Conditions to enable "do not disturb" mode while driving

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE, determines that the user is driving a vehicle based on the sensor data, and based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, activates a Do-No-Do mode of the UE.

Description

1. Field of the Technology

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. 2. Background Art

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

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard 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, PRS processing, and technological advancements, as well as high-density deployments for 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning. Summary of the Invention

[0006] A brief overview related to one or more aspects disclosed herein is given below. Accordingly, the following overview should not be considered an extensive review related to all contemplated aspects, nor should it be considered as identifying key or critical elements related to all contemplated aspects or as delineating the scope related to any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following overview is to present in a simplified form certain concepts related to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and enabling a Do Not Disturb While Driving mode of the UE based on the determination that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0008] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) 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: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE via the at least one transceiver; determine, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle, enable a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

[0009] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes: means for receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; means for determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and means for enabling, based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle, a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

[0010] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; determine, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle, enable a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

[0011] 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

[0012] The drawings are presented to assist in describing various aspects of the present disclosure, and the drawings are provided only to illustrate these aspects and not to limit them.

[0013] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0014] Figure 2A and Figure 2B An example wireless network structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0015] Figure 3 An example user equipment (UE) architecture in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0016] Figures 4 to 6 An example method of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, which are directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. 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 relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0018] As used herein, the words "exemplary" and / or "example" mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as more preferred or advantageous than other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0019] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below 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 in the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, partly depending on the particular application, partly depending on the desired design, partly depending on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0020] In addition, the various 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 can 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 can be considered to be fully contained 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 the relevant processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Accordingly, the various aspects of the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, all of which are considered to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect can be described herein as, for example, "logic" configured to perform the described action.

[0021] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device that a user uses to communicate through a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, smart glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) / extended reality (XR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at a particular time), 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. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as through 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.).

[0022] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station can operate according to one of several RATs for communicating with UEs, and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station can be mainly used to support the wireless access of UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections of the supported UEs. In some systems, the base station can provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, the base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which a UE sends signals to the base station can be referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station sends signals to the UE can be referred to as a downlink (DL) or a forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). The term traffic channel (TCH) as used herein can refer to an uplink / reverse or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0023] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit - receive point (TRP), or can refer to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co - located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several 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., in a multiple - input multiple - output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non - co - located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non - co - located physical TRPs can be a serving base station that receives a measurement report from a UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. As used herein, since a TRP is the point at which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, a reference to a transmission from or a reception at a base station should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of that base station.

[0024] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections), but instead can send a reference signal to the UE for the UE to measure, and / or can receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when sending a signal to the UE) and / or a position measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0025] 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 may 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, an RF signal can also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal", where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0026] Figure 1FIG. 0 illustrates an example wireless communication system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. 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.

[0027] 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) positioning 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 an additional path, such as via an application server (not shown), via an additional 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), and intermediate nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0028] Among other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: transmitting 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 device 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) via the backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0029] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of the base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, the base stations 102 in each geographical coverage area 110 can support one or more cells. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resources, referred to as 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., for distinguishing 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 Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, depending on the context, the term "cell" can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. In addition, 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 a carrier frequency can be detected within certain parts of the geographical coverage area 110 and used for communication.

[0030] Although the geographical coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some of the geographical coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC", small cell) may have a geographical coverage area 110' that is substantially overlapped with the geographical coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including small cells 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).

[0031] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 can include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 can use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 can pass through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers can be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and the uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers can be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0032] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Access Point (AP) 150 that communicates with a WLAN Station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) or Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine if the channel is available.

[0033] The small cell base station 102’ may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102’ may employ LTE or NR technologies and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102’ that employs LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum may extend 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.

[0034] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that communicates with the UE 182, which may operate in mmW frequencies and / or near-mmW frequencies. Extremely High Frequency (EHF) is a part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The range of EHF is from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, and the wavelength is 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 and have a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The Super High Frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands has high path loss and a relatively short range. 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 short distance. Additionally, it will be understood that in alternative configurations, 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 description is merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0035] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines the location of a given target device (e.g., a UE) (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 of one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without physically moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationships such that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress radiation in the undesired directions.

[0036] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network node itself 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 regarding a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information regarding 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0037] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain settings of an antenna array and / or adjust the phase settings 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 a receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher relative to the beam gains in other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest relative to the beam gains in the directions of all other receive beams available to the receiver. 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.).

[0038] Transmit and receive beams can be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that the parameters of the second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) for the second reference signal can be derived from information about the first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmit beam) for the 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 sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0039] Note that a "downlink" beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam for sending a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, it is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0040] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands are defined as the frequency range names FR1 (410 MHz - 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a part of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often referred to as (interchangeably) the "sub-6 GHz" band. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with FR2. Although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the "millimeter wave" band, in various documents and articles, FR2 is typically referred to as (interchangeably) the "millimeter wave" band.

[0041] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has defined the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as the frequency range name FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to the mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations above 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands are defined as the frequency range names 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 frequency bands belongs to the EHF band.

[0042] Taking into account the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that the term "sub-6 GHz" etc. used in this document can generally represent frequencies below 6 GHz, that can be within FR1, or that can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless specifically stated, it should be understood that the term "millimeter wave" etc. when used in this document can generally represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, that can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or that can be within the EHF band.

[0043] 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) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell, in which the UE 104 / 182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in an authorized frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a secondary frequency (e.g., FR2), which can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and the secondary carrier can be used to provide additional radio resources. 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, those UE-specific information and signals may not exist in the secondary carrier because both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. For example, this is done to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which some base station is communicating, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0044] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies utilized by the macro cell base station 102 can be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), while the other frequencies utilized 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 two-fold increase in the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via the communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via the mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 can support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 can support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0046] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to perform sidelink communication. A sidelink-enabled UE (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) over the communication link 120. The SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-enabled UEs) over the wireless sidelink 160. The wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an enhancement to the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the need to communicate through a base station. 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, and the like. One or more of a group of SL-UEs that utilize sidelink communication may be 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 may not be able to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, multiple groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 assists in scheduling resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0047] In one aspect, sidelink 160 may operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs. The "medium" may consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., including 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 among various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States) for certain communication systems, these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently extended their operation to unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed national information infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably 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.

[0048] Note that although Figure 1 only two of the UEs are shown as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and 182), any of the shown UEs may be an SL-UE. Additionally, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the shown 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, 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and 182 may beamform over sidelink 160.

