Sensing in power saving mode in wireless communication system

Abstract

In some wireless communication scenarios, a user equipment (UE) may perform sensing and feed back measurement data or results, and then a transmit-and-receive point (TRP) may use these measurement data or results to determine information of objects and / or conditions in the vicinity of the TRP. However, when the TRP requires the UE to perform sensing, the UE may be in a power saving mode. In some embodiments, the UE may be triggered to perform sensing in the power saving mode. Sensing may also be performed in the power saving mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to triggering sensing and performing sensing in a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] In some wireless communication systems, electronic devices such as user equipment (UE) communicate wirelessly with a network through one or more transmit-and-receive points (TRP). The TRP can be a terrestrial TRP (T-TRP) or a non-terrestrial TRP (NT-TRP). An example of a T-TRP is a fixed base station or a NodeB. An example of an NT-TRP is a TRP that can move in space to reposition, for example, a TRP installed on a drone, an aircraft, and / or a satellite, etc.

[0003] The wireless communication from the UE to the TRP is called uplink communication. The wireless communication from the TRP to the UE is called downlink communication. Performing uplink communication and downlink communication requires resources. For example, the UE can wirelessly send information to the TRP in uplink communication within a specific time period and at a specific frequency (or frequency range). Frequency and time period are examples of resources, which are usually called time-frequency resources. Other examples of resources can include resources in the spatial domain (e.g., the beams used), resources in the power domain (e.g., transmission power), etc.

[0004] The TRP may sometimes need to determine information about one or more objects and / or conditions near the TRP. For example, the TRP may need to track the position and movement direction of a target object. The TRP itself may not be able to directly determine this information. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The TRP can communicate wirelessly with one or more UEs. The UEs can perform sensing and provide measurement data or results through sensing feedback. Then, the TRP can use this measurement data or results to determine the required information about the sensed object and / or condition. For example, a UE can be located near the target object. The TRP and / or one or more UEs can each send sensing signals. The sensing signals can be electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves (e.g., in a RADAR system) or light waves (e.g., in a LiDAR system). In some embodiments, the sensing signals can be reference signals. The sensing signals may be reflected from the target object and then received by the UE. Then, each UE can send feedback based on the received sensing signals to the TRP in an uplink transmission. An example of the feedback that a UE can send to the TRP is a set of bits representing measurement data associated with the received sensing signals, such as the time the wave was received, and / or the detected energy or amplitude of the received reflected wave, and / or the angle of arrival of the received reflected wave. Another example of the feedback that a UE can send to the TRP is a set of bits representing a value derived by the UE using the received sensing signals, such as the position and / or velocity and / or direction of motion of the target object. In some embodiments, the feedback of the UE can be sent to the TRP in a sidelink transmission by other UEs acting as relays.

[0006] In some scenarios, the UE performing sensing may only need to perform sensing when requested by the TRP. The TRP can request the UE to perform sensing on demand. Thus, the UE may not know when the TRP requests it to perform sensing. When the TRP requests the UE to perform sensing, the UE may be in a power saving mode. For example, the UE and the network can operate according to the radio resource control (RRC) protocol, and when the TRP wants to instruct the UE to perform sensing, the UE may be in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The main purpose of the network to deploy the UE may be sensing, so the UE may operate in the power saving mode all the time or most of the time. For example, the UE may be a low-cost, low-power UE dedicated to sensing and providing feedback on sensing results. Even if the UE is not a low-cost, low-power UE dedicated only to sensing, the UE may still operate in the power saving mode most of the time to extend the battery life.

[0007] If the UE is in a power saving mode, e.g., RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, and the TRP wants to instruct the UE to perform sensing, the TRP may first need to page the UE to enable the UE to perform a network access procedure, e.g., enable the UE to perform initial access using the radio access channel (RACH) protocol. Then, once the connection is established (e.g., the UE is in the RRC connected state), the TRP can instruct the UE to perform sensing. However, the latency associated with the UE performing the network access procedure may be unacceptable. The TRP may need the UE to quickly provide the sensed feedback, that is, there may be only a short time window between when the TRP determines that the UE is to perform sensing and when the UE must start sensing. There may not be time to exit the power saving mode. In addition, it may be desirable to perform sensing in the power saving mode without exiting the power saving mode, for the following reasons: e.g., the UE only performs a burst of sensing and feeds back the result, rather than establishing a communication session with the network, which would require exiting the power saving mode.

[0008] Accordingly, embodiments are disclosed herein that can trigger the UE to perform sensing and perform sensing in the power saving mode. For example, the trigger condition may be included in a downlink message received by the UE in the power saving mode. In some embodiments, the downlink message including the trigger condition for activating sensing may be associated with paging. For example, the downlink message may be a paging message supplemented with an indication for triggering the UE to perform sensing. As another example, the downlink control information (DCI) scheduling the downlink message may be DCI scrambled using the paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI) (e.g., its CRC is scrambled, which applies to the following description of this application).

