based on the vCSI, a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a network node includes: obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and transmitting the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0009] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a network node includes: obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and allocating radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0010] In one aspect, a network node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and determine a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

[0011] In one aspect, a network node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and transmit the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE via the at least one transceiver.

[0012] In one aspect, a network node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and allocate radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0013] In one aspect, a network node includes: means for obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and means for determining a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

[0014] In one aspect, a network node includes: components for obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and components for sending the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0015] In one aspect, a network node includes: components for obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and components for allocating radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0016] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and determine a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

[0017] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and send the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and allocate radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

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

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

[0021] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B and Figure 2C An example wireless network structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0023] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C are simplified block diagrams of some example aspects of components that can be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and are configured to support communication as taught herein.

[0024] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 5 illustrates examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 6 illustrates an example Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) reference source for positioning.

[0027] Figure 7 illustrates an example Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing a positioning operation.

[0028] Figure 8 shows an example communication between a UE and a base station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that can be exchanged based on generating and reporting vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from captured vision data.

[0029] Figure 9 shows an example communication between a base station and a location server in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure that can be exchanged based on generating and reporting vCSI from captured vision data.

[0030] Figure 10 illustrates a positioning environment in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure in which vCSI can be used to allocate resources used in determining the location of a UE.

[0031] Figure 11 illustrates a positioning environment in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure in which vCSI can be used to allocate resources used in determining the location of a UE.

[0032] Figure 12 depicts a positioning environment in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure in which communication resources between a base station and a UE can be mapped based on vCSI.

[0033] Figure 13 illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a network node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 14 illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a network node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 15 Illustrates an example method of wireless communication performed by a network node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed implementation

[0036] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description of various examples provided for illustrative purposes and the associated drawings. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0037] The words "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" need not be construed as superior or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed features, advantages, or modes of operation.

[0038] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technologies and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, in part depending on the particular application, in part depending on the desired design, in part depending on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0039] Furthermore, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or direct a relevant processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, the various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, all of which are expected to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, any such corresponding form of the aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions".

[0040] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, wearable device (e.g., smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headsets, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times), and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “access terminal” or “AT”, “client device”, “wireless device”, “subscriber equipment”, “subscriber terminal”, “subscriber station”, “user terminal” or “UT”, “mobile device”, “mobile terminal”, “mobile station” or variants thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are possible, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specifications, etc.).

[0041] A base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station can be mainly used to support wireless access of UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, a base station can only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE can transmit signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term “traffic channel (TCH)” can refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0042] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell (or a number of cell sectors) of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Since, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, a reference to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0043] In some specific implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support the wireless access of the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may send reference signals to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending signals to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0044] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter can send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver can be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, where the context makes it clear that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal, the RF signal can also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal".

[0045] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0046] The base stations 102 may together form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122 and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, the communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via the direct connection 128), where intermediate nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0047] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: transferring user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / 5GC) on the backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0048] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographical coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports the logical communication entity. Additionally, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0049] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 can partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas in the geographical coverage area 110 can substantially overlap with a larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") can have a geographical coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographical coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network can also include a home eNB (HeNB), which can provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0050] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 can include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 can use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 can be through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers can be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers can be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0051] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0052] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technologies and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may enhance the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed-assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0053] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with a UE 182. The extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. The radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band has high path loss and a relatively short distance. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and the 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.

[0054] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal omnidirectionally in all directions. With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node), and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each transmitter in 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 "manipulated" to point in different directions without physically moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the individual antennas add up in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling in the undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0055] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters to the receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network node are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler frequency 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 frequency 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 frequency 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.

[0056] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify the RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a specific direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when the receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains in other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signals received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0057] Transmit beams and receive beams can be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of a second beam (e.g., transmit beam or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on the information of a first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmit beam) regarding a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. Then, the UE can form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0058] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0059] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as Frequency Range Designation FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although parts of FR1 are greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band. Regarding FR2, a similar naming issue sometimes occurs, which is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the “millimeter wave” band.

[0060] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as Frequency Range Designation FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as Frequency Range Designation FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF band.

[0061] Taking the above aspects into account, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this document, terms such as “sub-6 GHz” can generally represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term “millimeter wave” etc. is used in this document, it can generally represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0062] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection reestablishment procedure in the cell. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in the cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same holds for the primary uplink carriers. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a certain base station communicates, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0063] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0064] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via the communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via the mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCell for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCell for the UE 164.

[0065] In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 are capable of performing sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capabilities (SL-UE) may communicate with the base station 102 via the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station) through the communication link 120. The SL-UEs (e.g., the UE 164, the UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capabilities) through the wireless sidelink 160. The wireless sidelink (or simply referred to as "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard, which allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through the base station. The sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast, and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs that utilize sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102, or for other reasons may not be able to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, each group of SL-UEs that communicate via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, the sidelink communication is performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0066] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points as well as other wireless communications between other RATs. The "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (especially those employing small cell access points) have recently extended their operation into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed national information infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, etc.

[0067] It should be noted that while Figure 1 only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), any of the illustrated UEs may be an SL-UE. Additionally, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) is capable of beamforming. In cases where the SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming over the sidelink 160.

[0068] In Figure 1 the example of, the illustrated UEs (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any UE shown as a single UE 104) in the figure can receive signals 124 from one or more space vehicles (SVs) 112 in Earth orbit (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SV 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system that the UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system generally includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) that are positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its position on or above the Earth at least in part based on positioning signals received from the transmitters (e.g., signal 124). Such transmitters typically send signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code with a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitter can sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, a base station 102, and / or another UE 104. The UE 104 can include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographical location information from the SV 112.

[0069] In a satellite positioning system, the use of the signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise enable the use of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, the SBAS can include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0070] In one aspect, the SV 112 can additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTN). In the NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway) that in turn is connected to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in the 5GC. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately provides access to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. Thus, instead of or in addition to communication signals from the ground base station 102, the UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV112.

[0071] 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 cellular connectivity 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 WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® etc.

[0072] Figure 2A Illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally regarded as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which cooperate to form a core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to 5GC 210, and specifically connect to user plane function 212 and control plane function 214 respectively. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane function 212. In addition, ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 can have one or more gNB 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. Either (or both) of gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0073] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Additionally, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network or, alternatively, may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0074] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. The 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210) can be functionally regarded as the control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and the user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which cooperate to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of Short Message Service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives the key from the SEAF and uses the key to derive the access network specific key. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0075] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for in-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for the interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling of the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0076] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0077] Another optional aspect may include LMF 270, which may communicate with 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UE 204. LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE 204, which may be connected to LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 may support functions similar to LMF 270, but LMF 270 may communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to convey signaling messages rather than voice or data), and SLP 272 may communicate with UE 204 and an external client (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0078] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0079] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0080] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided among a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including passing user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers of gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228s is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, SDAP layer, and PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0081] 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, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as a base station or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality) can be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit receive point (TRP), or cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a stand-alone base station or monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

[0082] A converged base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station may 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 may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed among one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may 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).

[0083] Base station type operations or network designs may consider the aggregated characteristics of base station functionality. For example, a decomposed base station may be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as a network configuration as advocated by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a decomposed base station or a decomposed RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0084] Figure 2C An example decomposed base station architecture 250 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The decomposed base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226), which may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more decomposed base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255 or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via a respective midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via a respective fronthaul link. The RU 287 may communicate with a respective UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 287.

[0085] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and the near RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces, and the one or more interfaces are configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the 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 a radio frequency (RF) transceiver), and the receiver, transmitter, or transceiver is configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units on the wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0086] In some aspects, the CU 280 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 to other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 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 280 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 bi-directionally with the CU-CP units via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, the CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling.

[0087] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media 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 depending on a functional split (such as the functional split defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). In some aspects, the DU 285 may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285 or with control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0088] Lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RUs 287 controlled by the DU 285 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 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 204. In some embodiments, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control plane and user plane communication with the RUs 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 285 and the CU 280 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0089] The SMO framework 255 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 255 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 255 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as the Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269) 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 280, DU 285, RU 287, and the near-RT RIC 259. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspect of the 4G RAN (such as the Open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 can also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0090] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include a logical function that can implement non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflow including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259 (such as via the A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to include a logical function that enables 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 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0091] In some specific implementations, to generate the AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 can receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and can be received from non-network data sources or from network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to tune the RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 can monitor the long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ an AI / ML model to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0092] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C illustrate several example components (represented by the corresponding boxes) that can be incorporated into the UE 302 (which can correspond to any UE described herein), the base station 304 (which can correspond to any base station described herein), and the network entity 306 (which can correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively can be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2B the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system can include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Additionally, a given device can include one or more of these components. For example, a device can include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0093] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350 respectively, and these wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers provide components (e.g., components for transmission, components for reception, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can each be respectively connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one specified RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through an interested wireless communication medium (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to respectively transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, to respectively receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 respectively for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 respectively for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0094] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each also include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be respectively connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, and provide for communicating on an interested wireless communication medium via at least one specified RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth ® , Zigbee ® , Z-Wave ®, PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) to communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) components (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth ® transceivers, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0095] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be respectively connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and at least in some cases, use measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to perform calculations to respectively determine the positions of the UE 302 and the base station 304.

[0096] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390 respectively, and the one or more network transceivers provide components (such as components for transmission, components for reception, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (such as other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0097] The transceiver may be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (such as transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some specific implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (such as implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some specific implementations may include separate transmitter circuits and separate receiver circuits, or may be implemented in other ways in other specific implementations. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (such as, in some specific implementations, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuit (such as transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (such as UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmission "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (such as UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit may share the same plurality of antennas (such as antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than receive and transmit both at the same time. The wireless transceiver (such as WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) for performing various measurements, etc.

