Communication method and communication device

Abstract

An artificial intelligence task allocation method and a communication device, the method comprising: a terminal sends first information to a network device, the first information being used for indicating a computing power state of the terminal or a terminal module; and further, the terminal receives second information from the network equipment, and the second information is used for indicating the terminal to participate in the AI task supported by the computing power state. By adopting the method, the terminal can collaboratively participate in the execution of the AI task, and the execution efficiency of the AI task can be improved. And on the other hand, the terminal reports the computing power state of the terminal, so that the network equipment can indicate the terminal to participate in the AI task matched with the computing power state of the terminal, the distribution of the AI task is more reasonable, and the execution efficiency of the AI task can be further improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a method for allocating artificial intelligence tasks and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Artificial intelligence (AI) is the application of computers or machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and natural language processing. AI tasks include, but are not limited to, tasks in the fields of machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, etc. With the rapid development of AI technology, the computational volume of AI tasks is also increasing, resulting in a soaring demand for the computing power of devices, which severely restricts the application of AI.

[0003] Facing the huge computational volume and computing power requirements, how to improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks is crucial for the development of AI. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method, which can improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks by reasonably allocating AI tasks.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal (such as a modulation / demodulation (modem) chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core). The following describes this method taking the application to the terminal as an example.

[0006] In this method, the terminal sends first information to the network device, and the first information is used to indicate the computing power state of the terminal or the terminal module; further, the terminal receives second information from the network device, and the second information is used to indicate the AI tasks supported by the terminal participating in this computing power state.

[0007] By using the above method, the terminal can cooperate to participate in the execution of AI tasks, and can improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0008] On the other hand, the terminal reports its computing power state, so that the network device can instruct the terminal to participate in the AI tasks matching its computing power state, thereby making the allocation of AI tasks more reasonable and further improving the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0009] In a possible design, the computing power state includes at least one of the following: computing power accuracy, computing speed, battery power, memory state, and the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated.

[0010] Based on the above solution, the present application can further refine the computing power state and describe it in multiple different ways, so as to more accurately indicate the computing power state of the terminal or terminal module, and further improve the accuracy of AI task allocation.

[0011] In a possible design, the AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, and training data collection for the AI model.

[0012] Based on the above solution, the AI tasks in the present application can be further refined, enabling the terminal to participate in more suitable AI tasks for itself, thus enabling more accurate allocation of AI tasks.

[0013] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal receives third information from the network device, and the third information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power state.

[0014] In this way, it is possible to more reasonably and accurately allocate AI tasks, facilitating the terminal to better participate in the execution of AI tasks and improving efficiency.

[0015] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal sends fourth information to the network device, and the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

[0016] In this way, the terminal can participate in the AI task more reasonably, thereby maximizing the utilization of the computing power resources of the terminal.

[0017] In a possible design, the network device is a core network element or an access network device.

[0018] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be applied to the network side, such as an access network device on the network side, a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. Also, a core network element on the network side, a module in the core network element (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the core network element. Hereinafter, an example will be given with this method applied to a network device, and the network device can be a core network element or an access network device.

[0019] In this method, the network device receives first information from the terminal, and the first information is used to indicate the computing power state of the terminal or terminal module; further, the network device sends second information to the terminal, and the second information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in the AI task supported by this computing power state.

[0020] Using the above method, the terminal can participate in the execution of AI tasks collaboratively, which can improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0021] On the other hand, the terminal reports its computing power status, enabling the network device to instruct the terminal to participate in AI tasks that match its computing power status, thereby making the allocation of AI tasks more reasonable and further improving the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0022] In a possible design, the computing power status includes at least one of the following: computing power accuracy, computing speed, power, memory status, and the number of AI model parameters that can be computed.

[0023] Based on the above solution, the present application can further refine the computing power status and describe it in multiple different ways, so as to more accurately indicate the computing power status of the terminal or terminal module, and further improve the accuracy of AI task allocation.

[0024] In a possible design, the AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, and training data collection for AI models.

[0025] Based on the above solution, the AI tasks in the present application can be further refined, so as to more accurately allocate AI tasks and enable the terminal to participate in AI tasks that are more suitable for itself.

[0026] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends third information to the terminal, and the third information is used to request the terminal to report its computing power status.

[0027] In this way, the allocation of AI tasks can be more reasonable and accurate, facilitating the terminal to better participate in the execution of AI tasks and improving the efficiency.

[0028] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device sends fifth information to the server, and the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task.

[0029] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receives fourth information from the terminal, and the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

[0030] In this way, the terminal can participate in AI tasks more reasonably, thereby maximizing the utilization of the terminal's computing power resources.

[0031] Combined with the second aspect, in some implementation manners of the second aspect, when the fourth information indicates that the terminal participates in the AI task, the method further includes: the network device sends fifth information to the server, and the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task.

[0032] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which has the functions of implementing the first aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the operations involved in the first aspect above. Specifically, the modules, units, or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which has the functions of implementing the second aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the operations involved in the second aspect above. Specifically, the modules, units, or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory is used to store part or all of the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the first aspect above. The one or more processors can execute the computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the methods in any possible design or implementation manner in the first aspect above. The interface circuit is used to implement the communication function within the communication device and / or the communication function between the communication device and other devices or components.

[0035] In a possible design, the processor is used to communicate with other devices or components through the interface circuit.

[0036] In a possible design, the communication device may further include the memory.

[0037] The above communication device may be a terminal, or a communication module in the terminal, or a chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or an SoC or SIP chip including a modem module.

[0038] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory is used to store part or all of the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the second aspect above. The one or more processors can execute the computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the methods in any possible design or implementation manner in the second aspect above. The interface circuit is used to implement the communication function within the communication device and / or the communication function between the communication device and other devices or components.

[0039] In a possible design, the processor is used to communicate with other devices or components through the interface circuit.

[0040] In a possible design, the communication device may further include the memory.

[0041] The above communication device may be an access network device, or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The above communication device may also be a core network element, or a module in the core network element (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the core network element.

[0042] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include the communication devices in the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-readable instructions are stored. When a computer reads and executes the computer-readable instructions, the computer is caused to execute the method in any possible design of the first aspect to the second aspect above.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer is caused to execute the method in any possible design of the first aspect to the second aspect above.