[0049] In Figure 1 the example of, any of the shown UEs (for simplicity, Figure 1As shown in the figure, a single UE 104 can receive signals 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SVs) 112 (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 position information. A satellite positioning system generally includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) that are positioned such that receivers (e.g., UE 104) can determine their 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 of a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitter can sometimes be located at a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104. The UE 104 can include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive signals 124 from the SV 112 for deriving geographic location information.

[0050] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise support the use with 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), 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.

[0051] In one aspect, the SV 112 can additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTN). In an NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an Earth station (also known as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway) which in turn is connected to elements in a 5G network, such as an enhanced base station 102 (without a terrestrial 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, the UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112 instead of or in addition to receiving communication signals from the terrestrial base station 102.

[0052] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). In Figure 1 the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain a cellular connection), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain a WLAN-based Internet connection). In the example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported by any known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth® etc.).

[0053] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is shown. For example, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) may 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 the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214 respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210, connected to the control plane function 214 via the NG-C 215, and connected to the user plane function 212 via the NG-U 213. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either one (or both) of the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0054] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which 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, each location server 230 may 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 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). 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).

[0055] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is shown. 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 Function (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 used to derive the access network specific key from the SEAF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include 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 MG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interaction with the Evolved Packet System (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports the functions of non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0056] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable); acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection with 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 for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport layer packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 can also support the transmission of location service messages through the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the SLP 272.

[0057] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of the user plane function, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, partial policy enforcement and control of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0058] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The 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, each LMF 270 may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, and the UE 204 may be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network 5GC 260 and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 through the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., a third-party server 274) through the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0059] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may communicate with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimates) 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, each may correspond to a single server.

[0060] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, in particular 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 (one or more) gNBs 222 and / or the (one or more) ng-eNBs 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the (one or more) gNBs 222 and / or the (one or more) ng-eNBs 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The (one or more) gNBs 222 and / or the (one or more) ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 (referred to as the "Xn-C" interface). One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface (referred to as the "Uu" interface).

[0061] The functions of the gNB 222 can be divided among the 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 such as transmitting user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., except for those functions specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and media access control (MAC) layers of the 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-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functions of the gNB 222 are generally hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229 that 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. Therefore, the UE204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0062] Figure 3Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are shown that may be incorporated into UE 300 (which may correspond to any UE described herein). It should be understood that in different implementations, these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), as a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown may also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the described components to provide similar functionality. Additionally, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0063] UE 300 includes one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 that provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, for receiving, for measuring, for tuning, for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc.). One or more WWAN transceivers 310 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via an interested wireless communication medium (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum) via at least one specified RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.). One or more WWAN transceivers 310 may be differently configured to transmit and encode signals 318 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 318 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, one or more WWAN transceivers 310 include one or more transmitters 314 for transmitting and encoding signals 318, and one or more receivers 312 for receiving and decoding signals 318.

[0064] In at least some cases, UE 300 also includes one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320. The one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and provide components (e.g., components for transmission, components for reception, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) via an interested wireless communication medium, via at least one specified RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, 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.). The one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 can be differently configured to transmit and encode signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 include one or more transmitters 324 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and one or more receivers 322 for receiving and decoding signals 328. As a specific example, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 can be a Wi-Fi transceiver, a Bluetooth® transceiver, a Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceiver, an NFC transceiver, a UWB transceiver, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0065] In at least some cases, UE 300 also includes a satellite signal receiver 330. The satellite signal receiver 330 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338. In the case where the satellite signal receiver 330 is a satellite positioning system receiver, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 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 receiver 330 is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) receiver, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 can be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receiver 330 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the satellite positioning / communication signals 338. The satellite signal receiver 330 can request appropriate information and operations from other systems and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained through any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the location of UE 300.

[0066] The transceiver can 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) and a receiver circuit (such as receivers 312, 322). In some implementations, the transceiver can be an integrated device (e.g., including the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some implementations, the transceiver can include a separate transmitter circuit and a separate receiver circuit, or in other implementations, the transceiver can be implemented in other ways. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of the wired transceiver can be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitters 314, 324) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such as an antenna array, which permits the corresponding device (e.g., UE 300) to perform transmission "beamforming", as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuit (e.g., receivers 312, 322) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such as an antenna array, which permits the corresponding device (e.g., UE 300) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit can share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, but not both receive and transmit simultaneously. The wireless transceiver (e.g., one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320) can also include a network listening module (NLM) for performing various measurements, etc.

[0067] As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320) and wired transceivers can generally be characterized as "transceiver", "at least one transceiver", or "one or more transceivers". Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers generally involves signaling transmission via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 300) and a base station generally involves signaling transmission via a wireless transceiver.

[0068] UE 300 also includes other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 300 includes one or more processors 332 for providing functions related to, for example, wireless communication and for providing other processing functions. The one or more processors 332 can thus provide components for processing, such as components for determining, for calculating, for receiving, for transmitting, for indicating, etc. In one aspect, the one or more processors 332 can 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.

[0069] UE 300 includes memory circuitry (e.g., each memory includes a memory device) implementing a memory 340 for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memory 340 can provide components for storing, for retrieving, for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 300 can include a do-not-disturb component 342. The do-not-disturb component 342 can be a hardware circuit that is part of or coupled to the one or more processors 332 and, when executed, causes UE 300 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the do-not-disturb component 342 can be external to the processor 332 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the do-not-disturb component 342 can be a memory module stored in the memory 340 that, when executed by the one or more processors 332 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), causes UE 300 to perform the functions described herein. Figure 3 The possible locations of the do-not-disturb component 342 are shown, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component.

[0070] The UE 300 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 motion data derived from signals received from one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. For example, the (one or more) sensors 344 may include one or more accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Additionally, the one or more sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion 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 position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system. Note that at least the accelerometer and gyroscope may be referred to as "inertial" sensors.

[0071] The various components of the UE 300 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a data bus 334. In one aspect, the data bus 334 may form or be part of the communication interface of the UE 300.

[0072] In addition, the UE 300 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing indications to the user (e.g., auditory and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user activates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.).

[0073] For convenience, Figure 3 the UE 300 shown in includes various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the shown components may have different functions in different designs. Specifically, Figure 3 the various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and each aspect includes configurations that may vary due to design choices, cost, device usage, or other considerations. For example, a particular implementation of the UE 300 may omit the (one or more) WWAN transceivers 310 (e.g., a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the (one or more) short-range wireless transceivers 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the (one or more) sensors 344, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of the various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but are readily understandable to those skilled in the art.