[0098] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., in some specific embodiments, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific embodiments) may generally be referred to as "transceiver", "at least one transceiver", or "one or more transceivers". Thus, it can be inferred whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver based on the type of communication being performed. For example, fronthaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0099] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 may provide components for processing, such as components for determining, for calculating, for receiving, for transmitting, for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0100] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 respectively include memory circuits that implement memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), and the memory circuits are used to maintain information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, components for retrieval, components for maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can respectively include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be hardware circuits that are respectively part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, and when these hardware circuits are executed, they cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules respectively stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, and when these memory modules are executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), they cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3A Illustrates a possible location of positioning component 342, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 3B Illustrates a possible location of positioning component 388, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 3C Illustrates a possible location of positioning component 398, which can be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component.

[0101] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information independent of movement data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Additionally, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0102] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing an indication to a user (e.g., an audible and / or visual indication) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0103] Referring in more detail to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. One or more processors 384 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, and the media access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with the broadcast of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0104] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 can implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, can include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 disposes of the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be divided into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using the inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is pre-coded spatially to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the encoding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel condition status feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 modulates the RF carrier with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0105] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antennas 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates computed by the channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0106] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0107] Similar to the functionality described in connection with downlink transmission by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and re-ordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0108] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 304 can be used by transmitter 314 to select appropriate decoding and modulation schemes and assist in spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 can modulate RF carriers with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0109] Uplink transmission is processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its respective antennas 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0110] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. The IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0111] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3Cis shown as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C the various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choices, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A the case of, a particular implementation of the UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop computer may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B the case of, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of the various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0112] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In one aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may respectively form or be part of the communication interfaces of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306. For example, in the case where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication between the different logical entities.

[0113] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C the components of may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit can use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing the information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being "performed by the UE", "performed by the base station", "performed by the network entity", etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0114] In some designs, network entity 306 can be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 can operate differently from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 can be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0115] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4 FIG. 400 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure can be a downlink or an uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies can have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0116] LTE (and in some cases NR) utilizes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as tones, frequency slots, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally speaking, modulation symbols are transmitted using OFDM in the frequency domain and SC-FDM in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, for system bandwidths of 1.25 megahertz (MHz), 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands respectively.

[0117] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple parameter sets (µ), e.g., 15 kHz (µ = 0), 30 kHz (µ = 1), 60 kHz (µ = 2), 120 kHz (µ = 3), and 240 kHz (µ = 4) or larger subcarrier spacings may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per time slot. For 15 kHz SCS (µ = 0), there is one time slot per subframe, 10 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (µs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (µ = 1), there are two time slots per subframe, 20 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (µ = 2), there are four time slots per subframe, 40 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (µ = 3), there are eight time slots per subframe, 80 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (µ = 4), there are 16 time slots per subframe, 160 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0118] In Figure 4 the example of, the parameter set of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equal-sized subframes, each subframe being 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. In Figure 4 it, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0119] A resource grid can be used to represent a time slot, and each time slot includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also known as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE can correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In Figure 4In the parameter set, for the normal cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For the extended cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0120] Some REs can carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals can include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink communication or downlink communication. Figure 4 An example position of the REs carrying reference signals (marked as "R") is illustrated.

[0121] The set of resource elements (REs) used for the transmission of PRS is referred to as the "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" (such as one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0122] The transmission of the PRS resource within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size "N", the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for a comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, for DL-PRS, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported. Figure 4 An example PRS resource configuration for a comb-4 (which spans four symbols) is illustrated. That is, the positions of the shaded REs (marked as "R") indicate the comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

[0123] Currently, DL-PRS resources using the full frequency domain interleaving pattern can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a time slot. DL-PRS resources can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol configured by the higher layer in the time slot. For all REs of a given DL-PRS resource, there may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE). The following are the per-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 on 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb -2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb -2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb -2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb -2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb -4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of Figure 4 ); 12-symbol comb -4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb -6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb -6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb -12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, 11}.

[0124] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common silent mode configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across time slots. Periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity can have a length selected from: 2^µ * {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} time slots, where µ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor can have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} time slots.

[0125] The PRS resource ID in the PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) sent from a single TRP (where one TRP can send one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in the PRS resource set can be sent on a different beam, and thus, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") can also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this does not imply anything about whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which the PRS is sent.

[0126] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which the PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS occasion can also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning occasion", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply "occasion", "instance", or "repetition".

[0127] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as a "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource sets with the same values for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for the PRS), the same point A, the same value for the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio frequency channel number") and is an identifier / code for a pair of physical radio channels specified for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, and the minimum value is 24 PRBs while the maximum value is 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per frequency layer per TRP.

[0128] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to the concepts of a component carrier and a bandwidth part (BWP), but the difference is that a component carrier and a BWP are used by a base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to send data channels, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to send PRS. The UE can indicate the number of frequency layers that the UE can support when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session). For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0129] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to: PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. as defined in LTE and NR. In addition, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink positioning reference signals, uplink positioning reference signals, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If further differentiation of the type of PRS is required, the downlink positioning reference signal can be referred to as "DL-PRS", the uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS for positioning, i.e., PTRS) can be referred to as "UL-PRS", and the sidelink positioning reference signal can be referred to as "SL-PRS". In addition, for signals that can be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), these signals can be prefixed with "DL", "UL", or "SL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be different from "DL-DMRS".

[0130] NR supports multiple cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 5 Examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process illustrated in scenario 510, the UE measures the difference in the time of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements), and reports these differences to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives the identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data. Then, the UE measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0131] For the DL-AoD positioning illustrated in scenario 520, the positioning entity uses the measurement report of the received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmission beams from the UE to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. Then, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0132] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Then, each base station reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the locations and relative timings of the base stations involved. Based on the received-to-received (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use TDOA to estimate the location of the UE.

[0133] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink reception beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles of the reception beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0134] Downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods include: enhanced cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round-trip time (RTT) positioning (also known as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). During the RTT process, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or an SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), and the second entity sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or a PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is referred to as the received-to-transmitted (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be made or adjusted to include only the time difference between the received signal and the nearest slot boundary of the transmitted signal. Then, the two entities can transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 270), and the location server calculates the round-trip propagation time (i.e., the RTT) between the two entities based on these two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity can transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, and then the other entity calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined based on the RTT and the known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi-RTT positioning illustrated in scenario 530, a first entity (e.g., a UE or a base station) performs the RTT positioning process with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) so that the location of the first entity can be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on the distances to the second entities and the known locations of the second entities. The RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy, as illustrated in scenario 540.

[0135] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, the timing advance (TA), and the identifiers of the detected neighboring base stations, the estimated timing, and the signal strength. Then, the location of the UE is estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0136] To assist in the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include: the identifier of the base station (or the cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., including the number of consecutive time slots including the PRS, the periodicity of the consecutive time slots including the PRS, the silence sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.) and / or other parameters applicable to a specific positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may directly originate from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE itself may be able to detect adjacent network nodes without using assistance data.

[0137] In the case of the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process, the assistance data may further include the expected RSTD value and the associated uncertainty or search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be + / -500 microseconds (µs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR1, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -32 µs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -8 µs.

[0138] A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as positioning estimate, location, positioning, positioning lock, lock, etc. A location estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or it may be civic and include a street address, a postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A location estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A positioning estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including the area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with a certain specified or default confidence).

[0139] In LTE, and at least in some cases (NR), positioning measurements are reported via higher layer signaling, specifically LTE positioning protocol (LPP) signaling and / or RRC. LPP is used point-to-point between a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) to locate the UE using location-related measurements obtained from one or more reference sources. Figure 6 FIG. 600 is a diagram that illustrates an example LPP reference source for positioning. In Figure 6 the example, the target device, specifically UE 604 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) participates with a location server 630 (inFigure 6 in a particular example of which is labeled "E-SMLC / SLP")) of the LPP session. UE 604 is also receiving / measuring wireless positioning signals from a first reference source, specifically one or more base stations 602 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein and in Figure 6 a particular example of which is labeled "eNode B")) and a second reference source, specifically one or more SPS satellites 620 (which may correspond to Figure 1 SV 112 in)).

[0140] An LPP session is used between the location server 630 and the UE 604 to obtain location-related measurements or location estimates, or to transfer assistance data. A single LPP session is used to support a single location request (e.g., for a single mobile-terminated location request (MT-LR), mobile-originated location request (MO-LR), or network-initiated location request (NI-LR)). Multiple LPP sessions can be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests. Each LPP session includes one or more LPP transactions, where each LPP transaction performs a single operation (e.g., capability exchange, assistance data transfer, or location information transfer). LPP transactions are referred to as LPP procedures. The initiator of the LPP session initiates the first LPP transaction, but subsequent transactions can be initiated by either endpoint. LPP transactions within a session can occur serially or in parallel. LPP transactions are indicated at the LPP protocol level by a transaction identifier to associate messages (e.g., requests and responses) with each other. Messages within a transaction are linked by a common transaction identifier.

[0141] The LPP positioning method and associated signaling content are defined in the 3GPP LPP standard (3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.355, which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). LPP signaling can be used to request and report measurements related to the following positioning methods: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), LTE Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), NR E-CID, sensors, Terrestrial Beacon System (TBS), WLAN, Bluetooth, Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD), Uplink Angle of Arrival (UL-AoA), and Multiple Round Trip Time (RTT). Currently, the LPP measurement report can contain the following measurements: (1) one or more Time of Arrival (ToA), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), or Received Transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements, (2) one or more AoA and / or AoD measurements (currently only used for the base station to report UL-AoA and DL-AoD to the location server 630), (3) one or more multipath measurements (ToA per path, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), AoA / AoD), (4) one or more motion states (e.g., walking, driving, etc.) and trajectories (currently only used for UE 604), and (5) one or more report quality indicators. In the present disclosure, positioning measurements (such as the example measurements just listed and regardless of the positioning technology) can be collectively referred to as Positioning State Information (PSI).