[0045] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the above third aspect to the ninth aspect can refer to the first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manners thereof, which will not be elaborated herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0047] Figures 2 - 4 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by the present application.

[0049] Figure 6 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0050] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal 1000 provided by the embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0051] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0052] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0053] As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (such as 120a - 120j in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, for example, wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1 ) etc. The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wiredly. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 may be different physical devices respectively, or the same physical device integrating the core network logic function and the radio access network logic function.

[0054] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), for example, the 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, or an evolved system for the future (such as the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system integrating two or more of the above systems.

[0055] The RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as an access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, etc., constitutes a part of the communication system to help the terminal achieve wireless access. The multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 10 may be of the same type of node or different types of nodes. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative, for example, Figure 1The intermediate network element 120i can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminals 120j that access the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. The RAN nodes 110 and the terminals 120 are sometimes both referred to as communication devices, for example Figure 1 The intermediate network elements 110a and 110b in the figure can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, and the network elements 120a - 120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions

[0056] In a possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in the figure), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110b in the figure), a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or in - vehicle equipment, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle - to - everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). A communication module, circuit or chip for performing corresponding communication functions can also be provided in the RAN node. Program instructions for performing corresponding communication functions and corresponding program instructions can also be configured in the RAN node. The RAN node in this application can also be a logical node, logical module or software that can implement all or part of the RAN node functions

[0057] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement partial functions of a base station. For example, the RAN nodes may be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU may be separately provided, or may also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0058] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU may also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP may also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP may also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU may also be referred to as an O-RU. For the convenience of description, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used as examples in this application. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0059] The terminal 120 can be a device or module that accesses the above communication system and has corresponding communication functions. The terminal can also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely applied to various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, transportation vehicle with wireless communication function, communication module, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal. Usually, a communication module, circuit or chip for executing corresponding communication functions is provided in the terminal. Program instructions for executing corresponding communication functions can also be configured in the terminal.

[0060] It can be understood that Figure 1 This is only an example and does not constitute any limitation to the protection scope of the present application. The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application may also involve Figure 1 network elements not shown in, and of course, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application may also only include Figure 1 the network elements shown.

[0061] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0062] As Figure 2 shown, the communication system may include a server, a data network (DN), a core network, an access network device, and a terminal. Among them, the core network includes a network open element, an application element, a policy control element, a session management element, an access management element, a user plane element, etc. Figure 2 The communication system shown can also be referred to as a server-network-terminal architecture. The following will separately describe each part involved in this communication system.

[0063] (1) The introduction of the access network device and the terminal can refer to the above. Among them, the terminal can be a head-mounted extended reality (XR) glasses, video player, holographic projector, mobile phone, computer, robot and other devices.

[0064] (2) Data Network DN: Provides, for example, carrier services, Internet access, or third-party services.

[0065] (3) Server: Implements video source encoding, rendering, etc.

[0066] (4) Core Network: Refers to the devices in the core network (CN) that provide service support for terminals. The core network is used to complete three major functions: registration, connection, and session management. Currently, some examples of core network devices are: application network element, network exposure network element, policy control network element, session management network element, access management network element, and user plane network element, etc. These network elements in the core network will be described in detail below.

[0067] Application Network Element: In a 5G communication system, this application network element can be an Application Function (AF) network element, representing the application functions of third parties or carriers. It is the interface for the 5G network to obtain external application data and is mainly used to transfer the requirements of the application side to the network side.

[0068] Network Exposure Network Element: In a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, this network exposure network element can be a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) network element. In a 5G communication system, this network exposure network element can be a Network Element Function (NEF) network element, mainly used to expose the services and capabilities of 3GPP network functions to the AF, and at the same time, it can also allow the AF to provide information to 3GPP network functions.

[0069] Session Management Network Element: Mainly used for session management, allocation and management of the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of terminals, selection of manageable user plane functions, termination of the endpoints of policy control and charging function interfaces, and notification of downlink data, etc. In an LTE communication system, this session management network element can be a Serving Gateway Control Plane (SGW-C) or a Packet Data Network Gateway Control Plane (PGW-C) or a network element that combines SGW-C and PGW-C. In a 5G communication system, this session management network element can be a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, which completes terminal IP address allocation, UPF selection, and charging and QoS policy control, etc.

[0070] Access management network element: mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc., and can be used to implement other functions of the mobility management entity (MME) function except session management. For example, functions such as lawful interception and access authorization / authentication. In the LTE communication system, this access management network element can be an MME network element. In the 5G communication system, this access management network element can be the access and mobility management function (AMF), which mainly performs functions such as mobility management and access authentication / authorization. In addition, it is also responsible for transmitting user policies between the terminal and the policy control function (PCF) network element.

[0071] Policy control network element: includes functions such as user subscription data management, policy control, charging policy control, and quality of service (QoS) control, etc., which is a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior and provides policy rule information for control plane function network elements (such as AMF, SMF network elements, etc.). In the LTE communication system, this policy control network element can be the policy control and charging function (PCRF). In the 5G communication system, this policy control network element can be the PCF network element. In the 5G communication system, this application network element can be the network slice selection function (NSSF) network element.

[0072] User plane network element: as an interface to the data network, it completes functions such as user plane data forwarding, session / flow-level charging statistics, and bandwidth limitation. That is, packet routing and forwarding and quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, etc. In the LTE communication system, this user plane network element can be the serving gateway user plane (SGW-U) or the packet data network gateway user plane (PGW-U) or a network element that combines SGW-U and PGW-U. In the 5G communication system, this user plane network element can be the user plane function (UPF) network element.

[0073] Such as Figure 2As shown in the figure, in the core network, the application network element and the network exposure network element are connected through the N33 interface, the application network element and the policy control network element are connected through the N5 interface, the policy control network element and the session management network element are connected through the N7 interface, the session management network element and the access management network element are connected through the N11 interface, the session management network element and the user plane network element are connected through the N4 interface, and the user plane network element and the data network are connected through the N6 interface. In Figure 2 In the communication system shown, the data network may include a server. The data network or the server is connected to the user plane network element through the N6 interface. The user plane network element is connected to the access network device through the N3 interface, and the access network device is connected to the terminal through the Uu interface.