[0074] Figure 3 The components of may be implemented in a variety of ways. In some implementations,Figure 3 The components can be implemented in one or more circuits (such as, for example, 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 information or executable code used by the circuit to provide functionality. For example, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 310 to 346 can be implemented by the processor and (one or more) memory components of the UE 300 (e.g., by execution of 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". However, it should be understood that these operations, actions, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components of the UE 300, such as one or more processors 332, one or more transceivers 310 and 320, memory 340, do-not-disturb component 342, etc., or a combination of components.

[0075] Various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have implemented the "do not disturb while driving" function on certain UEs (e.g., smartphones). When a smartphone detects that its traveling speed exceeds a certain speed threshold (which is typically set to distinguish walking, running, cycling, and driving), these do not disturb while driving modes (also simply referred to as do not disturb modes) will at least automatically block the call and text messaging functions of the smartphone. In addition, the do not disturb while driving mode can only be turned off by the user.

[0076] Currently, UEs with the do not disturb while driving mode enabled are not distinguished as belonging to the driver or the passenger in a vehicle. It can be understood that it may be bothersome for a passenger in a vehicle to have their UE automatically enabled with the do not disturb while driving mode. The present disclosure provides various techniques for determining whether a UE belongs to the driver or the passenger of a vehicle. Once the status of the user is determined, this status can be utilized to enable or disable various functions associated with the user, such as enabling or disabling the do not disturb while driving mode.

[0077] Many users wear "smart" wearable devices that are connected to their smartphones (i.e., communicate with their smartphones) via short-range wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc. Such wearable devices include "smart" watches, "smart" rings, fitness trackers, "smart" glasses, etc. The "smart" devices are at least capable of wirelessly communicating with one or more other devices and generally include other functions such as tracking movement and / or location, capturing image data, monitoring biometrics, etc. Wearable devices typically include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that can track the movement of the user. In addition, some wearable devices, such as "smart" glasses and VR / AR / XR headsets, may include a camera. Thus, in one aspect, sensor data from the user's wearable device can be used to determine whether the user is the driver of a vehicle.

[0078] In one aspect, to determine whether a user is a driver, IMU data from the user's wearable device (e.g., smartwatch) can indicate whether the movement of the user's arm at a point during driving corresponds to a coherent circular motion, similar to the motion of turning a steering wheel. Such motion can be easily detected by a wearable device such as a smartwatch. In some cases, the size (and possibly the shape) of the steering wheel may be known and used to compare the detected motion with the circumference of the steering wheel. The size (and shape) can be pre-configured based on typical steering wheel sizes, or determined from a database of steering wheel dimensions, or the corresponding motion pattern can be crowdsourced from multiple users of the same vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, the wearable device can learn the motion pattern of the user when driving a vehicle.

[0079] When the user turns the steering wheel, the most easily recognizable detected motion is the steering-wheel-related motion. When the vehicle exits a lane or a parking lot, the user may turn the steering wheel to its maximum extent at the start of driving, and even if the speed threshold is not reached, this is a good time to identify the driver. In this way, the wearable device (or a smartphone using the IMU data from the wearable device) can attempt to match the detected motion with the steering-wheel motion regardless of whether the speed threshold has been reached. In some cases, the device can store a flag associated with the determined motion pattern at the start of driving, such as frequent and sharp turns. In this way, if it is later determined that the same user is in the vehicle, the do-not-disturb mode while driving can be triggered (alternatively, the sensor data can also be buffered and processed at this point).

[0080] In the case where the user's smartphone can receive steering angle information from the vehicle, the IMU data can additionally be correlated with the steering angle information to confirm that the user is driving the vehicle rather than playing a game or performing other activities. More specifically, the user's smartphone can determine whether the motion indicated by the IMU data is consistent with the steering angle information (within a certain threshold and / or over a certain time period). If it is determined that the IMU data is not always consistent with the steering angle information from the vehicle, this technique can be further extended to provide a message to the user (e.g., via the user interface of the smartphone). The message can request the user to confirm that they are the driver, or if the user is known to be the driver, remind the user to keep their hands on the steering wheel.

[0081] When the user's smartphone can access the steering wheel movement detected by the vehicle, the smartphone does not need to determine whether the movement indicated by the IMU data from the wearable device is planar (i.e., along the plane of the steering wheel). Instead, it only needs to determine whether the movement of the wearable device, at least for some portion of time (e.g., when the user's hand is on the steering wheel and the steering wheel is being turned), is synchronized in direction with the movement of the steering wheel. That is, the device can determine whether and how the circular movement of the wearable device corresponds to or potentially corresponds to the steering wheel movement and thus is not just a random circular movement being performed.

[0082] In some cases, users attempt to deceive driver monitoring system (DMS) safety features such as the do not disturb while driving feature. Thus, the smartphone (or wearable device) should be able to distinguish between the actual movement associated with the user turning the steering wheel and the user simply attaching the wearable device to the steering wheel or removing the wearable device to hide any movement. In one aspect, if there is 100% correlation between the steering wheel movement and the movement detected by the wearable device, it can be indicated that the wearable device is attached to the steering wheel. This would require steering angle information from the vehicle. In another aspect, the wearable device can detect biometric markers such as a pulse to ensure the user is still wearing the wearable device.

[0083] In the case where the wearable device has a camera (e.g., "smart" glasses), the image data from the wearable device can be used to determine whether the user is sitting in the driver's seat (e.g., in front of the steering wheel). If it is determined that the user is sitting in front of the steering wheel (or there are some other visual indications that the user is sitting in the driver's seat), then the speed threshold can be bypassed and the smartphone can automatically enable the do not disturb while driving mode.

[0084] If the wearable device can monitor its speed, it can determine whether the user is the driver and then notify the user's smartphone. Alternatively, the wearable device can simply send the IMU and / or image data to the smartphone for the smartphone to make the determination. As yet another alternative, the wearable device and the smartphone can coordinate with each other to make the determination. For example, the smartphone can request that the wearable device also provide other sensor information such as the user's pulse rate (e.g., to ensure the determination is not being deceived).

[0085] If the user is determined to be the driver and the speed threshold has been reached, the smartphone can turn on the do not disturb while driving mode. Alternatively, the smartphone can inhibit entering the do not disturb while driving mode until it has been determined that the user is the driver. However, if it is determined that the user is not the driver, the smartphone will inhibit enabling the do not disturb while driving mode regardless of whether the speed threshold has been reached.