[0142] UE 604 and / or the location server 630 can derive location information from one or more reference sources (illustrated as SPS satellites 620 and base station 602 in the Figure 6 example). Each reference source can be used to calculate an independent estimate of the location of UE 604 using the associated positioning technology. In the Figure 6 example, UE 604 is measuring the characteristics of the positioning signal received from base station 602 (e.g., ToA, RSRP, RSTD, etc.) to calculate or assist the location server 630 in calculating an estimate of the location of UE 604 using one or more cellular network-based positioning methods (e.g., multiple RTT, OTDOA, DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, E-CID, etc.). Similarly, UE 604 is measuring the characteristics of the GNSS signal received from SPS satellites 620 (e.g., ToA) to triangulate its location in two or three dimensions based on the number of SPS satellites 620 measured. In some cases, UE604 or the location server 630 can combine the location solutions derived from each of the different positioning technologies to improve the accuracy of the final location estimate.

[0143] As noted above, UE 604 uses LPP to report location-related measurements obtained from different reference sources (e.g., base station 602, Bluetooth beacon, SPS satellite 620, WLAN access point, motion sensor, etc.). As an example, for GNSS-based positioning, UE 604 uses the LPP information element (IE) "A-GNSS-ProvideLocationInformation" to provide location measurements (e.g., pseudorange, location estimate, velocity, etc.) along with time information to location server 630. It can also be used to provide GNSS positioning-specific error causes. The "A-GNSS-ProvideLocationInformation" IE includes IEs such as "GNSS-SignalMeasurementInformation", "GNSS-LocationInformation", "GNSS-MeasurementList", and "GNSS-Error". When UE 604 provides location and optionally velocity information derived using GNSS or a combination of GNSS and other measurements to location server 630, the UE includes the "GNSS-LocationInformation" IE. UE 604 uses the "GNSS-SignalMeasurementInformation" IE to provide GNSS signal measurement information to location server 630 and provide GNSS network time association (if requested by location server 630). This information includes measurements of code phase, Doppler, C / No, and optionally accumulated carrier phase (also known as accumulated delta range (ADR)), which implements UE-assisted GNSS methods where the location is computed in location server 630. UE 604 uses the "GNSS-MeasurementList" IE to provide measurements of code phase, Doppler, C / No, and optionally accumulated carrier phase (or ADR).

[0144] As another example, for motion sensor-based positioning, the currently supported positioning methods use a barometric pressure sensor and motion sensors, as described in 3GPP TS 36.305 (which is publicly available and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The UE 604 uses the LPP IE "Sensor-ProvideLocationInformation" to provide location information for sensor-based methods to the location server 630. It can also be used to provide sensor-specific error reasons. The UE 604 uses the "Sensor-MeasurementInformation" IE to provide sensor measurements (e.g., barometric pressure readings) to the location server 630. The UE 604 uses "Sensor-MotionInformation" to provide motion information to the location server 630. The motion information can include a series of ordered points. This information can be obtained by the UE 604 using one or more motion sensors (e.g., accelerometer, barometer, magnetometer, etc.).

[0145] As yet another example, for Bluetooth-based positioning, the UE 604 uses the "BT-ProvideLocationInformation" IE to provide measurements of one or more Bluetooth beacons to the location server 630. This IE can also be used to provide Bluetooth positioning-specific error reasons.

[0146] Positioning determination can be performed in UE-assisted mode, UE-based mode, or network-based mode. In UE-assisted mode, the UE provides positioning measurements to the location server for the location server to calculate a location estimate. The network can provide assistance data to the UE to enable positioning measurements. In UE-based mode, the UE performs both positioning measurements and the calculation of location estimates. Assistance data for one or both of these functions can be provided by the location server to the UE. In network-based mode, the serving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) obtains location measurements of signals sent by the UE and calculates a location estimate. The transmission of the UE's signals for network-based mode can be transparent or non-transparent to the UE.

[0147] Figure 7 Illustrates an example Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) procedure 700 for performing positioning operations between the UE 704 and a location server (illustrated as a Location Management Function (LMF) 770). As Figure 7As illustrated, the positioning of UE 704 is supported via the exchange of LPP messages between UE 704 and LMF 770. The LPP messages can be exchanged between UE 704 and LMF 770 via the serving base station of UE 704 (illustrated as serving gNB 702) and the core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 700 can be used to position UE 704 to support various location-related services, such as for UE 704 (or for the user of UE 704) or for routing or for providing an accurate location to the public safety answering point (PSAP) associated with an emergency call from UE 704 to the PSAP or for navigation for some other reason. The LPP procedure 700 can also be referred to as a positioning session, and there can be multiple positioning sessions for different types of positioning methods (e.g., downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), round-trip time (RTT), enhanced cell identification (E-CID), etc.).

[0148] Initially, at stage 710, UE 704 can receive a request for the positioning capabilities of the UE (e.g., LPP request capabilities message) from LMF 770. At stage 720, UE 704 provides its positioning capabilities with respect to the LPP protocol to LMF 770 by transmitting an LPP provide capabilities message indicating the positioning methods supported by UE 704 and the characteristics of these positioning methods to LMF 770. In some aspects, the capabilities indicated in the LPP provide capabilities message can indicate the types of positioning supported by UE 704 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and can indicate the capabilities of UE 704 to support those types of positioning.

[0149] After receiving the LPP provide capabilities message, at stage 720, LMF 770 determines to use a specific type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the indicated types of positioning supported by UE 704, and determines a set of one or more transmit receive points (TRPs) from which UE 704 will measure the downlink positioning reference signal or to which UE 704 will transmit the uplink positioning reference signal. At stage 730, LMF 770 transmits an LPP provide assistance data message identifying the set of TRPs to UE 704.

[0150] In some specific implementations, in response to an LPP request assistance data message (not shown in Figure 7 transmitted by UE 704 to LMF 770), the LPP provide assistance data message at stage 730 can be transmitted by LMF 770 to UE 704. The LPP request assistance data message can include an identifier of the serving TRP of UE 704 and a request for the positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration for adjacent TRPs.

[0151] At stage 740, the LMF 770 transmits a request for location information to the UE 704. The request can be an LPP request location information message. This message typically includes information elements that define the type of location information, the desired location estimation accuracy, and the response time (i.e., the desired latency). Note that a low latency requirement allows for a longer response time, while a high latency requirement requires a shorter response time. However, a long response time is referred to as high latency, and a short response time is referred to as low latency.

[0152] Note that in some specific implementations, for example, if the UE 704 transmits a request for assistance data to the LMF 770 after receiving the request for location information at stage 740 (e.g., in an LPP request assistance data message ( Figure 7 not shown)), then the LPP provide assistance data message transmitted at stage 730 can be transmitted after the LPP request location information message at 740.

[0153] At stage 750, the UE 704 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 730 and any additional data received at stage 740 (e.g., desired location accuracy or maximum response time) to perform a positioning operation (e.g., measurement of DL-PRS, transmission of UL-PRS, etc.) for a selected positioning method.

[0154] At stage 760, the UE 704 can transmit an LPP provide location information message to the LMF 770. This LPP provide location information message conveys the results of any measurements obtained at stage 750 and before or at the expiration of any maximum response time (e.g., the maximum response time provided by the LMF 770 at stage 740) (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), received transmit (Rx-Tx), etc.). The LPP provide location information message at stage 760 can also include the one or more times at which the positioning measurements were obtained and the identity of the TRP from which the positioning measurements were obtained. Note that the time between the request for location information at 740 and the response at 760 is the "response time" and indicates the latency of the positioning session. The LMF 770 uses an appropriate positioning technique (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) at least partially based on the measurements received in the LPP provide location information message at stage 760 to calculate the estimated location of the UE 704.

[0155] As discussed above, in the UE-based positioning mode, the UE can receive assistance data and determine its positioning estimate based at least in part on the resulting position measurements. For example, a position server (e.g., LMF) can configure the UE with PRS resources (e.g., PRS resource ID) for measurement, provide location information of one or more base stations, provide satellite ephemeris data in the case of GPS or GNSS, etc. In some UE-based positioning modes, the UE can perform positioning-related measurements without any positioning assistance data from the position server and can further calculate the position or position change without any positioning assistance. The UE can report its positioning to the position server in various ways. In one aspect, the UE can report its positioning periodically, aperiodically (e.g., when triggered by one or more events), or on demand when requested by the position server or other network nodes.

[0156] Many UEs include an imaging system (e.g., image sensor, imaging device, camera, image storage device, etc.) capable of capturing visual data (images and / or videos). According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, such visual data can be used to determine characteristics of the UE's environment. In some aspects, such visual data can be used to detect and characterize the environment and objects captured in such visual data. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the captured visual data can be converted into vision-based channel state information or vCSI, which can include a characterization of features and objects in the UE's environment (e.g., as indicated by tags or other annotations). The vCSI can be reported by the UE to a base station (e.g., gNodeB) or a position server (e.g., LMF). Such vCSI can be standardized and communicated between network nodes of 4G, 5G, and / or 6G radio systems. Objects in the video data can be characterized as moving or stationary, human or non-human, etc. Similarly, the vCSI can characterize the environment as indoor or outdoor. In some aspects, the approximate size of the indoor space can be estimated in the vCSI. In some aspects, the vCSI can indicate directions associated with different objects and features. Further, the vCSI can characterize objects, conditions, or features that change over time (e.g., moving objects, weather conditions, etc.) as well as objects, conditions, or features that are generally constant over time (e.g., buildings, trees, other fixed structures, etc.). In addition, the vCSI can identify features present throughout the environment (e.g., thick fog, heavy rain, etc.), rather than other weaker vCSI features that may no longer be present at a future time.

[0157] On a UE without power or size constraints (e.g., a V2X device), the imaging system can operate in a low-power, always-on operating mode. For a UE with power / battery constraints, the UE can reduce the operation of the imaging system to opportunistically obtain vCSI (e.g., before a call or call handover). The UE can also be in the form of a device dedicated to video surveillance or CSI sensing (e.g., an imaging system mounted on a building wall, street lamp, or similar structure).

[0158] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the base station can also include an imaging system. In one aspect, each beam associated with the base station can be configured with a dedicated imaging system. Additionally or alternatively, each base station operated by the base station can be associated with one or more imaging systems. Additionally or alternatively, each group of antenna elements can be equipped with one or more imaging systems. Images and / or videos captured at the base station antenna can be delivered via a fronthaul link to a distributed unit (DU), where the DU abstracts vCSI from the captured images and / or videos. Based on the teachings of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that visual data from imaging systems operated by the base station and imaging systems operating at the UE can be combined to generate vCSI.