[0074] In future communication systems, such as 6G communication systems, the above-mentioned network elements or devices may still use their names in 4G or 5G communication systems, or they may have other names. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The functions of the above-mentioned network elements or devices can be completed by an independent network element or jointly completed by several network elements. In actual deployment, the network elements in the core network can be deployed on the same or different physical devices. For example, as a possible deployment, the AMF and the SMF can be deployed on the same physical device. Another example is that the network elements of the 5G core network can be deployed on the same physical device as the network elements of the 4G core network. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0075] In addition, the above interface names are only examples, and the present application does not limit this.

[0076] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0077] As Figure 3 shown, the communication system includes Terminal #1, Access Network Device #1, User Plane Network Element, Access Network Device #2, and Terminal #2. This communication system can also be referred to as a terminal-terminal communication network. For example, in the tactile Internet, Terminal #1 is the interface between the main domain tactile user and the artificial system, and Terminal #2 is the remotely controlled robot or remote operator in the controlled domain. The main domain receives audio / video feedback signals from the controlled domain. With the help of various commands and feedback signals, the main domain and the controlled domain are connected through a bidirectional communication link on the network domain, thus forming a global control loop. Figure 3 The communication system shown can also be referred to as a terminal-network-terminal architecture.

[0078] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0079] As Figure 4As shown in the figure, the communication system includes a server, a fixed network, a WiFi router (alternatively, a WiFi access point; or a set-top box), and a terminal. The cloud server will transmit large amounts of media data (e.g., XR data) or ordinary video data to the terminal via the fixed network and the WiFi router. Figure 4 The communication system shown can also be referred to as a WiFi architecture.

[0080] It should be understood that Figures 1 - 4 the architecture of the communication system shown above is only an example, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any network architecture capable of implementing the functions of each of the above network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0081] Artificial intelligence (AI) is the application of a computer or machine to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and natural language processing. AI tasks include, but are not limited to, tasks in the fields of machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, etc.

[0082] The scale of AI tasks can be reflected by AI models. In recent years, AI models represented by Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) have played a positive role in boosting generative AI with their outstanding natural language and multimodal understanding capabilities. However, these AI models, due to their huge number of parameters and training data, have led to a soaring demand for computing power. In other words, the computational volume of AI tasks is getting larger and the required computing power is getting higher, which severely restricts the application and development of AI.

[0083] With the continuous development of science and technology, terminals also have a certain computing power and can afford a certain amount of AI computing. Therefore, different nodes in the communication system, such as terminals, can also participate in the execution of AI tasks to improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0084] When different nodes in the communication system participate in the execution of AI tasks, how to reasonably allocate AI tasks will affect the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0085] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method that can improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks by reasonably allocating AI tasks.

[0086] The communication method and apparatus provided in this application will be further introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It can be understood that in this application, a network device, a terminal, and a server are used as examples of the execution entities of this interaction schematic, but this application does not limit the execution entities of the interaction schematic. For example, the method executed by the network device in this application can also be implemented by a module (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the network device, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network functions; the method executed by the terminal in this application can also be implemented by a communication module in the terminal or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or an SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip); the method executed by the server in this application can also be implemented by a module (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the server, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the server.

[0087] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in this application. As Figure 5 shown, the method 500 may include the following steps.

[0088] S510, the terminal sends a first piece of information to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the first piece of information.

[0089] Among them, the first piece of information is used to indicate the computing power state of the terminal or the terminal module, and the first piece of information may also be referred to as a reporting message.

[0090] The first piece of information may indicate the computing power state of the terminal or the computing power state of the terminal module in the terminal. The terminal module may be a communication module in the terminal or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal, where the chip may be a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or an SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip.

[0091] Computing power refers to the amount of data that a computer or other computing device can process or the number of computing tasks that can be completed within a certain period of time. Computing power is usually used to describe the performance of a computer or other computing device, and it is an important indicator to measure the processing ability of a computing device. Computing power can be measured in various ways, such as computing speed, computing energy consumption, computing accuracy, parallelism, etc. In this application, the computing power state includes at least one of the following: computing accuracy, computing speed, battery power, memory state, and the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated.

[0092] It should be understood that the computing power state can be divided into a basic computing state (BCS) and a real-time computing state (RCS). The basic computing state reflects the inherent computing power level of the terminal or terminal module. For example, computing power precision, computing speed, etc. The real-time computing state reflects the computing power level that continuously changes according to the usage state of the terminal. For example, battery power, memory state, the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated, etc. These computing power states are briefly described below.

[0093] (1) Computing power precision (precision) can also be called the number of precision digits or computing precision. It refers to the highest-digit computing precision supported by the terminal or terminal module, which is the inherent computing power level of the terminal or terminal module. Computing power precision can include integer (INT), half-precision, single-precision, double-precision, etc. Among them, integer can be divided into 8-bit integer (INT 8), 4-bit integer (INT 4), 2-bit integer (INT 2), etc. Half-precision refers to 16-bit floating-point number (Float 16), single-precision refers to 32-bit floating-point number (Float 32), and double-precision refers to 64-bit floating-point number (double 64).

[0094] As an example, the computing power precision can be represented by a field of 1bit, 2bit, or 3bit. For example, if the field is 2 bits, the mapping relationship between its values and the computing power precision is shown in Table 1.

[0095] Table 1

[0096] Field value 00 01 10 11 Computing power precision Integer type Half precision Single precision Double precision

[0097] It should be understood that the mapping relationship in Table 1 is only an example, and the computing power precision can also be indicated by more or fewer bits. For example, the number of bits can be increased to represent the computing power precision of INT4 and INT2 types.

[0098] (2) Computing speed, which refers to the level of the computing speed supported by the terminal or terminal module. This level can be the maximum value, or it can be the average value or the minimum value. For example, the computing speed refers to the maximum value of the computing speed supported by the terminal or terminal module. At this time, the computing speed can also be called the computing-bound.

[0099] Exemplarily, the unit of computing speed can be the number of floating-point operations per second (TFLOPS), or the number of teraoperations per second (TOPS), instructions per second (IPS), transaction per second (TPS), etc., or other units.

[0100] For reference, the computing speed of some mobile terminals can reach up to 15 TOPs at most, the computing speed of some notebooks with a precision of Float16 can reach 2 TFLOP, and the computing speed of some graphics cards can reach 256 TFLOPS or 460 TFLOPS.