[0086] In one aspect, in addition to using IMU data to determine whether the user is a driver or as an alternative technique, the user's smartphone can access mobile device ticket information, which can indicate whether the user is expected to or has recently entered a public transportation vehicle or a ride-sharing vehicle. For example, if implemented in the operating system, the smartphone will know which applications (e.g., Uber, Lyft, public transportation applications, etc.) are accessing location information and when the application will access the wallet application programming interface (API). There can also be explicit feedback from the application to indicate the user's transportation status, when the ride starts, its duration, etc. This information can also be accessed via the map application API, which will indicate which part of the journey the user is on and what mode of transportation they have selected for that part of the journey. If the ticket information indicates that the user is traveling by public transportation or ride-sharing and the current speed of the smartphone exceeds a threshold, it can prevent the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode from being turned on.

[0087] In some cases, the vehicle can be pre-configured to associate a driver profile with a specific mobile device. Thus, in addition to using IMU data to determine whether the user is a driver or as an alternative technique, (1) the vehicle can notify the mobile device (e.g., the driver's smartphone) that its associated driver profile is currently active (i.e., driving) or (2) the mobile device can request the vehicle to indicate whether it is associated with the currently active driver profile. If the mobile device is associated with an active driver profile, it is determined that the user of the mobile device is a driver. In response, the device can enable the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode and allow notification to other devices that they are non-driving devices.

[0088] The determination of the driver can be based on a confidence threshold. That is, the smartphone can determine the driver based on IMU data with a certain confidence. If the confidence is below a certain threshold, the smartphone can display a notification asking the user to confirm whether they are driving.

[0089] Other functions can be enabled or disabled based on the determination of whether the user is a driver. In one aspect, the driver's smartphone can be given priority over other user devices in the vehicle. For example, the driver's smartphone can have priority access to the vehicle's audio system.

[0090] In another aspect, other devices belonging to the driver (e.g., tablet computer, laptop computer) can be disabled or certain functions and / or applications can be disabled to prevent driver distraction. For example, based on the determination that the user is a driver, the movie streaming application on the user's tablet can be disabled.

[0091] In another aspect, once the driver is identified and the smartphone switches to the do-not-disturb mode while driving, the IMU data from the wearable device can be used to determine the timing for providing notifications (e.g., new text messages or calls) to the driver or for granting certain activities (e.g., making calls). For example, if the IMU data from the wearable device indicates movement beyond a certain threshold, the smartphone can determine not to provide a notification to the user. Conversely, if the amount of movement is less than a certain threshold, it may be a good time to provide a notification or allow the user to make a call.

[0092] In a related aspect, the smartphone can determine that the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light based on map data and / or image data from the vehicle camera. In such a case, the smartphone can grant the user permission to interact with the smartphone, such as by providing any missed notifications or by allowing the driver to send text messages or make calls. This determination can also be triggered by IMU data indicating no steering wheel movement.

[0093] In another aspect, the driver identification can be used to enable or improve collision detection. Notifications can also be broadcast to other devices in the vehicle (e.g., via UWB, P2P, etc.) to enable collision detection. In this way, the devices can jointly determine whether a collision has occurred based on Doppler and / or movement over time. This avoids false alarms that may occur when enabling collision detection based on accelerometers (e.g., the roller coaster false alarm problem). Note that identifying the driver based on the driver profile (as described above) can also be used to enable the collision detection function. Additionally, the notification does not have to be broadcast; it can be transmitted via peer-to-peer communication. For example, the driver's device can determine that certain nearby devices appear to be in the same location for a period of time (e.g., as if together in a vehicle). The device can then send the notification to those nearby devices. Alternatively, there can be no check for being in the same location, and the driver's device can simply send the notification to nearby devices. Additionally, in some cases, nearby devices can be notified that someone has been identified as the driver of the vehicle, and in response, collision detection can be enabled on the (one or more) mobile devices of the (one or more) passengers.

[0094] In another aspect, once the driver is identified, the driver's smartphone can provide navigation-related notifications to the driver's wearable device. For example, the smartphone can notify the wearable device that the driver has made a wrong turn, and in response, the wearable device can vibrate or provide some other feedback to the user. Additionally, different vibration patterns may have different meanings and may even indicate which direction the vehicle should turn at an intersection.

[0095] The user's wearable device can also recognize the user's state before entering the vehicle (e.g., unstable or drunk, heart problems, fatigue, etc.). The wearable device can transmit this information to the vehicle. This can make the driver monitoring system (DMS) more informed, which can look for specific signals from the user (e.g., drowsiness) to confirm the determination of the wearable. If it is determined that the user is in the driver's seat, the vehicle can prevent the vehicle from starting, or it can only allow autonomous operation to be enabled.

[0096] In one aspect, the user's state can be determined by observing the user's movement patterns over time to establish a baseline. Once the baseline is established, the user's state can be determined based on the type of movement change relative to the baseline (exceeding a certain threshold). For example, less movement may indicate drowsiness, while more irregular movement may indicate drunkenness.

[0097] In one aspect, the IMU data from the wearable device can indicate other interactions with the vehicle. For example, the IMU data can indicate intermittent or unstable movement, which can indicate that the user is attempting to adjust some vehicle controls (e.g., the volume of the audio system, the windshield wiper lever, the rearview mirror, etc.). In this case, the smartphone displays a notification asking the user if they wish to turn on the interior lights of the vehicle, or directly instructs the vehicle to turn on the interior lights.

[0098] Figure 4 An example method 400 of wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In one aspect, method 400 can be performed by a UE (e.g., a smartphone).

[0099] At 410, the UE receives sensor data from a wearable device associated with the UE's user. In one aspect, operation 410 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or the do not disturb component 342, any one or all of which can be considered components for performing this operation.

[0100] At 420, the UE determines that the user is driving a vehicle based on the sensor data. In one aspect, operation 420 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or the do not disturb component 342, any one or all of which can be considered components for performing this operation.

[0101] At 430, the UE enables the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode of the UE based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle. In one aspect, operation 430 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0102] It should be understood that the technical advantage of method 400 is that the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode is enabled when the user has actually been determined to be the driver of the vehicle. If certain applications and operating system functions enter the sleep state in the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode, there may also be benefits in terms of processing and power consumption. This can also accelerate certain tasks because fewer tasks are allowed. Method 400 can also allow for improved communication / latency because only selected applications (e.g., those more relevant to the user) will be allowed to continue (e.g., the music application can perform a prefetch without the electronic game application simultaneously requesting additional data).

[0103] Figure 5 An example method 500 of wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In one aspect, method 500 can be performed by a UE (e.g., a smartphone).