[0159] Figure 8 An example communication 800 that can be exchanged between a UE 802 and a base station 804 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure based on generating and reporting vCSI from captured visual data is shown. The UE 802 can include an imaging system 806, which can include one or more imaging devices for capturing visual data (e.g., images and / or videos) and an image storage device for storing the captured visual data. The UE 802 can also include a transceiver 808. The transceiver 808 can allow the UE 802 to communicate with the base station 804 according to any suitable wireless communication protocol (such as 4G, 5G, WiFi communication protocol, ultra-wideband (UWB) communication protocol, etc.). In one aspect, the signaling between the transceiver 808 and the imaging system 806 can be based on modem interface commands.

[0160] Figure 8The message exchanges shown in FIG. may be performed during RRC connection establishment / configuration, during a positioning session in an LPP exchange, or a combination thereof. In this example, an RRC connection is established at operation 810. After or during the initial setup, UE 802 sends a vCSI capability report 812 to base station 804 indicating its capabilities for generating vCSI. The vCSI capability report 812 may indicate information such as the number of imaging devices available at UE 802, the amount of image storage available at UE 802, the power or battery constraints of UE 802 or the imaging system, the number of lenses available for CSI video / image acquisition, whether the UE supports base station direction tracking, and / or whether the UE supports on-demand direction tuning. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI capability report 812 may indicate the directions, elevation ranges, azimuth ranges, etc. on which the imaging devices may operate to capture images and / or video.

[0161] After reporting the vCSI capabilities, UE 802 may receive reconfiguration information via one or more RRC reconfiguration messages 814. Such reconfiguration information may include configuration information for generating vCSI, such as a codebook associated with vCSI, one or more machine learning (ML) models used by UE 802 to generate vCSI based on the captured visual data, the identities of one or more ML models preconfigured at UE 802 for generating vCSI, etc. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the RRC reconfiguration message 814 may indicate parameters to be used by UE 802 to perform an initial scan of the environment of UE 802 for storage in the image storage of imaging system 806. Based on the teachings of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that various combinations of such RRC reconfiguration information and additional types of configuration information may be included in the RRC reconfiguration message 814.

[0162] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, base station 804 may submit a vCSI request to UE 802 in the RRC reconfiguration message 814 to generate a vCSI report. Additionally or alternatively, the vCSI request may be submitted as a separate message in an LPP exchange.

[0163] In one aspect, the vCSI request may include an indication of a direction, elevation range, azimuth range, and / or focal length range of visual images and / or video to be captured for generating vCSI by the imaging system 806. In one aspect, the UE 802 may store visual images and / or video in a direction, elevation range, azimuth range, focal length range, or a combination thereof before receiving the vCSI request. In one aspect, the vCSI request may include an indication of a direction, elevation range, azimuth range, and / or focal length range of visual images and / or video to be retrieved from the image storage device of the imaging system 806 to generate vCSI. In various aspects, the vCSI request may be submitted to the base station 804 periodically, asynchronously, in response to a triggering event, etc.

[0164] In response to the vCSI request, the UE 802 may submit a CSI visual data request 816, and the imaging system 806 obtains or retrieves the visual data indicated in the vCSI request. The imaging system 806 may return a CSI visual data response 818, which indicates that the imaging system 806 has been configured to obtain the visual data indicated, for example, in the vCSI request. Further, the UE 802 may indicate that the RRC reconfiguration 814 has been completed by returning an RRC reconfiguration complete message 820 to the base station.

[0165] The imaging system 806 may capture or retrieve, at operation 822, the visual data for generating vCSI indicated by the vCSI request, and at operation 824, generate a vCSI report using the captured / retrieved visual data according to the parameters (using a codebook, ML model, etc.) indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message 814. The generated vCSI may be compressed or abstracted, for example, according to the parameters indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message 814. According to certain aspects, the vCSI may include tagged objects and / or conditions indicating environmental fixtures and conditions existing between the UE 802 and the base station 804. At operation 826, the compressed or abstracted vCSI may be sent to the base station 804, for example, via a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH).

[0166] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the base station 804 may transmit, at operation 828, the vCSI report sent to the base station 804, and the vCSI report may be used by the base station 804 for scheduling UL and DL transmissions. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the information in the vCSI report may be transmitted to a location server associated with the base station 804 (not shown in Figure 8 for simplicity) for scheduling positioning resources. In one aspect, the UE 802 may provide the vCSI report to the location server via LPP messaging.

[0167] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the UE 802 may transmit visual data generated by the imaging system 806 to the base station 804 (or a location server associated with the base station 804), where the visual data is processed to generate a vCSI report. Such operations may be useful if the UE 802 does not have the processing capabilities to generate a vCSI report on its own.

[0168] Figure 9 An example communication 900 that can be exchanged between the base station 804 and the location server 902 based on generating and reporting vCSI according to captured visual data is shown. In one aspect, the signaling between the base station 804 and the location server 902 may use the New Radio Positioning Protocol type A (NRPPa).

[0169] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the base station 804 may be associated with one or more imaging systems 904. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the imaging system 904 may be co-located with the base station 804, co-located with one or more TRPs of the base station 804, or a combination thereof. When one or more base stations are configured with an imaging system, the base station 804 may communicate with the imaging system 904 at each of the base stations. According to aspects of the present disclosure, each imaging system 904 may include at least one or more imaging devices for capturing visual data such as images and / or videos, and an image storage device for storing the captured visual data. Additionally, the base station 804 may include a transceiver 906. The transceiver 906 may allow the base station 804 to communicate with the location server 902 according to any suitable wireless communication protocol, such as 4G, 5G, WiFi communication protocol, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) communication protocol, etc.

[0170] After or during initial setup, the base station 804 may send a vCSI capability report 908 to the location server 902 indicating its capabilities for generating vCSI. The vCSI capability report 908 may indicate information such as: the number of base stations having an imaging system 904, the locations of the base stations having an imaging system 904, the number of imaging devices available at the base station 804 and / or at each TRP, the amount of image storage available at the base station 804 and / or at each TRP, the ability of the imaging system 904 to visually track one or more UEs, etc. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI capability report 908 may also indicate the directions, elevation angle ranges, azimuth angle ranges, etc. on which the imaging system 904 can operate to capture images and / or videos.

[0171] After reporting the vCSI capabilities, the base station 804 may receive vCSI configuration information 910 from the base station 804 to configure the imaging system 904 based on the reported vCSI capabilities. Such vCSI configuration information in 910 may include configuration information for generating vCSI, such as a codebook associated with the vCSI, one or more machine learning (ML) models to be used by the base station 804 to generate vCSI based on the captured visual data, an identification of one or more ML models preconfigured at the base station 804 for generating vCSI, etc. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI configuration information 910 may indicate parameters to be used by the base station 804 for an initial scan of the environment of the base station and / or the TRP to be stored in the image storage device of the imaging system 904. Based on the teachings of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that various combinations of such vCSI configuration information and additional types of configuration information may be included in the vCSI configuration information 910.

[0172] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the location server 902 may submit a vCSI request 912 to the base station 804 to generate a vCSI report. In one aspect, the vCSI request in 912 may include an indication of a direction, an elevation range, an azimuth range, and / or a focal length range of visual images and / or video to be captured for generating vCSI and for one or more of the imaging systems in the imaging system 904. In one aspect, the base station 804 and / or the TRP may store visual images and / or video in a specified direction, over an elevation range, over an azimuth range, over a focal length range, or a combination thereof, prior to receiving the vCSI request 912. In one aspect, the vCSI request 912 may include an indication of a direction, an elevation range, an azimuth range, and / or a focal length range of visual images and / or video to be retrieved from the image storage device of one or more of the imaging systems in the imaging system 904. In various aspects, the vCSI request 912 may be submitted to the base station 804 periodically, asynchronously, in response to a triggering event, etc.

[0173] In response to the vCSI request 912, the base station 804 may request the imaging system 904 to obtain or retrieve the visual data indicated in the vCSI request 912. In one aspect, the request may be in the form of a CSI image request 914 submitted to the imaging system 904. In some aspects, the transceiver 906 may facilitate communication between the base station 804 and the imaging system 904 located at the TRP of the base station 804. Further, the imaging system 904 may capture or retrieve the visual data indicated by the CSI image request 914 for generating vCSI. The base station 804 may participate in the CSI image capture and / or image retrieval operation 916 and, at operation 918, generate a vCSI report using the captured / retrieved image information according to the parameters (using a codebook, an ML model, etc.) indicated in the vCSI configuration information 910. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI report may also be based on the visual data and / or vCSI reports from one or more UEs served by the base station 804.

[0174] In some aspects, positioning operations configured by a location server may be at least partially based on vCSI. In one aspect, vCSI may be used to allocate resources optimized for positioning a UE based on the vCSI associated with the environment present between the UE and one or more base stations. In one aspect, a network node (e.g., a location server, a base station, a sidelink UE, etc.) may obtain vCSI related to a UE to be positioned and multiple base stations. Based on the vCSI, the network node may determine which base station among the multiple base stations will be configured to determine the positioning of the UE.

[0175] Figure 10 An example positioning environment 1000 in which vCSI may be used to allocate resources used in determining the positioning of UE 1002 is illustrated. In Figure 10In the example shown, the positioning environment 1000 includes multiple base stations, labeled BS A to BS D, each base station having a corresponding set of one or more antenna panels 1004a to 1004d. Additionally, each of BS A to BS D includes one or more imaging systems 1006a to 1006d. The imaging systems 1006a to 1006d may be co-located with the base stations BS A to BS B. In some aspects, one or more of the base stations BS A to BS D may include one or more antenna sub-panels, each antenna sub-panel having a corresponding imaging system 1006, for example, oriented along the line of sight of the corresponding antenna sub-panel, to obtain visual images and / or videos in the direction of the antenna sub-panel. Additionally, the UE 1002 may include an imaging system 1008 for obtaining images and / or videos of the environment of the UE. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the imaging system 1008 of the UE 1004 and / or the imaging systems 1006a to 1006d of the base stations are used to obtain images and / or videos of the environment existing between each of the base stations BS A to BS D and the UE 1002, from which vCSI may be generated to characterize the positioning environment. The base stations BS A to BS D may be associated with the same base station or different base stations served by the same location server (e.g., LMF).