[0101] As an example, the computing speed can be represented by a field of 1 bit, 2 bits, or 3 bits. For example, if the field is 2 bits, the mapping relationship between its values and the computing speed is shown in Table 2.

[0102] Table 2

[0103]

[0104] It should be understood that the mapping relationship in Table 2 is only an example, and the computing power precision can also be indicated by more or fewer bits, or other units.

[0105] (3) The power reflects the energy consumption status of the terminal. The power can be expressed as the percentage of the remaining power or the percentage of the used power.

[0106] As an example, the power can be represented by a field of 1 bit, 2 bits, or 3 bits. For example, if the field is 2 bits, the mapping relationship between its values and the power is shown in Table 3.

[0107] Table 3

[0108] Field value 00 01 10 11 Battery level <30％ 30％～60％ 60％～80％ >80％

[0109] It should be understood that the ratio in Table 3 can represent the ratio of the remaining power. The mapping relationship in Table 3 is only an example, and the power can also be indicated by more or fewer bits, or in other ways.

[0110] (4) The memory status can also be referred to as the memory situation, which refers to the usage of the storage units in the terminal and can be represented by the occupation rate of the storage units or the remaining rate of the storage units.

[0111] In this application, the storage unit can be implemented by a memory. For the description of the memory, reference can be made to the description in the subsequent device embodiments of this application.

[0112] As an example, the memory state can be represented as a field of 1 bit, 2 bits, or 3 bits. For example, if the field is 2 bits, the mapping relationship between its values and the memory state is shown in Table 4.

[0113] Table 4

[0114] Value 00 01 10 11 Memory status <30％ 30％～60％ 60％～80％ >80％

[0115] It should be understood that the ratios in Table 4 can represent the occupancy rate of the memory. The mapping relationship in Table 4 is only an example, and the memory state can also be indicated by more or fewer bits, or in other ways.

[0116] (5) The number of AI model parameters that can be calculated, which reflects the scale of the AI model parameters that the terminal or terminal module can infer and calculate. Among them, the model parameters can include weight parameters, bias parameters, normalization coefficients, activation parameters, etc. The number of AI model parameters can also be referred to as the number of neural network model parameters. The number of AI model parameters that can be calculated can also be referred to as the computing power level.

[0117] Among them, the number of AI model parameters that the terminal or terminal module can calculate is related to the real-time state of the terminal. The terminal can determine the number of AI model parameters that it can calculate according to real-time states such as battery power and memory state.

[0118] As an example, the unit of the number of AI model parameters can be million (M) or billion (B). According to the number of AI model parameters, AI models can be divided into shallow models, small models, and large models.

[0119] It should be understood that the above classification method is only an example, and there is no fixed standard for the classification of AI models. The classification can be made with reference to the number of AI model parameters that the terminal can calculate.

[0120] Among them, the terminal can indicate the number of AI model parameters that it can calculate to the network device in the following two ways.

[0121] Method 1: The terminal directly indicates the number of AI model parameters that it can calculate.

[0122] As an example, the number of AI model parameters that the terminal or terminal module can calculate can be represented as a field of 1 to 4 bits. For example, if the field is 2 bits, the mapping relationship between its values and the number of AI model parameters is as follows, shown in Table 5.

[0123] Table 5

[0124]

[0125] It should be understood that the mapping relationship in Table 5 is only an example, and the number of AI model parameters can also be indicated by more or fewer bits.

[0126] In the second method, the network device indicates the number of AI model parameters to the terminal, and the terminal indicates whether it can calculate the AI model parameters of this order of magnitude by feedback of yes or no.

[0127] As an example, the network device can use a 1-4 bit field to indicate the number of AI model parameters to be calculated. For example, if this field is 2 bits, its value and the number of AI model parameters have the mapping relationship shown in Table 5. The terminal can feedback whether it can calculate the AI model parameters of this order of magnitude through a 1-bit field, and the value of this field and the number of AI model parameters that the terminal or terminal module can calculate have the mapping relationship shown in Table 6.

[0128] Table 6

[0129]

[0130] It should be understood that the mapping relationship in Table 6 is only an example. The terminal can also not feedback, which means that the terminal does not participate in the calculation of AI model parameters.

[0131] S520, the network device sends the second information to the terminal, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the second information.

[0132] Among them, the second information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in the AI task supported by this computing power state. The second information can also be called task indication information.

[0133] In this application, the AI task supported by the computing power state can be understood as: this computing power state supports the execution of this AI task, or in other words, the AI task that matches this computing power state, or the AI task that this computing power state can execute, that is, this AI task requires this level of computing power state to be able to execute.

[0134] In other words, the network device can determine the second information according to the first information.

[0135] Among them, AI tasks include but are not limited to tasks in the fields of machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, etc. These tasks include classification, regression, clustering, sequence generation, reinforcement learning, etc. To implement the above tasks, processes such as data collection, model training, model inference, and model testing are required. In this application, the AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, and training data collection of the AI model. The following is a simple description of these AI tasks.

[0136] (1) AI-based data transmission, also known as neural network-based transmission. AI-based model transmission is a data transmission method that relies on the feature extraction and restoration of the AI network, or rather, on the feature encoding and decoding process of the AI network. AI-based data transmission can be understood as the process of AI model inference.

[0137] Specifically, traditional video coding methods rely on complex hand-designed algorithms and are difficult to effectively utilize the complex correlations between pixel blocks within and between video frames. Neural video coding (NVC) is a video coding method based on neural networks. NVC uses a neural network model to learn video coding features and compression methods. First, it preprocesses and extracts features from the video sequence, then uses the neural network to learn the representation of these features and performs lossy or lossless compression. Compared with traditional hand-designed coding schemes, NVC has powerful non-linear coding capabilities, can effectively extract video features, and improve video compression capabilities. AI-based data transmission refers to first encoding the data to be transmitted based on NVC and then transmitting the encoded data.

[0138] (2) AI model parameter training refers to adjusting the parameters in the model by using known data to generate a model that can solve specific problems. The goal of training is to maximize the accuracy of the model's prediction or classification. The training process can be understood as an iterative process. AI model parameter training can be understood as AI model training or neural network model training.