[0104] At 510, the UE determines that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle. In one aspect, operation 510 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0105] At 520, the UE disables the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode of the UE based on determining that the user is not driving a vehicle. In one aspect, operation 520 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, the memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which can be considered as components for performing this operation.

[0106] It should be understood that the technical advantage of method 500 is to prevent the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode from being enabled when the user is not the driver.

[0107] Figure 6 An example method 600 of wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In one aspect, method 600 can be performed by a UE (e.g., a smartphone).

[0108] At 610, the UE receives sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user of the UE. In one aspect, operation 610 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing this operation.

[0109] At 620, the UE determines that the user is in an impaired physical state based on the sensor data. In one aspect, operation 620 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing this operation.

[0110] At 630, the UE detects that the user is entering or about to enter a vehicle. In one aspect, operation 630 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing this operation.

[0111] At 640, the UE sends a notification indicating that the user is in an impaired physical state to the vehicle, causing the vehicle's Driver Monitoring System (DMS) to prevent the user from driving the vehicle. In one aspect, operation 640 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or the Do Not Disturb component 342, any one or all of which may be considered components for performing this operation.

[0112] It can be understood that the technical advantage of method 600 is to prevent a physically impaired driver from driving a vehicle.

[0113] In the foregoing detailed description, it can be seen that different features are combined in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as the example clauses having more features than those explicitly recited in each clause. Instead, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer features than all of the features of the individual example clauses disclosed. Accordingly, the following clauses are to be considered as included in the specification, with each clause itself being able to serve as a separate example. While each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a particular combination with one of the other clauses, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to that particular combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include such combinations, unless explicitly stated or readily inferred as not being intended for a particular combination (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Additionally, it is contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause is not directly subordinate to that independent clause.

[0114] Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0115] Clause 1. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and enabling a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0116] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the sensor data includes: determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0117] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 2, further comprising: receiving steering angle information from the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0118] Clause 4. The method according to Clause 3, further comprising: determining that the user's motion is not always consistent with the steering angle information; and providing a notification to the user reminding the user to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

[0119] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 3 to 4, wherein the motion sensor data indicates that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is synchronized with the steering angle information for at least a threshold time period.

[0120] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 2 to 5, wherein it is determined that the user is driving the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the vehicle's steering wheel based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0121] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 6, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by a wearable device, and determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the sensor data includes: determining that the image data indicates that the user is sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0122] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 7, further comprising: blocking user interaction with the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle has stopped; and permitting user interaction with the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle is moving.

[0123] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 8, wherein the user interaction includes: making a call, receiving a call, receiving a notification, receiving a text message, sending a text message, or any combination thereof.

[0124] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, further comprising: giving priority to the UE's access to the vehicle audio system based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0125] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, further comprising: disabling other personal devices associated with the user and located in the vehicle based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle; or disabling one or more functions, applications, or both on other personal devices based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0126] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 11, further comprising: enabling collision detection based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0127] Clause 13. The method according to Clause 12, further comprising: notifying nearby user devices to enable collision detection.

[0128] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 13, further comprising: receiving from the vehicle a notification that the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving the vehicle is further based on the UE being associated with the driver profile.

[0129] Clause 15. The method according to Clause 14, further comprising: sending to the vehicle a request to report whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein the notification is received from the vehicle in response to the request.

[0130] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 15 further includes: displaying a notification to the user to confirm that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0131] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 16, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0132] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 16, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0133] Clause 19. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 18, wherein: determining that the user is driving a vehicle is further based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, and the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode is also enabled based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0134] Clause 20. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 19, wherein the wearable device includes: a smartwatch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0135] Clause 21. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE), including: determining that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle; and disabling the Do Not Disturb while Driving mode of the UE based on determining that the user is not driving a vehicle.

[0136] Clause 22. The method according to Clause 21 further includes: receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user, wherein determining that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle is based on the sensor data from the wearable device.

[0137] Clause 23. The method according to Clause 22, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and determining that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0138] Clause 24. The method according to Clause 23 further includes: receiving steering angle information from the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0139] Clause 25. The method according to any one of Clauses 23 to 24, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0140] Clause 26. The method according to any one of Clauses 23 to 25 further includes: determining that the user is not driving the vehicle based on the indication from the motion sensor data that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the vehicle's steering wheel, and obtaining biometric sensor data from the wearable device, wherein determining that the user is not driving the vehicle is further based on the indication from the biometric sensor data that the wearable device is being worn by the user.

[0141] Clause 27. The method according to any one of Clauses 22 to 26, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and determining that the user is not driving the vehicle includes determining that the image data indicates that the user is not sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0142] Clause 28. The method according to any one of Clauses 22 to 27, wherein the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0143] Clause 29. The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 28 further includes: receiving a notification to initiate collision detection from the user device of the driver of the vehicle.

[0144] Clause 30. The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 29, wherein determining that the user is not driving the vehicle includes: determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle.

[0145] Clause 31. The method according to any one of Clauses 29 to 30, wherein determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle is based on information from an application installed on the UE and associated with the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle.

[0146] Clause 32. The method according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, wherein determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle is based on the selected traffic type in the navigation application.

[0147] Clause 33. The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 32, wherein determining that the user is not driving the vehicle includes: sending a request to the vehicle to report whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle; and receiving a notification from the vehicle that the UE is not associated with the driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle.

[0148] Clause 34. The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 33, wherein determining that the user is not driving the vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0149] Clause 35. The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 33, wherein determining that the user is not driving the vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0150] Clause 36. The method according to any one of Clauses 21 to 35 further includes: based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, enabling a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE, wherein the do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE is disabled based on determining that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle.

[0151] Clause 37. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE) includes: receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is in an impaired physical state; detecting that the user is entering or about to enter a vehicle; and sending a notification indicating that the user is in an impaired physical state to the vehicle, causing a driver monitoring system (DMS) of the vehicle to prevent the user from driving the vehicle.

[0152] Clause 38. The method according to Clause 37, wherein the impaired physical state includes: being drunk, having an irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, or any combination thereof.