[0176] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, vCSI may be used to determine a subset of base stations to be used in a positioning session in which an estimate of the location of the UE 1002 is obtained. The subset of base stations may be selected to obtain optimized positioning performance for positioning the UE 1002 in the positioning environment 1000. In one aspect, the set of base stations may be selected based on the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relationship between the UE 1002 and the multiple base stations BS A to BS D as determined according to vCSI. Additionally or alternatively, the set of base stations may be selected based on the line-of-sight (LOS) condition between the base stations (BS A to BS D) and the UE 1002 as determined according to vCSI. Additionally or alternatively, the set of base stations may be selected based on maintaining 1) a GDOP condition, 2) a LOS condition, or 3) a combination thereof between the set of base stations and the UE as the UE moves in the positioning environment 1000.

[0177] vCSI and / or the visual data used to generate vCSI may be obtained from multiple different sources. In this regard, vCSI and / or the visual data used to determine vCSI may be obtained from: 1) the UE 1002, 2) another UE in the same area as the UE 1002 (e.g., another UE associated with the same cell ID as the UE 1002), 3) one or more base stations associated with the multiple base stations BS A to BS D, or 4) any combination thereof.

[0178] In one aspect, at least a portion of the vCSI can be obtained from the UE, which can indicate the orientation of the UE's imaging system and / or image sensor used to obtain that portion of the vCSI at the UE. When such information is available, a set of base stations can be selected based on the orientation of the base station's antenna beam relative to the indicated orientation of the UE's imaging system and / or image sensor as determined from the vCSI.

[0179] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI is obtained by a location server (e.g., LMF) from other network nodes (e.g., base stations, UEs, etc.). In one aspect, the location server can obtain the vCSI and select which base stations will be used during a positioning session. Further, the location server can send auxiliary data to UE 1002 that indicates the set of base stations that the UE will use for the positioning session. The auxiliary data can also indicate that priorities are assigned to the base stations in the set. The indicated priorities can be used, for example, to determine the order in which UE 1002 measures the base stations (e.g., the order in which to measure the RSs transmitted by the set of base stations).

[0180] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI can provide directivity and orientation information. For example, UE 1002 can indicate to a network node (e.g., a base station, a location server, etc.) via the vCSI the expected directivity of an upcoming reference signal (e.g., UL SRS) transmission. Further, the network node can determine the set of antenna beams of UE 1002 that will be used to transmit the upcoming uplink RS. The determination of the set of antenna beams can be based on the directivity of the upcoming uplink RS as determined from the vCSI. In one aspect, the network node can send auxiliary data to UE 1002 that includes an indication of the set of antenna beams of UE 1002 that will be used to transmit the upcoming uplink RS. In one aspect, the auxiliary data can indicate the priorities of the set of antenna beams of the UE that will be used to transmit the upcoming uplink RS. Selecting the antenna beams of UE 1002 in this way can optimize the antenna beam scanning process by limiting the number of antenna beams to be scanned during the antenna beam scanning process to a subset of the available antenna beams (e.g., the limited number of beams scanned constitutes a reduced search space).

[0181] This method of reducing the antenna beam search space can also be applied to downlink RS (e.g., DL PRS). In such instances, vCSI can provide the directivity of the antenna beam that the base station will use to transmit the downlink RS. Given a reference frame, the directivity of a beam represents the azimuth and elevation angles of the corresponding beam. More generally, the directivity of a beam can be represented by certain values in a three-dimensional spherical coordinate system. Additionally, the orientation of the UE relative to the base station can optionally also be indicated by or determined from the vCSI. In one aspect, a network node (e.g., a location server) can select a subset of base stations (as indicated by or determined from the vCSI) having antenna beams pointed at the UE to be used in a positioning session. In one aspect, a base station that transmits the downlink RS using an antenna beam that is generally aligned with the UE provides higher positioning accuracy. In one aspect, the set of base stations can be prioritized based on this alignment and indicated in the assistance data sent to the UE.

[0182] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, one or more base stations (BS A to BS D) can include a single antenna panel or one or more antenna sub-panels. In such instances, the network node can determine the set of base stations to be used for positioning based on the orientation of the panel / sub-panel of the antenna (e.g., the orientation of the line of sight of the antenna panel / sub-panel) relative to the imaging system of the UE (e.g., the orientation of the axis of an image sensor used to obtain visual information), as determined from the vCSI. To this end, the panel / sub-panel of the antenna of a base station having an orientation that is generally aligned with or otherwise intersects the orientation axis of the imaging system at a threshold angle is more likely to provide better positioning performance than the sub-panel of the antenna of a base station that is skewed or otherwise not aligned with the orientation of the imaging system. In one aspect, the set of base stations can be prioritized based on the orientation of their corresponding sub-panels, where sub-panels having an orientation that is more aligned with the orientation of the imaging sensor of the UE are given a higher priority. In one aspect, the UE can receive assistance data (e.g., the order in which to measure the RS transmitted by the set of base stations and / or the corresponding antenna sub-panels) indicating the set of base stations to be measured during a positioning session and optionally the corresponding antenna sub-panels. In instances where the base station includes only a single antenna panel, the orientation of the single panel relative to the orientation of the imaging system can be used to determine whether the base station is included in the set of base stations to be measured by the UE.

[0183] The network node can obtain information about the orientation of the panel / sub-panel of the antenna in various ways. In one aspect, the orientation of the sub-panel can be determined from the vCSI. Additionally or alternatively, the orientation of the panel / sub-panel can be based on base station almanac information associated with multiple base stations.

[0184] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, a network node may provide vCSI to one or more UEs. In various aspects, the network node may provide vCSI in a point-to-point manner or by broadcast transmission. In one aspect, the vCSI may be included in the auxiliary data sent to the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may include the vCSI in the unicast and / or multicast data sent by the network node. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may send the vCSI in an SIB (such as a positioning SIB (posSIB)).

[0185] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the network node may identify network locations from which one or more UEs may obtain vCSI. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may indicate a vCSI identifier that may be used to obtain the corresponding vCSI from a preconfigured network location. The network locations from which the vCSI may be obtained and / or the vCSI identifier may be provided in the auxiliary data, unicast data, multicast data, SIB, or a combination thereof. Such aspects of the present disclosure may be used to reduce the data traffic used by the network node to provide vCSI to the UE.

[0186] In certain aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI may indicate an expected positioning uncertainty associated with using the vCSI. In one aspect, the vCSI uncertainty may be related to the directionality and / or positioning uncertainty associated with positioning using individual base stations in the usage area. In one aspect, if the vCSI is used in the absence of a base station, the vCSI data may indicate a first set of uncertainties associated with distance and / or direction, and if used in conjunction with a base station, it may indicate a second set of uncertainties.

[0187] In various aspects of the present disclosure, the network node may group the vCSI based on achieving a specific accuracy for directionality and / or ranging. In one example, if an accuracy of 1 degree in two-dimensional positioning is to be achieved, a first group of vCSI (e.g., group 1) may be indicated for use. A second group or group combination (e.g., group 1 + group 2) may be indicated for achieving an accuracy of 1 degree in three-dimensional positioning. A third group or group combination (e.g., group 1 + group 2 + group 3) may be indicated for achieving an accuracy of 0.5 degree in three-dimensional positioning.

[0188] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a network node may obtain vCSI (e.g., crowdsource all nearby vCSI data) from all network devices (e.g., UEs and / or base stations) within a defined environment and associate the vCSI data with base stations in the defined environment. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the network node may also prioritize the vCSI data. In one aspect, general prioritization rules may be applied. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may prioritize vCSI based on factors such as weather conditions, time of day, day of the week, day of the month, month of the year, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may prioritize vCSI data based on feedback from UEs in the positioning environment. In certain aspects, the network node only sends or otherwise identifies vCSI that meets specified prioritization criteria.

[0189] Figure 11 Illustrated is a positioning environment 1100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure in which vCSI may be used to allocate resources used in determining the positioning of a UE. In Figure 11 the example shown, the positioning environment 1100 includes a plurality of base stations, labeled BS A to BS D, each base station having a corresponding set of one or more antenna panels 1104a to 1104d. Additionally, each of BS A to BS D includes one or more imaging systems 1106a to 1106d. The imaging systems 1106a to 1106d may be collocated with base stations BS A to BS B. In certain aspects, one or more of base stations BS A to BS D may include one or more antenna sub-panels, each antenna sub-panel having a corresponding imaging system 1106, e.g., oriented along the line of sight of the corresponding antenna sub-panel, to obtain visual images and / or video in the direction of the antenna sub-panel.

[0190] In Figure 11In [the figure], the positioning environment 1100 includes three UEs 1108, 1110, and 1112. Both UE 1108 and UE 1112 include respective imaging systems 1114 and 1116. However, UE 1110 is not configured with an imaging system. The imaging system 1114 can be used to obtain images and / or videos of the environment of UE 1108. The images and / or videos of the environment of UE 1108 can be used to generate vCSI for UE 1108. In one aspect, UE 1108 can generate vCSI based on the images and / or videos it obtains. Then, the vCSI of UE 1108 can be sent to a network node (e.g., a location server) and used in a positioning session to determine the location of UE 1108. Additionally or alternatively, UE 1108 can send its images and / or videos to a network node, where the images and / or videos are used to generate vCSI for UE 1108 and are used to allocate positioning resources during the positioning session to determine the location of UE 1108. Similarly, the imaging system 1116 can be used to obtain images and / or videos of the environment of UE 1112. The images and / or videos of the environment of UE 1112 can be used to generate vCSI for UE 1112. In one aspect, UE 1112 can generate vCSI based on the images and / or videos it obtains. The vCSI for UE 1112 can be sent to a network node (e.g., a location server) for use in a positioning session to determine the location of UE 1112. Additionally or alternatively, UE 1112 can send its images and / or videos to a network node, where the images and / or videos are used to generate vCSI for UE 1112 and are used in the positioning session to determine the location of UE 1112.