[0139] (3) Collection of training data for the AI model: refers to collecting the data required for AI model parameter training. Training data is also called perceptual data.

[0140] It should be understood that the relationship between computing power and AI is close because AI usually requires a large amount of computing power for training, inference, etc. In this application, the network device can determine the corresponding AI task according to the computing power status reported by the terminal, so that the terminal can participate in the AI task that matches its computing power status.

[0141] Specifically, when the computing power status of the terminal is at a relatively high level, it can perform a certain degree of computational inference and can implement AI-based encoding and decoding. At this time, the network device can instruct the terminal device to participate in AI-based data transmission. When the computing power status of the terminal reaches the level where it can participate in model parameter training, the network device can instruct the terminal to participate in AI model parameter training. When the network device has a need for data collection and the channel transmission status is good, if the network device determines that the terminal has sufficient power according to the computing power status, the network device can instruct the terminal to participate in the collection of training data.

[0142] As an example, when the computing power precision is INT8, the computing speed is 100 FLOPS, the battery power is 90%, the memory status is 40%, and the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated < 10M, the AI task can be training data collection or model inference.

[0143] As another example, when the computing power precision is Float32, the computing speed is 30 FLOPS, the battery power is 90%, the memory status is 40%, and the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated < 10M, the AI task can be training data collection, AI-based data transmission, or AI model parameter training.

[0144] It should be understood that the AI task that the network device instructs the terminal to participate in can be one or multiple. For example, the network device can instruct the terminal to participate in AI model parameter training and training data collection.

[0145] Optionally, the AI tasks that the network device instructs the terminal to participate in can also include AI model inference, AI model testing, etc.

[0146] In addition, in addition to instructing the terminal to participate in AI tasks, the network device can also instruct the terminal to participate in non-AI tasks. For example, instruct the terminal to perform conventional transmission, instruct the terminal not to participate in training, instruct the terminal not to perform training data collection, etc. By conventional transmission, it means encoding the data to be transmitted based on traditional video coding methods and then transmitting the encoded data, or transmitting the content according to the existing transmission protocol.

[0147] The second information can be multiple cells. For example, if the AI tasks are divided into 3 categories, the second information can be three cells, each cell being 1 bit, and each cell corresponding to an AI task, used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task. Specifically, as shown in Table 7.

[0148] Table 7

[0149] Value 0 1 Task 1 Conventional transmission AI - based data transmission Task 2 No requirement AI model parameter training Task 3 No requirement Collection of training data for AI models

[0150] Based on the above solution, the terminal can cooperate to participate in the execution of AI tasks, which can improve the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0151] On the other hand, the terminal can report its computing power status, so that the network device can instruct the terminal to participate in the AI tasks supported by the computing power status, thereby making the allocation of AI tasks more reasonable and further improving the execution efficiency of AI tasks.

[0152] Furthermore, there is a trend of cloud-edge joint deployment of AI models. Letting the terminal cooperate to participate in the execution of AI tasks can achieve a more reasonable deployment of AI models.

[0153] Optionally, the method 500 further includes: S501, the network device sends third information to the terminal, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the third information.

[0154] Among them, the third information is used to request the terminal to report its computing power status. The third information can also be referred to as a request message.

[0155] Specifically, the network device can determine whether the terminal needs to participate in the AI task. When needed, it requests the terminal to report its computing power status through the third information, so as to determine the AI task that matches the computing power status.

[0156] In this way, the AI tasks can be allocated more reasonably and accurately, facilitating the terminal to better participate in the execution of AI tasks and improving efficiency.

[0157] Exemplarily, the third information can be 1 bit, and its values of 0 and 1 are respectively used to indicate whether the terminal needs to report computing power information.

[0158] Optionally, as an implementation, in S510, if the terminal feeds back the number of AI model parameters it can calculate through the aforementioned method 2, the network device can indicate the number of AI model parameters to the terminal through the third information. For example, the third information is 2 bits, and these 2 bits indicate the number of AI model parameters to be calculated by the network device (the mapping relationship is shown in Table 5), and these 2 bits also indicate that the terminal reports computing power information.

[0159] Optionally, the method 500 further includes: S530, the terminal sends fourth information to the network device, and correspondingly, the network device receives the fourth information.

[0160] Among them, the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task. The fourth information can also be referred to as a response message.

[0161] Specifically, the terminal can determine whether to participate in the AI task indicated by the network device according to its current computing power status, and indicate it to the network device through the fourth information.

[0162] It should be understood that after the terminal reports its computing power status, the computing power status of the terminal may change. Therefore, when the terminal receives the second information, if the current computing power status of the terminal cannot execute the AI task indicated by the second information, then the terminal can indicate to the network device through the fourth information that it does not participate in the AI task. If the current computing power status of the terminal can still execute the AI task indicated by the second information, then the terminal can indicate to the network device through the fourth information that it participates in the AI task.

[0163] In this way, the terminal can participate in the AI task more reasonably, thereby maximizing the utilization of the terminal's computing power resources.

[0164] Exemplarily, when the second information includes 3 cells, the fourth information may also be 3 bits, with each bit corresponding to an AI task, indicating whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

[0165] Optionally, S530 may not be executed, that is, by default, the terminal receives the indication of the network device and participates in the AI task determined by the network device.

[0166] In this way, resources can be saved and overhead can be reduced.

[0167] Optionally, the method 500 includes: S540, the network device sends the fifth information to the server, and correspondingly, the application server receives the fifth information.

[0168] Among them, the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task. The fifth information may also be referred to as notification information.

[0169] Specifically, the network device may notify the server of the AI tasks that the terminal will participate in, so that the server can implement the scheduling and allocation of AI tasks for different users.

[0170] In this application, the server may refer to an application server (AS).

[0171] Specifically, there are two cases for the implementation manners of S530 and S540:

[0172] Case 1: S530 is not executed and S540 is executed. Specifically, after S520, the terminal will participate in the AI task according to the indication of the second information without feedback on whether to participate in the AI task (that is, S530 is not executed). At this time, the network device will notify the server of the AI tasks that the terminal participates in (that is, S540 is executed).