[0153] Clause 39. A user equipment (UE) 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: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE via the at least one transceiver; determine, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle, enable a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

[0154] Clause 40. The UE according to Clause 39, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and the at least one processor being configured to determine that the user is driving a vehicle based on the sensor data includes: the at least one processor being configured to determine that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0155] Clause 41. The UE according to Clause 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive steering angle information from the vehicle via the at least one transceiver, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0156] Clause 42. The UE according to Clause 41, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine that the user's motion is not always consistent with the steering angle information; and provide a notification to the user reminding the user to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

[0157] Clause 43. The UE according to any one of Clauses 41 to 42, wherein, based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is synchronized with the steering angle information within at least a threshold time period, the motion sensor data indicates that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0158] Clause 44. The UE according to any one of Clauses 40 to 43, wherein, based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle, it is determined that the user is driving the vehicle based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0159] Clause 45. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 44, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by a wearable device, and at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is driving the vehicle based on the sensor data including: at least one processor is configured to determine that the image data indicates that the user is sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0160] Clause 46. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 45, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: block user interaction with the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle has stopped; and permit user interaction with the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle is moving.

[0161] Clause 47. The UE according to Clause 46, wherein the user interaction includes: making a call, receiving a call, receiving a notification, receiving a text message, sending a text message, or any combination thereof.

[0162] Clause 48. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 47, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: give priority to the UE's access to the vehicle audio system based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0163] Clause 49. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 48, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: disable other personal devices associated with the user and located in the vehicle based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle; or disable one or more functions, applications, or both on other personal devices based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0164] Clause 50. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 49, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: enable collision detection based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0165] Clause 51. The UE according to Clause 50, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: notify nearby user devices to enable collision detection.

[0166] Clause 52. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 51, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a notification from the vehicle that the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving the vehicle is further based on the UE being associated with the driver profile.

[0167] Clause 53. The UE according to Clause 52, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, a request to the vehicle reporting whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein the notification is received from the vehicle in response to the request.

[0168] Clause 54. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 53, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: display to the user a notification confirming that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0169] Clause 55. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 54, wherein determining that the user is driving the vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0170] Clause 56. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 54, wherein determining that the user is driving the vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0171] Clause 57. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 56, wherein: determining that the user is driving the vehicle is further based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, and the do-not-disturb while driving mode is further enabled based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0172] Clause 58. The UE according to any one of Clauses 39 to 57, wherein the wearable device includes: a smartwatch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0173] Clause 59. A user equipment (UE) 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: determine that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle; and based on determining that the user is not driving the vehicle, disable the do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

[0174] Clause 60. The UE according to Clause 59, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user, wherein determining that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle is based on the sensor data from the wearable device.

[0175] Clause 61. The UE according to Clause 60, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by a wearable device, and determining that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0176] Clause 62. The UE according to Clause 61, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive steering angle information from the vehicle via the at least one transceiver, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0177] Clause 63. The UE according to any one of Clauses 61 to 62, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's history of motion patterns, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0178] Clause 64. The UE according to any one of Clauses 61 to 63, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain biometric sensor data from the wearable device according to determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning the steering wheel of the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle is further based on the biometric sensor data indicating that the wearable device is being worn by the user.

[0179] Clause 65. The UE according to any one of Clauses 60 to 64, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and the at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: the at least one processor is configured to determine that the image data indicates that the user is not sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0180] Clause 66. The UE according to any one of Clauses 60 to 65, wherein the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0181] Clause 67. The UE according to any one of Clauses 59 to 66, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a notification to initiate collision detection from the user equipment of the driver of the vehicle via the at least one transceiver.

[0182] Clause 68. The UE according to any one of Clauses 59 to 67, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is not driving a vehicle includes the at least one processor being configured to: determine that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle.

[0183] Clause 69. The UE according to any one of Clauses 67 to 68, wherein it is determined that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpooling vehicle based on information from an application installed on the UE and associated with the public transportation vehicle or the carpooling vehicle.

[0184] Clause 70. The UE according to any one of Clauses 67 to 69, wherein it is determined that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpooling vehicle based on the traffic type selected in a navigation application.

[0185] Clause 71. The UE according to any one of Clauses 59 to 70, wherein at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is not driving the vehicle includes: at least one processor is configured to send, via at least one transceiver, a request to the vehicle to report whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle; and receive, via at least one transceiver, a notification from the vehicle that the UE is not associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle.

[0186] Clause 72. The UE according to any one of Clauses 59 to 71, wherein it is determined that the user is not driving the vehicle in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0187] Clause 73. The UE according to any one of Clauses 59 to 71, wherein it is determined that the user is not driving the vehicle before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0188] Clause 74. The UE according to any one of Clauses 59 to 73, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, enable the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode of the UE, wherein the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode of the UE is disabled based on determining that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle.

[0189] Clause 75. A user equipment (UE) 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 is configured to: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE via the at least one transceiver; determine that the user is in an impaired physical state based on the sensor data; detect that the user is entering or about to enter a vehicle; and send, via the at least one transceiver, a notification indicating that the user is in an impaired physical state to the vehicle, causing the Driver Monitoring System (DMS) of the vehicle to prevent the user from driving the vehicle.

[0190] Clause 76. The UE according to Clause 75, wherein the impaired physical state includes: being drunk, having an irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, or any combination thereof.

[0191] Clause 77. A user equipment (UE) includes: components for receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; components for determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and components for enabling a do-not-disturb mode of the UE while driving based on the determination that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0192] Clause 78. The UE according to Clause 77, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and the components for determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle include: components for determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0193] Clause 79. The UE according to Clause 78, further includes: components for receiving steering angle information from the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is also based on the steering angle information.

[0194] Clause 80. The UE according to Clause 79, further includes: components for determining that the user's motion is not always consistent with the steering angle information; and components for providing a notification to the user to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

[0195] Clause 81. The UE according to any one of Clauses 79 to 80, wherein, based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is synchronized with the steering angle information for at least a threshold time period, the motion sensor data indicates that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0196] Clause 82. The UE according to any one of Clauses 78 to 81, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0197] Clause 83. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 82, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and the components for determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle include: components for determining that the image data indicates that the user is sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0198] Clause 84. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 83, further includes: components for preventing interaction with the user of the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle has stopped; and components for permitting interaction with the user of the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle is moving.

[0199] Clause 85. The UE according to Clause 84, wherein the user interaction includes: making a call, receiving a call, receiving a notification, receiving a short message, sending a short message, or any combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 86. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 85 further includes: a component for giving priority to the UE's access to the vehicle audio system based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0201] Clause 87. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 86 further includes: a component for disabling other personal devices associated with the user and located in the vehicle based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle; or a component for disabling one or more functions, applications, or both on other personal devices based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0202] Clause 88. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 87 further includes: a component for enabling collision detection based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0203] Clause 89. The UE according to Clause 88 further includes: a component for notifying nearby user devices to enable collision detection.