[0191] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a network node (e.g., a location server, LMF, etc.) can provide vCSI for other UEs in the same positioning area to a UE. In Figure 11 the example positioning environment 1100 shown, UEs 1108, 1110, and 1112 are in the same positioning area. In one aspect, determining that UEs are in the same positioning area can be based on their association with the same serving cell ID. However, according to certain aspects of the present disclosure, other ways of determining that UEs 1108, 1110, and 1112 are in the same positioning area can be employed.

[0192] Since UEs 1108 and 1112 are in the same positioning area, the vCSI for UE 1108 may be relevant to determining the positioning of UE 1112. Similarly, the vCSI for UE 1112 may be relevant to determining the positioning of UE 1112. Thus, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI for UE 1108 may be shared with (e.g., sent to) UE 1112 for use in a positioning session to determine the positioning of UE 1112 therein. In one aspect, the vCSI for UE 1108 may be provided to UE 1112 as auxiliary data from a location server. Additionally or alternatively, the vCSI for UE 1112 may be shared with (e.g., sent to) UE 1108 for use in a positioning session to determine the positioning of UE 1108 therein. In one aspect, the vCSI for UE 1112 may be provided to UE 1108 as auxiliary data from a location server.

[0193] As noted, UE 1110 does not have an imaging system in the example positioning environment 1100 shown. However, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, a location server may provide the vCSI for UE 1108 and / or the vCSI for UE 1112 to UE 1110. In this way, even a UE without an imaging system can benefit from receiving vCSI associated with other UEs in the same positioning area. Figure 11 As noted, UE 1110 does not have an imaging system in the example positioning environment 1100 shown. However, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, a location server may provide the vCSI for UE 1108 and / or the vCSI for UE 1112 to UE 1110. In this way, even a UE without an imaging system can benefit from receiving vCSI associated with other UEs in the same positioning area.

[0194] Some aspects of the present disclosure are implemented in the understanding that the complete set of vCSI for a given UE may be irrelevant to determining the positioning of another UE in the same positioning area. For example, the complete set of vCSI for a given UE may be substantially omnidirectional as it includes vCSI for substantially all directions within the environment of the given UE. However, some aspects of the present disclosure recognize that a subset of the vCSI for a given UE that is filtered only for specific directions may be relevant to the positioning of another UE in the same positioning area. Thus, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, the vCSI for a given UE provided to other UEs in the same positioning area may be a filtered version of the complete set of vCSI that would otherwise be available for (or otherwise might have been generated for) the given UE. In this way, communication overhead can be reduced because only a subset of the vCSI data (as opposed to the complete set of vCSI data) that is relevant to another UE and the same positioning area is sent to the other UE for positioning.

[0195] The filtered version of the complete set of vCSI for a given UE can be obtained and used in different ways. In one aspect, a location server may request a subset of the entire vCSI that is filtered with respect to a given direction indicated by the location server to the given UE. In such instances, the filtered subset of vCSI may be sent by the given UE to the location server and subsequently provided as assistance data to other UEs in the same positioning area. In another aspect, the location server may obtain the complete set of vCSI from the given UE and filter the complete set of vCSI to provide a filtered subset of vCSI for a given direction. Similarly, the filtered subset of vCSI may be sent by the location server as assistance data to another UE in the same positioning area such that only the vCSI relevant to determining the positioning of the other UE is sent to the other UE. In yet another aspect, the location server may request the given UE to generate vCSI with respect to a given direction even if the given UE is capable of generating vCSI for other directions. Thus, the vCSI generated by the given UE may be considered a filtered subset of a larger set of vCSI that could be generated otherwise at the given UE.

[0196] In accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure, communication resources between a UE and a base station may be allocated based on vCSI. In one aspect, a location server (e.g., LMF) may request vCSI reports from one or more base stations (e.g., gNB) and multiple UEs within a positioning environment. Based on GDOP conditions, LOS conditions, or a combination thereof, a mapping or grouping between the base station / TRP and the UE may be determined to improve resource utilization.

[0197] Figure 12 A positioning environment 1200 is depicted in which communication resources between a base station and a UE may be mapped based on vCSI in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In Figure 12 the example shown, the positioning environment 1200 includes a plurality of base stations labeled BS A through BS D, each base station having a corresponding set of one or more antenna panels 1204a through 1204d. Additionally, each of BS A through BS D includes one or more imaging systems 1206a through 1206d. The imaging systems 1206a through 1206d may be collocated with the base stations BS A through BS B. In some aspects, one or more of the base stations BS A through BS D may include one or more antenna sub-panels, each antenna sub-panel having a corresponding imaging system 1206 oriented, for example, along the line of sight of the corresponding antenna sub-panel to acquire visual images and / or video in the direction of the line of sight of the antenna sub-panel.

[0198] The positioning environment 1200 further includes a UE 1208 having an imaging system 1210 and a UE 1212 having an imaging system 1214. The UEs 1208 and 1212 are separated from each other by an object 1216. Based on the vCSI of the positioning environment 1200 obtained from base stations and / or UEs in the positioning environment 1200, the location server can determine that the object 1216 blocks the line of sight between the UE 1208 and BS C and BS D. However, the vCSI can indicate that there is a LOS path between the UE 1208 and BS A and BS B. Accordingly, the location server maps BS A and / or BS B to the UE 1208. Similarly, the location server can determine, based on the vCSI of the positioning environment 1200, that the object 1216 blocks the line of sight between the UE 1212 and BS A and BS B. However, the vCSI can indicate that there is a LOS path between the UE 1212 and BS C and BS D. Accordingly, the location server maps BS C and / or BS D to the UE 1212. In one aspect, the location server can map communication resources such that BS A and BS B communicate with the UE 1208 using the same time-frequency resources as those used by BS C and BS D in communicating with the UE 1212. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the mapping can specify directional information to allow the location server to improve the spatial reuse of resources and reduce interference at the UE (on DL communications) and at the base station / TRP (on UL communications).

[0199] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a training method can be employed at the base station based on the vCSI. To this end, the location server can create a “visual map” of the environment using the objects and features identified in the vCSI with respect to a given base station near a given UE. Such vCSI reporting can include message exchanges between the UE, the base station, and the location server for the positioning environment. In an example, a “visual map” can be constructed at a given TRP based on a previous vCSI received as part of a training process based on previous vCSI measurements. The visual map can be used to assist a UE (e.g., currently in the positioning environment or new to the positioning environment) in subsequently obtaining the vCSI in the environment for comparison with the visual map. As an example, the UE can capture some vCSI in its vicinity (including the object 1216), which will be compared with the visual map. The visual map can be used to guide how current and / or new UEs communicate with each other. For example, referring Figure 12 to, the UE 1208 can transmit at different points (identified via the vCSI) of the object 1216 to determine how to locate other devices (such as the UE 1212) in the positioning environment 1200 / communicate with that device.

[0200] According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, UEs may also directly exchange vCSI information with each other via sidelink communication. In an out-of-coverage scenario, there may be relay nodes or ad-hoc "hubs" (instead of location servers) that facilitate the exchange of vCSI information among a group of SL UEs.

[0201] Figure 13 An example method 1300 of wireless communication performed by a network node (e.g., a UE, a base station, a location server, etc.) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. At operation 1302, the network node obtains vCSI associated with the UE and a plurality of base stations. In one aspect, operation 1302 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, a memory 340, and / or a positioning component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1302 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, a memory 386, and / or a positioning component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1302 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, a memory 396, and / or a positioning component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0202] At operation 1304, the network node determines a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI. In one aspect, operation 1304 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, a memory 340, and / or a positioning component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1304 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, a memory 386, and / or a positioning component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1304 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, a memory 396, and / or a positioning component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0203] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of method 1300 is that it enhances the accuracy of locating a UE by selecting a base station for a positioning session based on visual information (e.g., vCSI) obtained for the positioning environment. In one aspect, the visual information can be used to identify the LOS condition between the UE and each base station, thereby allowing selection of a base station that meets the desired LOS condition for the positioning session. Additionally or alternatively, the visual information can be used to select a base station that optimizes the GDOP condition for locating the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the link quality can be measured based on vCSI. In one aspect, the depth information from the image can be converted to how close / far the TRP is relative to the UE.

[0204] Figure 14 Illustrated is an example method 1400 of wireless communication performed by a network node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At operation 1402, the network node obtains vCSI from a first UE. In one aspect, operation 1402 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1402 can be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0205] At operation 1404, the network node sends the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE. In one aspect, operation 1404 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1404 can be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any one or all of which can be considered a component for performing this operation.

[0206] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of method 1400 is that it allows a first UE in the same positioning area as a second UE to share the vCSI obtained by the first UE. Such vCSI can even be shared with the second UE in a scenario where the second UE does not have an imaging system for generating its own vCSI. Additionally or alternatively, the vCSI information can be used to determine conditions between UEs (e.g., SL-UEs). In one aspect, UEs can use vCSI to point their beams at each other. The search space for the beam can also be reduced based on vCSI.

[0207] Figure 15Illustrates an example method 1500 of wireless communication performed by a network node in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At operation 1502, the network node obtains vCSI from a plurality of UEs and a plurality of base stations. In one aspect, operation 1502 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1502 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1502 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation.

[0208] At operation 1504, the network node allocates radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI. In one aspect, operation 1504 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1504 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1504 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation.

[0209] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of method 1500 is that it allows the network node to obtain vCSI from multiple devices in a positioning environment and allocate communication resources to UEs within the positioning environment based on the vCSI. In one aspect, the vCSI may be used to create a visual map that may be used to map resources between a base station and a UE to efficiently use available frequency and time resources.

[0210] In the above detailed embodiments, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be construed as an intention that the example clauses have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer features than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered incorporated into the description, where each clause itself may be a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of the dependent clause is not limited to the specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of the aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or any features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly stated or can be readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended to be used (e.g., conflicting aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also contemplated that aspects of the clauses may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0211] Specific example embodiments are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0212] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and determining, based on the vCSI, a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations.

[0213] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relationship between the UE and the plurality of base stations as determined according to the vCSI.