[0173] Case 2: S530 is executed, and when the fourth information indicates that the terminal participates in the AI task, S540 is executed. Specifically, after S520, the terminal needs to feedback on whether to participate in the AI task (that is, S530 is executed). According to the feedback of the terminal, when the terminal participates in the AI task, the network device will notify the server of the AI tasks that the terminal participates in (that is, S540 is executed). If the terminal feedbacks that it does not participate in the AI task indicated by the network device, then the network device will not notify the server of the AI task (that is, S540 is not executed).

[0174] As an implementation manner, the network device is an access network device.

[0175] In this implementation manner, the first information can be carried in uplink control information (UCI), user assistant information (UAI) in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or media access control control element (MAC CE). Similarly, the fourth information can also be carried in UCI, UAI, or MAC CE.

[0176] In this implementation manner, the second information can be carried in downlink control information (DCI), RRC signaling, or MAC CE. Similarly, the third information can be carried in DCI, RRC signaling, or MAC CE.

[0177] It should be understood that in this implementation manner, the access network device can communicate with the server through the core network element.

[0178] As another implementation manner, the network device is a core network element.

[0179] For example, the core network element is an access management network element, and the first information can be carried in non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. Similarly, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information can also be carried in NAS signaling.

[0180] Another example is that the core network element is a newly added network element, such as a computing network element, which is used to execute AI tasks and can also allocate some AI tasks to the terminal according to the computing power status of the terminal.

[0181] It should be understood that in this implementation manner, the core network element can communicate with the terminal through the access network device.

[0182] It should be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, if there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0183] It should also be understood that in some of the above embodiments, devices in the existing network architecture are mainly used as examples for illustrative purposes (such as network devices, terminal devices, etc.). It should be understood that the specific forms of the devices are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0184] It can be understood that, in each of the above method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by a device (such as a network device or a terminal device) can also be implemented by components of the device (such as a chip or a circuit).

[0185] In this application, "sending information" can be understood as a device sending information to another device, or, it can also be understood as a logic module inside the device sending information to another logic module. For example, "a network device sends information" can be understood as the network device sending information to another device (such as a terminal), or, it can be understood as logic module 1 in the network device sending information to logic module 2 in the network device.

[0186] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as a device receiving information from another device, or, it can also be understood as a logic module inside the device receiving information from another logic module. For example, "a network device receives information" can be understood as the network device receiving information from another device (such as a terminal), or, it can be understood as logic module 1 in the network device receiving information from logic module 2 in the network device.

[0187] In addition, in this application, "sending information to... (an access network device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the access network device. It can include sending information to the access network device directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from... (an access network device)" can be understood as the source of the information being the access network device, and it can include receiving information from the access network device directly or indirectly. The information may be subjected to necessary processing (such as format change, etc.) between the source and destination of the information sending, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly, and will not be elaborated here.

[0188] Above, in combination with Figures 1 - 5 The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application has been described in detail. Below, in combination with Figures 6 - 7 The communication device provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail.

[0189] Figure 6 The possible exemplary block diagrams of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application are shown. As Figure 6 shown, the communication device 900 may include modules or units corresponding to the above method embodiments. In a possible design, the communication device 900 includes: an interface unit 903. Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a processing unit 902 and a storage unit 901 for storing device program codes and / or data. The interface unit 903 may also be referred to as a communication interface, a transceiver unit, or a communication unit.

[0190] The communication device 900 may be the terminal-side device in the above embodiments. For example, it may be a terminal, a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal.

[0191] For example, in one embodiment, the interface unit 903 is configured to: send a first piece of information to a network device, where the first piece of information is used to indicate the computing power status of the terminal or the terminal module; the interface unit 903 is further configured to: receive a second piece of information from the network device, where the second piece of information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in the AI task supported by the computing power status.

[0192] In a possible design, the computing power status includes at least one of the following: computing power accuracy, computing speed, power, memory status, and the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated.

[0193] In a possible design, the AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, and training data collection for the AI model.

[0194] In a possible design, the interface unit 903 is further configured to: receive a third piece of information from the network device, where the third piece of information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power status.

[0195] In a possible design, the interface unit 903 is further configured to: send a fourth piece of information to the network device, where the fourth piece of information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

[0196] In a possible design, the network device is a core network element or an access network device.

[0197] In a possible design, when the communication device 900 is a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, the functions of the processing unit 902 may be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor may include a modem chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a modem core. The functions of the communication unit 903 may be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0198] In a possible design, when the communication device 900 is a circuit or chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal, such as a modem chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip containing a modem core, the functions of the processing unit 902 may be implemented by a circuit system including one or more processors or processor cores in the above chip. The functions of the communication unit 903 may be implemented by an interface circuit or a data transceiver circuit on the above chip.

[0199] It should be understood that the communication device 900 may also include an AI chip. Specifically, a chip capable of running AI algorithms can be called an AI chip, or a chip with a special acceleration design for AI algorithms can be called an AI chip. The AI chip can also be referred to as an AI accelerator or a computing card, which is used to process the computing tasks in AI applications, and other non-AI computing tasks can still be responsible by the central processing unit (CPU). The AI chip can include a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), a neural processing unit (NPU), etc.

[0200] The communication device 900 may be the network-side device in the above embodiments. For example, an access network device, or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node or a logical module capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device. Another example is a core network element, or a module in the core network element (such as a circuit, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node or a logical module capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the core network element.

[0201] For example, in one embodiment, the interface unit 903 is used to: receive a first piece of information from the terminal, where the first piece of information is used to indicate the computing power state of the terminal or the terminal module; the interface unit 903 is further used to: send a second piece of information to the terminal, where the second piece of information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in the AI task supported by the computing power state.

[0202] In a possible design, the computing power state includes at least one of the following: computing power accuracy, computing speed, power, memory state, the number of AI model parameters that can be calculated.

[0203] In a possible design, the AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, collection of training data for the AI model.

[0204] In a possible design, the interface unit 903 is further used to: send a third piece of information to the terminal, where the third piece of information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power state.

[0205] In a possible design, the interface unit 903 is further configured to: send a fifth piece of information to the server, where the fifth piece of information is used to indicate an AI task.

[0206] In a possible design, the interface unit 903 is further configured to: receive a fourth piece of information from the terminal, where the fourth piece of information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

[0207] In a possible design, when the fourth piece of information indicates that the terminal participates in the AI task, the interface unit 903 is further configured to: send a fifth piece of information to the server, where the fifth piece of information is used to indicate the AI task.