[0204] Clause 90. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 89 further includes: a component for receiving from the vehicle a notification that the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle is further based on the UE being associated with the driver profile.

[0205] Clause 91. The UE according to Clause 90 further includes: a component for sending to the vehicle a request for reporting whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein the notification is received from the vehicle in response to the request.

[0206] Clause 92. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 91 further includes: a component for displaying to the user a notification confirming that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0207] Clause 93. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 92, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0208] Clause 94. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 92, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0209] Clause 95. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 94, wherein: determining that the user is driving a vehicle is further based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, and the do-not-disturb while driving mode is further enabled based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than the speed threshold.

[0210] Clause 96. The UE according to any one of Clauses 77 to 95, wherein the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0211] Clause 97. A user equipment (UE) includes: components for determining that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle; and components for disabling the do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE based on determining that the user is not driving a vehicle.

[0212] Clause 98. The UE according to Clause 97, further includes: components for receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user, wherein determining that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle is based on the sensor data from the wearable device.

[0213] Clause 99. The UE according to Clause 98, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and determining that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0214] Clause 100. The UE according to Clause 99, further includes: components for receiving steering angle information from the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0215] Clause 101. The UE according to any one of Clauses 99 to 100, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0216] Clause 102. The UE according to any one of Clauses 99 to 101, further includes: components for obtaining biometric sensor data from the wearable device according to determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is inconsistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle is further based on the biometric sensor data indicating that the wearable device is being worn by the user.

[0217] Clause 103. The UE according to any one of Clauses 98 to 102, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by a wearable device, and the component for determining that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: a component for determining that the image data indicates that the user is not sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0218] Clause 104. The UE according to any one of Clauses 98 to 103, wherein the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0219] Clause 105. The UE according to any one of Clauses 97 to 104, further including: a component for receiving a notification for initiating collision detection from a user device of a driver of the vehicle.

[0220] Clause 106. The UE according to any one of Clauses 97 to 105, wherein the component for determining that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: a component for determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle.

[0221] Clause 107. The UE according to any one of Clauses 105 to 106, wherein determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle is based on information from an application installed on the UE and associated with the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle.

[0222] Clause 108. The UE according to any one of Clauses 105 to 107, wherein determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle is based on the traffic type selected in a navigation application.

[0223] Clause 109. The UE according to any one of Clauses 97 to 108, wherein the component for determining that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: a component for sending a request to the vehicle to report whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle; and a component for receiving a notification from the vehicle that the UE is not associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle.

[0224] Clause 110. The UE according to any one of Clauses 97 to 109, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0225] Clause 111. The UE according to any one of Clauses 97 to 109, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0226] Clause 112. The UE according to any one of Clauses 97 to 111 further includes: a component for enabling the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode of the UE based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, wherein the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode of the UE is disabled based on determining that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle.

[0227] Clause 113. A user equipment (UE) includes: a component for receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; a component for determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is in an impaired physical state; a component for detecting that the user is entering or about to enter a vehicle; and a component for sending a notification indicating that the user is in an impaired physical state to the vehicle, causing the driver monitoring system (DMS) of the vehicle to prevent the user from driving the vehicle.

[0228] Clause 114. The UE according to Clause 113, wherein the impaired physical state includes: being drunk, having an irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, or any combination thereof.

[0229] Clause 115. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; determine, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; and based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle, enable the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode of the UE.

[0230] Clause 116. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 115, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the user is driving a vehicle based on the sensor data include: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0231] Clause 117. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 116 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: receive steering angle information from the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0232] Clause 118. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 117 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: determine that the user's motion is not always consistent with the steering angle information; and provide a notification to the user reminding the user to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

[0233] Clause 119. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 117 to 118, wherein based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is synchronized with the steering angle information for at least a threshold time period, the motion sensor data indicates that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0234] Clause 120. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 116 to 119, wherein based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle, it is determined that the user is driving the vehicle based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0235] Clause 121. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 120, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by a wearable device, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the user is driving the vehicle based on the sensor data include: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the image data indicates that the user is sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

[0236] Clause 122. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 121, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: block user interaction with the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle has stopped; and permit user interaction with the UE based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle is moving.

[0237] Clause 123. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 122, wherein the user interaction includes: making a call, receiving a call, receiving a notification, receiving a text message, sending a text message, or any combination thereof.

[0238] Clause 124. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 123, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: give priority to the UE's access to the vehicle audio system based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0239] Clause 125. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 124, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: disable other personal devices associated with the user and located in the vehicle based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle; or disable one or more functions, applications, or both on other personal devices based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0240] Clause 126. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 125 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: enable collision detection based on determining that the user is driving a vehicle.

[0241] Clause 127. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 126 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: notify nearby user equipment to enable collision detection.

[0242] Clause 128. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 127 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: receive from the vehicle a notification that the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein determining that the user is driving the vehicle is further based on the UE being associated with the driver profile.

[0243] Clause 129. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 128 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: send to the vehicle a request to report whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle, wherein the notification is received from the vehicle in response to the request.

[0244] Clause 130. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 129 further includes: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: display to the user a notification confirming that the user is driving the vehicle.

[0245] Clause 131. In the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 130, determining that the user is driving the vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0246] Clause 132. In the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 130, determining that the user is driving the vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0247] Clause 133. In the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 132, determining that the user is driving the vehicle is further based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, and the do-not-disturb mode while driving is also enabled based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0248] Clause 134. In the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 115 to 133, the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0249] Clause 135. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: determine that a user of the UE is not driving a vehicle; and based on the determination that the user is not driving a vehicle, disable a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

[0250] Clause 136. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 135, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user, wherein the determination that the user of the UE is not driving a vehicle is based on the sensor data from the wearable device.

[0251] Clause 137. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 136, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and the determination that the user is not driving a vehicle includes: determining that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning a steering wheel of the vehicle.

[0252] Clause 138. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 137, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: receive steering angle information from the vehicle, wherein the determination that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning a steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

[0253] Clause 139. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 137 to 138, wherein the determination that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning a steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, a history of the user's motion patterns, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

[0254] Clause 140. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 137 to 139, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: obtain biometric sensor data from the wearable device according to the determination that the user is not driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion does not match turning a steering wheel of the vehicle, wherein the determination that the user is not driving a vehicle is further based on the biometric sensor data indicating that the wearable device is being worn by the user.

[0255] Clause 141. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 136 to 140, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by a wearable device, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the user is not driving a vehicle include: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the image data indicates that the user is not sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle.