[0214] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on a line-of-sight (LOS) condition between the plurality of base stations and the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0215] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on maintaining a GDOP condition, an LOS condition, or a combination thereof between the set of base stations and the UE when the UE moves in a positioning environment.

[0216] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein the vCSI is obtained from: the UE; another UE in the same area as the UE; one or more base stations associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0217] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, wherein the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0218] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6, the method further comprising: sending auxiliary data indicating the set of base stations for the positioning session to the UE.

[0219] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein the vCSI indicates the directionality of an upcoming uplink reference signal (RS) transmission by the UE, the method further comprising: determining, based on the directionality of the upcoming uplink RS as determined according to the vCSI, a set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS.

[0220] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 8, the method further comprising: sending auxiliary data including an indication of the set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS to the UE.

[0221] Clause 10. The method according to Clause 9, wherein: the auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS.

[0222] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, wherein: at least a part of the vCSI is obtained from the UE, and the at least a part of the vCSI indicates the orientation of an image sensor of the UE for obtaining the at least a part of the vCSI at the UE.

[0223] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on the orientation of the antenna beams of the plurality of base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0224] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein: one or more of the plurality of base stations include one or more antenna sub - panels; and determining the set of base stations is based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub - panels of the one or more base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0225] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 12 to 13, wherein: the set of base stations includes one or more antenna sub - panels, and one or more of the base stations in the set of base stations are prioritized based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub - panels of the one or more base stations.

[0226] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 13 to 14, the method further comprising: determining the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations based on: the vCSI; base station calendar information associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0227] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 15, the method further comprising: sending auxiliary data to the UE, the auxiliary data including an indication of a set of antenna beams of the set of base stations to be measured by the UE during the positioning session.

[0228] Clause 17. The method according to Clause 16, wherein: the auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations to be measured by the UE.

[0229] Clause 18. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and sending the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0230] Clause 19. The method according to Clause 18, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0231] Clause 20. The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 19, the method further comprising: determining that the second UE is located in the same positioning area as the first UE based on a common cell identifier of a cell serving both the first UE and the second UE.

[0232] Clause 21. The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 20, wherein: the vCSI is obtained from the first UE during a positioning session for determining the positioning of the first UE.

[0233] Clause 22. The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 21, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is sent to the second UE as auxiliary data in a positioning session for determining the positioning of the second UE.

[0234] Clause 23. The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 22, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is a subset of the total amount of vCSI generated at the first UE, and the subset of vCSI corresponds to the vCSI obtained in a given direction.

[0235] Clause 24. The method according to any one of Clauses 18 to 23, wherein the vCSI includes: identification of vCSI characteristics that vary over time; identification of vCSI characteristics that are generally constant over time; or any combination thereof.

[0236] Clause 25. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and allocating radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0237] Clause 26. The method according to Clause 25, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0238] Clause 27. The method according to any one of Clauses 25 to 26, wherein: overlapping radio resource sets are allocated to at least two UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0239] Clause 28. The method according to any one of Clauses 25 to 27, wherein: the radio resources are allocated for determining the location of at least one UE among the plurality of UEs.

[0240] Clause 29. The method according to any one of Clauses 25 to 28, the method further comprising: generating a visual map based on the vCSI from one or more UEs among the plurality of UEs and one or more base stations among the plurality of base stations; obtaining vCSI from a given UE; and allocating the radio resources of the given UE based on comparing the visual map with the vCSI obtained from the given UE.

[0241] Clause 30. A network node, the network node comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and determine a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

[0242] Clause 31. The network node according to Clause 30, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine the set of base stations based on a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relationship between the UE and the plurality of base stations as determined according to the vCSI.

[0243] Clause 32. The network node according to any one of Clauses 30 to 31, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine the set of base stations based on a line-of-sight (LOS) condition between the plurality of base stations and the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0244] Clause 33. The network node according to any one of Clauses 30 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine the set of base stations based on maintaining a GDOP condition, a LOS condition, or a combination thereof between the set of base stations and the UE when the UE moves in a positioning environment.

[0245] Clause 34. The network node according to any one of Clauses 30 to 33, wherein the vCSI is obtained from: the UE; another UE in the same area as the UE; one or more base stations associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0246] Clause 35. The network node according to any one of Clauses 30 to 34, wherein the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0247] Clause 36. The network node according to Clause 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, auxiliary data indicating the set of base stations for the positioning session to the UE.

[0248] Clause 37. The network node according to any one of Clauses 30 to 36, wherein the vCSI indicates the directivity of an upcoming uplink reference signal (RS) transmission by the UE, and the at least one processor is further configured to: determine a set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS based on the directivity of the upcoming uplink RS as determined according to the vCSI.

[0249] Clause 38. The network node according to any one of Clauses 30 to 37, wherein: at least a portion of the vCSI is obtained from the UE, and the at least a portion of the vCSI indicates an orientation of an image sensor of the UE for obtaining the at least a portion of the vCSI at the UE.

[0250] Clause 39. The network node according to Clause 38, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine the set of base stations based on an orientation of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0251] Clause 40. The network node according to any one of Clauses 38 to 39, wherein: one or more of the plurality of base stations include one or more antenna sub-panels; and the at least one processor is further configured to: determine the set of base stations based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0252] Clause 41. The network node according to any one of Clauses 39 to 40, wherein: the set of base stations includes one or more antenna sub-panels, and one or more of the base stations in the set of base stations are prioritized based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations.

[0253] Clause 42. The network node according to any one of Clauses 40 to 41, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations based on: the vCSI; base station calendar information associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0254] Clause 43. The network node according to any one of Clauses 38 to 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, auxiliary data to the UE, the auxiliary data including an indication of a set of antenna beams of the set of base stations to be measured by the UE during the positioning session.

[0255] Clause 44. The network node according to Clause 43, wherein: the auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations to be measured by the UE.

[0256] Clause 45. A network node, the network node comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and send, via the at least one transceiver, the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0257] Clause 46. The network node according to Clause 45, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0258] Clause 47. The network node according to any one of Clauses 45 to 46, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine that the second UE is located in the same positioning area as the first UE based on a common cell identifier of a cell serving both the first UE and the second UE.

[0259] Clause 48. The network node according to any one of Clauses 45 to 47, wherein: the vCSI is obtained from the first UE during a positioning session for determining the positioning of the first UE.

[0260] Clause 49. The network node according to any one of Clauses 45 to 48, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is sent as auxiliary data to the second UE in a positioning session for determining the positioning of the second UE.

[0261] Clause 50. The network node according to any one of Clauses 45 to 49, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is a subset of the total amount of vCSI generated at the first UE, and the subset of vCSI corresponds to the vCSI obtained in a given direction.

[0262] Clause 51. The network node according to any one of Clauses 45 to 50, wherein the vCSI includes: an identification of vCSI characteristics that change over time; an identification of vCSI characteristics that are generally constant over time; or any combination thereof.

[0263] Clause 52. A network node, the network node comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and allocate radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0264] Clause 53. The network node according to Clause 52, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0265] Clause 54. The network node according to any one of Clauses 52 to 53, wherein: overlapping radio resource sets are allocated to at least two UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0266] Clause 55. The network node according to any one of Clauses 52 to 54, wherein: the radio resources are allocated for determining the positioning of at least one UE among the plurality of UEs.

[0267] Clause 56. The network node according to any one of Clauses 52 to 55, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: generate a visual map based on the vCSI from one or more of the plurality of UEs and one or more of the plurality of base stations; obtain vCSI from a given UE; and allocate radio resources for the given UE based on comparing the visual map with the vCSI obtained from the given UE.

[0268] Clause 57. A network node, the network node comprising: means for obtaining visual channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and means for determining, based on the vCSI, a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations.

[0269] Clause 58. The network node according to Clause 57, wherein: the means for determining the set of base stations determines the set of base stations based on a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relationship between the UE and the plurality of base stations as determined according to the vCSI.

[0270] Clause 59. The network node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 58, wherein: the means for determining the set of base stations determines the set of base stations based on a line-of-sight (LOS) condition between the plurality of base stations and the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0271] Clause 60. The network node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 59, wherein: the means for determining the set of base stations determines the set of base stations based on maintaining a GDOP condition, an LOS condition, or a combination thereof between the set of base stations and the UE when the UE moves in a positioning environment.

[0272] Clause 61. The network node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 60, wherein the vCSI is obtained from: the UE; another UE in the same area as the UE; one or more base stations associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0273] Clause 62. The network node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 61, wherein the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0274] Clause 63. The network node according to Clause 62, the network node further comprising: means for sending auxiliary data indicating the set of base stations for the positioning session to the UE.

[0275] Clause 64. The network node according to any one of Clauses 57 to 63, wherein the vCSI indicates the directivity of an upcoming uplink reference signal (RS) transmission by the UE, and the network node further comprises: means for determining, based on the directivity of the upcoming uplink RS as determined according to the vCSI, an antenna beam set of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS.

[0276] Clause 65. The network node according to any one of Clauses 55 to 64, wherein: at least a part of the vCSI is obtained from the UE, and the at least a part of the vCSI indicates the orientation of an image sensor of the UE for obtaining the at least a part of the vCSI at the UE.

[0277] Clause 66. The network node according to Clause 65, wherein: the means for determining the set of base stations determines the set of base stations based on the orientation of the antenna beams of the plurality of base stations with respect to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0278] Clause 67. The network node according to any one of Clauses 65 to 66, wherein: one or more of the plurality of base stations comprise one or more antenna sub-panels; and the means for determining the set of base stations determines the set of base stations based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations with respect to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0279] Clause 68. The network node according to any one of Clauses 66 to 67, wherein: the set of base stations comprises one or more antenna sub-panels, and one or more of the base stations in the set of base stations are prioritized based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations.

[0280] Clause 69. The network node according to any one of Clauses 67 to 68, the network node further comprises: means for determining the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations based on: the vCSI; base station calendar information associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0281] Clause 70. The network node according to any one of Clauses 65 to 69, the network node further comprises: means for transmitting to the UE auxiliary data including an indication of an antenna beam set of the set of base stations to be measured by the UE during the positioning session.

[0282] Clause 71. The network node according to Clause 70, wherein: the auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations to be measured by the UE.