[0208] In a possible design, when the communication device 900 is a network device or a communication module in a network device, the functions of the processing unit 902 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor may include a chip. The functions of the communication unit 903 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0209] It can be understood that the division of units in the above device is only a division of logical functions. One function can correspond to one functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or part of the units can be integrated into one physical entity, or distributed in different physical entities. In addition, the above functional units can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of software, or in a combination of hardware and software. Whether a certain function is executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for a specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0210] In one example, the functional units in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more ASICs, or, one or more CPUs, one or more microprocessors (microprocessor unit, MPU), one or more microcontrollers (microcontroller unit, MCU), one or more digital signal processors (digital signal processor, DSP), or, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0211] In one example, the storage unit 901 may include a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, and / or registers, etc.

[0212] Figure 7Schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal 1000 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The terminal 1000 may correspond to Figures 1 - 4 the terminal shown in Figure 7 As shown in (a) of

[0213] the terminal 1000 includes: one or more antennas 1010, a radio frequency processing system 1020, and a processor system 1030. In the downlink or sidelink direction, the radio frequency processing system 1020 receives a radio frequency signal through the antenna 1010 and sends the signal after radio frequency processing to the processor system 1030 for further processing. In the uplink or sidelink direction, the processor system 1030 processes the information on the terminal side into a signal and sends it to the radio frequency processing system 1020. The radio frequency processing system 1020 performs radio frequency processing on the signal and then sends it through the antenna 1010.

[0214] In one example, the radio frequency processing system 1020, as a communication interface for the terminal to communicate externally, may include a radio frequency front end 1021 (RF front end, RFFE) and a radio frequency transceiver 1022 (RF transceiver). The RFFE 1021 is mainly used to perform one or more of the following operations on the RF signal received by the antenna or the RF signal to be sent through the antenna: shaping, passband selection, or gain. It may include one or more of the following components: a radio frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a power amplifier, antenna tuning, and a low noise amplifier. The RFFE 1021 may be a circuit system composed of multiple discrete devices or may be integrated and packaged in one or more chips. The radio frequency transceiver 1022 is used to process the RF signal received by the RFFE into a baseband / intermediate frequency signal for the processor system 1030 to perform the next step of processing, and to process the baseband / intermediate frequency signal provided by the processor system 1030 into an RF signal to be sent to the RFFE 1021. The baseband / intermediate frequency signal transmitted between the radio frequency transceiver 1022 and the processor system 1030 may be a digital signal or an analog signal. The radio frequency transceiver 1022 may be implemented by one or more chips, which are usually referred to as radio frequency chips (RFIC).

[0215] In one example, the processor system 1030 may include one or more processors for processing signals and executing one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the processor system 1030 may further include a memory 1036. In one example, the one or more processors include at least one baseband processor 1031 (also referred to as a modem processor). The memory 1036 is used to store data and / or computer program instructions. Optionally, the processor system 1030 may further include one or more application processors 1032 for implementing the processing of the terminal operating system and the application layer. Optionally, the processor system 1030 may further include one or more of a voice subsystem 1033, a multimedia subsystem 1034, or an interface circuit 1035. Among them, the voice subsystem 1033 is used to process voice signals, the multimedia subsystem 1034 is used to process multimedia-related operations, such as video encoding and decoding, image processing, etc., and the interface circuit 1035 is used to implement communication with other terminal components, such as a display 1040, an input device 1050, a memory 1060, etc. The above components in the processor system 1030 can communicate with each other through a bus or a communication interface circuit.

[0216] In one example, the processor system 1030 can be packaged into a processor chip, such as a SoC chip or a SIP chip. In one example, the processor system 1030 can be a system composed of multiple chips. For example, the baseband processor 1031 can be individually packaged into a chip, or packaged into a chip with some or all of the circuits of the radio frequency processing system.

[0217] In one example, the memory 1036 can be on-chip memory, that is, located on the processor system 1030 chip. In one example, the memory 1060 can be off-chip memory, that is, located outside the processor system 1030 chip.

[0218] In one example, such as Figure 7As shown in (b) of [description], the baseband processor 1031 in the terminal 1000 provided by the embodiments of the present application may include: one or more processor cores 10311 and an interface circuit 10314. The one or more processor cores 10311 are used to process signals and execute one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the baseband processor 1031 may further include a memory 10312, and the memory 10312 is used to store at least part of the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data. In one example, the one or more processor cores 10311 implement the relevant operations in the above method embodiments (such as generating first information for indicating the computing power state of the terminal or the terminal module) by executing the computer program instructions stored in the memory 10312. In the present disclosure, the memory 10312 is used to store the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data, which may mean that the memory 10312 is used to store all the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data for the processor cores 10311 to execute; or it may mean that the memory 10312 is used to store part of the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data, and this part of the corresponding computer program instructions and / or data includes the computer program instructions and / or data that the processor cores 10311 currently need to execute. The memory 10312 may store different parts of computer program instructions and / or data multiple times for the processor cores 10311 to execute to implement the relevant operations in the above method embodiments. The interface circuit 10314 is used as a communication interface to implement communication with other components, such as transmitting signals with the radio frequency processing system 1020, and communicating with other subsystems and related components of the processor system 1030 through a bus, such as transmitting data control signals with the application processor 1032, and transmitting data or computer program instructions with the memory 1036 or the memory 1060. Optionally, in order to reduce the load of the processor cores, a baseband signal processing circuit 10313 may also be provided to implement at least part of the baseband signal processing work, including one or more of signal demodulation, modulation, encoding, or decoding, etc.

[0219] In one example, the communication device provided by the present application may be the terminal 1000, a communication module including the processor system 1030 and the radio frequency system 1020, the processor system 1030, or the baseband processor 1031.

[0220] The above-mentioned processor, processor system, application processor, baseband processor, processor circuit, or processor core may be collectively referred to as a processor, and the processor may include one or a combination of a CPU, a DSP, an MPU, an MCU, a GPU, an FPGA, an ASIC, an AI processor, or an NPU.