[0256] Clause 142. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 136 to 141, wherein the wearable device includes: a smart watch, a smart ring, a fitness tracker, or smart glasses.

[0257] Clause 143. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 135 to 142, further including: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: receive a notification to initiate collision detection from the user equipment of the driver of the vehicle.

[0258] Clause 144. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 135 to 143, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the user is not driving a vehicle include: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: determine that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle.

[0259] Clause 145. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 143 to 144, wherein determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle is based on information from an application installed on the UE that is associated with the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle.

[0260] Clause 146. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 143 to 145, wherein determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle is based on the selected traffic type in a navigation application.

[0261] Clause 147. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 135 to 146, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to determine that the user is not driving a vehicle include: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: send a request to the vehicle to report whether the UE is associated with a driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle; and receive a notification from the vehicle that the UE is not associated with the driver profile pre-configured for the vehicle.

[0262] Clause 148. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 135 to 147, wherein determining that the user is not driving a vehicle is made in response to determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0263] Clause 149. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 135 to 147, wherein determining that the user is not driving the vehicle is made before determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold.

[0264] Clause 150. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 135 to 149, further comprising: computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to: based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, enable a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE, wherein the do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE is disabled based on determining that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle.

[0265] Clause 151. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user of the UE; determine, based on the sensor data, that the user is in an impaired physical state; detect that the user is entering or about to enter a vehicle; and send a notification indicating that the user is in an impaired physical state to the vehicle, causing a driver monitoring system (DMS) of the vehicle to prevent the user from driving the vehicle.

[0266] Clause 152. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 151, wherein the impaired physical state includes: being drunk, having an irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, or any combination thereof.

[0267] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different technologies and methods can be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0268] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the above has been generally described in terms of the functionality of various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0269] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (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.

[0270] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. A software module may 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 the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0271] In one or more example aspects, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. 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. The storage media may be any available media that is accessible 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, 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. Additionally, 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. Disk and optical disks as used herein include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disk where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0272] Although the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims according to aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Moreover, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless expressly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment UE, comprising: Receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE; Determining, based on the sensor data, that the user is driving a vehicle; And Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, enabling a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and Determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the sensor data includes: determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Receiving steering angle information from the vehicle, Wherein, determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: Determining that the user's motion is not always consistent with the steering angle information; And Providing a notification to the user to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein Determining that the user is driving a vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: A crowdsourced database of motion patterns, The user's motion pattern history, A database of steering wheel sizes, or Any combination thereof.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and Determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the sensor data includes: determining that the image data indicates that the user is sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle has stopped, preventing interaction with the user of the UE; And Based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle is moving, permitting interaction with the user of the UE.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The user interaction includes: Making a call, Receiving a call, Receiving a notification, Receiving a text message, Sending a text message, or Any combination thereof.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, disabling other personal devices associated with the user and located in the vehicle; Or Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, disabling one or more functions, applications, or both on the other personal devices.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, enabling collision detection.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Notifying nearby user devices to enable collision detection.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determining that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle; And Based on determining that the user is not driving the vehicle, disabling the do-not-disturb while driving mode.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The method further includes receiving sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user, wherein the sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and determining that the user is not driving the vehicle includes: determining that the image data indicates that the user is not sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein, Determining that the user is not driving the vehicle includes: determining that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle, and wherein: determining that the user is in the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle is based on information from an application installed on the UE associated with the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle, or determining that the user is in the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle is based on a traffic type selected in a navigation application.

15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: enabling a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, wherein the do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE is disabled based on determining that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle.

16. A user equipment (UE) comprising: 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: receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with a user of the UE via the at least one transceiver; determine based on the sensor data that the user is driving a vehicle; and enable a do-not-disturb while driving mode of the UE based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle.

17. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: the sensor data includes motion sensor data obtained by the wearable device, and the at least one processor being configured to determine based on the sensor data that the user is driving the vehicle includes: the at least one processor being configured to determine that the user is driving the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle.

18. The UE according to claim 17, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to: receive steering angle information from the vehicle via the at least one transceiver, wherein determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is further based on the steering angle information.

19. The UE according to claim 18, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: determine that the user's motion is not always consistent with the steering angle information; and provide a notification to the user reminding the user to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

20. The UE according to claim 17, wherein, Determining that the user is driving the vehicle based on the motion sensor data indicating that the user's motion is consistent with turning the steering wheel of the vehicle is based on: a crowdsourced database of motion patterns, the user's motion pattern history, a database of steering wheel sizes, or any combination thereof.

21. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: the sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and The at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is driving the vehicle based on the sensor data, including: the at least one processor is configured to determine that the image data indicates that the user is sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

22. The UE according to claim 16, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle has stopped, block user interaction with the UE; and Based on the sensor data indicating that the vehicle is moving, permit user interaction with the UE.

23. The UE according to claim 22, wherein The user interaction includes: Making a call, Receiving a call via the at least one transceiver, Receiving a notification via the at least one transceiver, Receiving a short message via the at least one transceiver, Sending a short message via the at least one transceiver, or Any combination thereof.

24. The UE according to claim 16, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, disable other personal devices associated with the user and located in the vehicle; or Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, disable one or more functions, applications, or both on the other personal devices.

25. The UE according to claim 16, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on determining that the user is driving the vehicle, enable collision detection.

26. The UE according to claim 25, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: Notify nearby user devices to enable collision detection.

27. The UE according to claim 16, wherein The at least one processor is further configured to: Determine that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle; and Based on determining that the user is not driving the vehicle, disable the do not disturb while driving mode.

28. The UE according to claim 27, wherein: Receive sensor data from a wearable device associated with the user via the at least one transceiver, The sensor data includes image data captured by the wearable device, and The at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is not driving the vehicle, including: the at least one processor is configured to determine that the image data indicates that the user is not sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

29. The UE according to claim 27, wherein, The at least one processor is configured to determine that the user is not driving the vehicle, including: the at least one processor is configured to perform the following operations: Determine that the user is in a public transportation vehicle or a carpool vehicle, and wherein: Determine that the user is in the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle based on information from an application installed on the UE associated with the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle, or Determine that the user is in the public transportation vehicle or the carpool vehicle based on the traffic type selected in the navigation application.

30. The UE according to claim 27, wherein, The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on determining that the UE is traveling faster than a speed threshold, enable the do not disturb while driving mode of the UE, Wherein, the do not disturb while driving mode of the UE is disabled based on determining that the user of the UE is not driving the vehicle.

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