[0283] Clause 72. A network node, the network node comprising: means for obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and means for transmitting the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0284] Clause 73. The network node according to Clause 72, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0285] Clause 74. The network node according to any one of Clauses 72 to 73, the network node further comprising: means for determining that the second UE is located in the same positioning area as the first UE based on a common cell identifier of a cell serving both the first UE and the second UE.

[0286] Clause 75. The network node according to any one of Clauses 72 to 74, wherein: the vCSI is obtained from the first UE during a positioning session for determining the positioning of the first UE.

[0287] Clause 76. The network node according to any one of Clauses 72 to 75, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is sent to the second UE as auxiliary data in a positioning session for determining the positioning of the second UE.

[0288] Clause 77. The network node according to any one of Clauses 72 to 76, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is a subset of the total amount of vCSI generated at the first UE, and the subset of vCSI corresponds to the vCSI obtained in a given direction.

[0289] Clause 78. The network node according to any one of Clauses 72 to 77, wherein the vCSI includes: an identification of vCSI characteristics that change over time; an identification of vCSI characteristics that are generally constant over time; or any combination thereof.

[0290] Clause 79. A network node, the network node comprising: means for obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and means for allocating radio resources to one or more subsets of the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0291] Clause 80. The network node according to Clause 79, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0292] Clause 81. The network node according to any one of Clauses 79 to 80, wherein: a set of overlapping radio resources is allocated to at least two UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0293] Clause 82. The network node according to any one of Clauses 79 to 81, wherein: the radio resources are allocated for determining the location of at least one UE among the plurality of UEs.

[0294] Clause 83. The network node according to any one of Clauses 79 to 82, the network node further comprising: components for generating a visual map based on the vCSI from one or more UEs among the plurality of UEs and one or more base stations among the plurality of base stations; components for obtaining the vCSI from a given UE; and components for allocating the radio resources of the given UE based on comparing the visual map with the vCSI obtained from the given UE.

[0295] Clause 84. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: obtain visual-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; and determine a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

[0296] Clause 85. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 84, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relationship between the UE and the plurality of base stations as determined according to the vCSI.

[0297] Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 84 to 85, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on a line-of-sight (LOS) condition between the plurality of base stations and the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0298] Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 84 to 86, wherein: determining the set of base stations is based on maintaining a GDOP condition, an LOS condition, or a combination thereof between the set of base stations and the UE when the UE moves in a positioning environment.

[0299] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 84 to 87, wherein the vCSI is obtained from: the UE; another UE in the same area as the UE; one or more base stations associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0300] Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 84 to 88, wherein the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0301] Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 89, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: send auxiliary data indicating the set of base stations for the positioning session to the UE.

[0302] Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 84 to 90, wherein the vCSI indicates the directivity of an upcoming uplink reference signal (RS) transmission by the UE, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: determine a set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS based on the directivity of the upcoming uplink RS as determined according to the vCSI.

[0303] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 82 to 91, wherein: at least a portion of the vCSI is obtained from the UE, and the at least a portion of the vCSI indicates the orientation of an image sensor of the UE for obtaining the at least a portion of the vCSI at the UE.

[0304] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 92, wherein: the determination of the set of base stations is based on the orientation of the antenna beams of the plurality of base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0305] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 92 to 93, wherein: one or more of the plurality of base stations include one or more antenna sub-panels; and the determination of the set of base stations is based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

[0306] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 93 to 94, wherein: the set of base stations includes one or more antenna sub-panels, and one or more base stations in the set of base stations are prioritized based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations.

[0307] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 94 to 95, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: determine the orientation of the one or more antenna sub-panels of the one or more base stations based on: the vCSI; base station calendar information associated with the plurality of base stations; or any combination thereof.

[0308] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 92 to 96, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: send to the UE auxiliary data for transmitting an indication of a set of antenna beams of the set of base stations to be measured by the UE during the positioning session.

[0309] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 97, wherein: the auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations to be measured by the UE.

[0310] Clause 99. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and send the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

[0311] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 99, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0312] Clause 101. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 99 to 100, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: determine that the second UE is located in the same positioning area as the first UE based on a common cell identifier of a cell serving both the first UE and the second UE.

[0313] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 99 to 101, wherein: the vCSI is obtained from the first UE during a positioning session for determining the positioning of the first UE.

[0314] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 99 to 102, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is sent as auxiliary data to the second UE in a positioning session for determining the positioning of the second UE.

[0315] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 99 to 103, wherein: the vCSI obtained from the first UE is a subset of the total amount of vCSI generated at the first UE, and the subset of vCSI corresponds to the vCSI obtained in a given direction.

[0316] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 99 to 104, wherein the vCSI includes: an identification of vCSI characteristics that vary over time; an identification of vCSI characteristics that are generally constant over time; or any combination thereof.

[0317] Clause 106. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to: obtain vision-based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; and allocate radio resources to one or more UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0318] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 106, wherein: the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

[0319] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 106 to 107, wherein: an overlapping set of radio resources is allocated to at least two UE sets among the plurality of UEs based on the vCSI.

[0320] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 106 to 108, wherein: the radio resources are allocated for determining the positioning of at least one UE among the plurality of UEs.

[0321] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 106 to 109, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the network node, cause the network node to: generate a visual map based on the vCSI from one or more of the plurality of UEs and one or more of the plurality of base stations; obtain vCSI from a given UE; and allocate radio resources for the given UE based on comparing the visual map with the vCSI obtained from the given UE.

[0322] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0323] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0324] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0325] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the various aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software modules can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0326] In one or more example aspects, the described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0327] While the foregoing discloses exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Additionally, the functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims according to the aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular form.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: Obtaining vision-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and a plurality of base stations; And Determining, based on the vCSI, a set of base stations among the plurality of base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the set of base stations is based on a geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relationship between the UE and the plurality of base stations as determined according to the vCSI.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the set of base stations is based on a line-of-sight (LOS) condition between the plurality of base stations and the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the set of base stations is based on maintaining the following items between the set of base stations and the UE when the UE moves in a positioning environment GDOP condition, LOS condition, or A combination thereof.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vCSI is obtained from: The UE; Another UE in the same area as the UE; One or more base stations associated with the plurality of base stations; or Any combination thereof.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

7. The method according to claim 6, the method further comprising: Sending, to the UE, auxiliary data indicating the set of base stations for the positioning session.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vCSI indicates the directivity of an upcoming uplink reference signal (RS) transmission by the UE, the method further comprising: Determining, based on the directivity of the upcoming uplink RS as determined according to the vCSI, a set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS.

9. The method according to claim 8, the method further comprising: Sending, to the UE, auxiliary data including an indication of the set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the UE for transmitting the upcoming uplink RS.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least a portion of the vCSI is obtained from the UE, and the at least a portion of the vCSI indicates the orientation of an image sensor of the UE for obtaining the at least a portion of the vCSI at the UE.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Determining the set of base stations is based on the orientation of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: One or more of the plurality of base stations include one or more antenna sub-panels; And Determine the set of base stations based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub - panels of the one or more base stations relative to the orientation of the image sensor of the UE as determined according to the vCSI.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The set of base stations includes one or more antenna sub - panels, and the one or more base stations in the set of base stations are prioritized based on the orientation of the one or more antenna sub - panels of the one or more base stations.

15. The method according to claim 13, the method further comprising: Determine the orientation of the one or more antenna sub - panels of the one or more base stations based on The vCSI; Base station calendar information associated with the plurality of base stations; or Any combination thereof.

16. The method according to claim 11, the method further comprising: Send auxiliary data to the UE, the auxiliary data including an indication of a set of antenna beams of the set of base stations to be measured by the UE during the positioning session.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: The auxiliary data indicates the priority of the set of antenna beams of the plurality of base stations to be measured by the UE.

18. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: Obtain vision - based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); And Send the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The network node is A network server, A location server, or A base station.

20. The method according to claim 18, the method further comprising: Determine that the second UE is located in the same positioning area as the first UE based on a common cell identifier of the cells serving both the first UE and the second UE.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The vCSI is obtained from the first UE during a positioning session for determining the positioning of the first UE.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The vCSI obtained from the first UE is sent as auxiliary data to the second UE during a positioning session for determining the positioning of the second UE.

23. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The vCSI obtained from the first UE is a subset of the total amount of vCSI generated at the first UE, and the subset of vCSI corresponds to the vCSI obtained in a given direction.

24. The method according to claim 18, wherein the vCSI includes: An identification of vCSI characteristics that vary over time; An identification of vCSI characteristics that are generally constant over time; Or Any combination thereof.

25. A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, the method comprising: Obtain vision - based channel state information (vCSI) from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) and a plurality of base stations; And Allocate radio resources to one or more UE sets among the multiple UEs based on the vCSI.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein: The network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

27. The method according to claim 25, wherein: A set of overlapping radio resources is allocated to at least two UE sets among the multiple UEs based on the vCSI.

28. The method according to claim 25, wherein: The radio resources are allocated for determining the location of at least one UE among the multiple UEs.

29. The method according to claim 25, the method further comprising: Generating a visual map based on the vCSI from one or more UEs among the multiple UEs and one or more base stations among the multiple base stations; Obtaining vCSI from a given UE; and Allocating the radio resources of the given UE based on comparing the visual map with the vCSI obtained from the given UE.

30. A network node, the network node comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: Obtain visual-based channel state information (vCSI) related to a user equipment (UE) and multiple base stations; and Determine a set of base stations among the multiple base stations for a positioning session between the UE and the set of base stations based on the vCSI.

31. The network node according to claim 30, wherein the network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

32. A network node, the network node comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: Obtain visual-based channel state information (vCSI) from a first user equipment (UE); and Transmit the vCSI obtained from the first UE to a second UE located in the same positioning area as the first UE via the at least one transceiver.

33. The network node according to claim 32, wherein: The network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

34. A network node, the network node comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: Obtain visual-based channel state information (vCSI) from multiple user equipments (UEs) and multiple base stations; and Allocate radio resources to one or more UE sets among the multiple UEs based on the vCSI.

35. The network node according to claim 34, wherein: The network node is a network server, a location server, or a base station.

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