[0221] The above-mentioned memory may include one or more of the following storage media: such as random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), phase-change memory (PCM), resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), cache, register, read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), hard disk, etc. In one example, the computer program instructions for executing the above embodiments may be stored on a non-volatile memory, such as at least a part of the above-mentioned memory 1060 (such as one or more of ROM, flash memory, EPROM, or hard disk). When the terminal is running, the corresponding computer program instructions may be partially or fully loaded onto a memory with a faster transmission speed with the processor, such as at least a part of the above-mentioned memory 1036 and / or memory 10312 (such as one or more of RAM, SRAM, DRAM, PCM, RERAM, MRAM, FRAM, cache, or register), for the processor to execute to implement the steps in the above method embodiments.

[0222] In one example, the radio frequency transceiver 1022 and the radio frequency front end 1021 may also be packaged in one chip. In one example, the radio frequency transceiver 1022, the radio frequency front end 1021, and the baseband processor 1031 may also be packaged in one chip.

[0223] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by a communication device (such as a terminal or a network device) in the above method embodiments are stored.

[0224] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, including instructions, which when executed by a computer, implement the methods executed by a communication device (such as a terminal or a network device) in the above method embodiments.

[0225] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, which includes one or more of the terminal and the network device in the above embodiments.

[0226] For the explanations of the relevant content and the beneficial effects in any of the above-provided devices, reference may be made to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0227] In each of the above embodiments, "optionally, the method further includes..." can be understood that these steps can be all executed, none of them can be executed, or only some of them can be executed, and the present application is not limited.

[0228] In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary", "for example", etc. are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Exactly speaking, the use of the word "exemplary" aims to present concepts in a specific way.

[0229] It should be understood that the "embodiments" mentioned throughout the specification mean that specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner.

[0230] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution is prior or posterior, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. The names of all nodes and messages in the present application are only set by the present application for convenience of description, and the names in the actual network may be different. It should not be understood that the present application limits the names of various nodes and messages. On the contrary, any name having the same or similar function as the nodes or messages used in the present application is regarded as the method of the present application or an equivalent replacement, and is within the protection scope of the present application.

[0231] It should also be understood that in the present application, "when...", "if", "in the case of...", and "if" all refer to that in a certain objective situation, the network element will make corresponding processing, which does not limit the time, and it is not required that the network element must have a judgment action when implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations. In addition, in the present application, for the description of the above "when...", "if", "in the case of...", and "if" such conditions, it can be understood as a necessary condition, and no limitation is made on whether the condition is a sufficient condition or a sufficient and necessary condition. For example, "in the case of A, execute B" can be understood as "execute B when at least A is satisfied".

[0232] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining B according to A does not mean determining B only according to A, and B can also be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0233] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "At least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent the situations of: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "At least one of the following" or its similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural item(s). For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and "at least one of A, B, and C" can also be understood to include A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. Also, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority, or importance degree of multiple objects.

[0234] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0235] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, and the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate a device for implementing the functions specified in Figure 1 one process or multiple processes and / or blocks Figure 1 one block or multiple blocks.

[0236] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to work in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a manufacture including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more of the processes and / or blocks Figure 1 one or more of the processes and / or blocks Figure 1 specified in the block or blocks.

[0237] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, whereby the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the processes and / or blocks Figure 1 one or more of the processes and / or blocks Figure 1 specified in the block or blocks.

[0238] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to the terminal side, and the method includes: Sending first information to a network device, where the first information is used to indicate the computing power status of the terminal or a terminal module; Receiving second information from the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in an artificial intelligence (AI) task supported by the computing power status.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The computing power status includes at least one of the following: Computing power precision, computing speed, power, memory status, the number of AI model parameters that can be computed.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, collection of training data for an AI model.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving third information from the network device, where the third information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power status.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending fourth information to the network device, where the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The network device is a core network element or an access network device.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, It includes: Receiving first information from a terminal, where the first information is used to indicate the computing power status of the terminal or a terminal module; Sending second information to the terminal, where the second information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in an AI task supported by the computing power status.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The computing power status includes at least one of the following: Computing power precision, computing speed, power, memory status, the number of AI model parameters that can be computed.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, collection of training data for an AI model.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power status.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that The method further includes: Sending fifth information to a server, where the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving fourth information from the terminal, where the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein In the case where the fourth information indicates that the terminal participates in the AI task, the method further includes: Sending fifth information to a server, where the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: An interface unit, configured to send first information to a network device, where the first information is used to indicate the computing power status of the terminal or a terminal module; The interface unit is further configured to: receive second information from the network device, where the second information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in an AI task supported by the computing power status.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that, The computing power status includes at least one of the following: Computing power precision, computing speed, power, memory status, the number of AI model parameters that can be computed.

16. The device according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, collection of training data for an AI model.

17. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that, The interface unit is further configured to: Receive third information from the network device, where the third information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power status.

18. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that, The interface unit is further configured to: Send fourth information to the network device, where the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

19. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, The network device is a core network element or an access network device.

20. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes: An interface unit, configured to receive first information from a terminal, where the first information is used to indicate the computing power status of the terminal or a terminal module; The interface unit is further configured to: send second information to the terminal, where the second information is used to indicate that the terminal participates in an AI task supported by the computing power status.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that, The computing power status includes at least one of the following: Computing power precision, computing speed, power, memory status, and the number of AI model parameters that can be computed.

22. The device according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The AI task includes at least one of the following: AI-based data transmission, AI model parameter training, and training data collection for an AI model.

23. The device according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that, The interface unit is further configured to: send third information to the terminal, where the third information is used to request the terminal to report the computing power status.

24. The device according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that, The interface unit is further configured to: send fifth information to a server, where the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task.

25. The device according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that, The interface unit is further configured to: receive fourth information from the terminal, where the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal participates in the AI task.

26. The device according to claim 25, characterized in that, When the fourth information indicates that the terminal participates in the AI task, the interface unit is further configured to: send fifth information to a server, where the fifth information is used to indicate the AI task.

27. A communication device includes one or more processors, and the one or more processors are configured to cause the device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 by executing computer programs or instructions stored in a memory, or by a logic circuit.

28. A communication device includes one or more processors, and the one or more processors are configured to cause the device to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 13 by executing computer programs or instructions stored in a memory, or by a logic circuit.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer-readable storage medium stores computer programs or instructions, and when the computer programs or the instructions are run, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 7 to 13 is executed.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, Instructions are included, and when the instructions are run, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 7 to 13 is executed.

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