[0009] In one embodiment, a method performed by a device such as a UE in the power saving mode is provided. The method may include: receiving, in the power saving mode, a downlink message including an indication for triggering the device to perform sensing. In response to receiving the indication, the device may perform at least one of the following operations in the power saving mode: sending a sensing signal or receiving the sensing signal. In another embodiment, a corresponding method performed by a device (e.g., a network device such as a TRP) is provided. The method may include: sending a downlink message, where the downlink message includes an indication for triggering a device in the power saving mode to perform sensing. The method may further include: subsequently receiving, from the device in the power saving mode, the feedback obtained by the device through the sensing.

[0010] In some embodiments, the downlink message is associated with paging. For example, in some embodiments, the downlink message includes a paging message supplemented with the indication for triggering the device to perform sensing. As another example, in some embodiments, receiving the downlink message at the device may include: the device receiving DCI scrambled by an ID, where the ID is also used for paging (e.g., P-RNTI); obtaining the time-frequency position of the downlink message from the DCI; and receiving the downlink message at the time-frequency position. In some embodiments, the parameters related to sensing are configured for the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode (e.g., using high-layer signaling such as RRC signaling). In some embodiments, the parameters related to sensing are configured in the downlink message.

[0011] Technical advantages of some embodiments include that the TRP can quickly trigger one or more UEs in the power saving mode to perform sensing. In addition, depending on the implementation, the method for triggering a UE in the power saving mode to perform sensing can be incorporated into the existing paging method in the following ways: for example, supplementing the paging message with a sensing trigger condition and / or using DCI scrambled by P-RNTI to schedule the downlink message for triggering sensing. In some embodiments, the message for triggering sensing can also dynamically configure the parameters for performing sensing and / or dynamically indicate the approximate location associated with the target object, so that the UE knows the approximate direction of beam control for transmitting and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0012] The present invention also discloses corresponding apparatuses and devices for performing the methods herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Each embodiment is described by way of example only with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided by an example;

[0015] Figure 2 shows another example of a communication system;

[0016] Figure 3 shows an example of an electronic device (ED), a terrestrial transmit and receive point (T-TRP), and a non-terrestrial transmit and receive point (NT-TRP);

[0017] Figure 4Shows exemplary units or modules in a device;

[0018] Figure 5 Shows a user equipment (UE) provided by an embodiment communicating with a TRP;

[0019] Figure 6 Shows a UE provided by an embodiment performing sensing on a target object;

[0020] Figure 7 Shows the power consumption of a UE provided by an embodiment when operating in a power saving mode;

[0021] Figure 8 Shows a method performed by a TRP and a UE provided by an embodiment;

[0022] Figure 9 Shows an example of a downlink message;

[0023] Figures 10 to 14 Shows exemplary ways in which a downlink message can be sent;

[0024] Figure 15 Shows an example of an enhanced paging message;

[0025] Figure 16 Is an example of DCI indicating whether the enhanced paging message only triggers sensing, only pages for communication, or both triggers sensing and pages for communication;

[0026] Figure 17 and Figure 18 Shows a UE performing sensing provided by some embodiments;

[0027] Figure 19 Shows an example of performing multiple sensing instances;

[0028] Figure 20 Shows Figure 6 a variant of, in which, a TRP is triggered to perform sensing. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] For illustrative purposes, specific exemplary embodiments are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Exemplary communication systems and devices

[0031] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1Non-limiting illustrative examples provide a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system 100. The communication system 100 includes a radio access network (RAN) 120. The radio access network 120 can be a next-generation (e.g., sixth generation (6G) or higher) radio access network or a traditional (e.g., 5G, 4G, 3G, or 2G) radio access network. One or more communication electronic devices (EDs) 110a to 120j (generally referred to as 110) can be interconnected with each other or connected to one or more network nodes (170a and 170b, generally referred to as 170) in the radio access network 120. The core network 130 can be part of the communication system and can be dependent on or independent of the radio access technology used in the communication system 100. In addition, the communication system 100 includes a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160.

[0032] Figure 2 An exemplary communication system 100 is shown. Generally, the communication system 100 enables multiple wireless or wired units to transmit data and other content. The purpose of the communication system 100 can be to provide content such as voice, data, video, and / or text through broadcast, multicast, and unicast, etc. The communication system 100 can operate by sharing resources such as carrier spectrum bandwidth among its constituent units. The communication system 100 can include a terrestrial communication system and / or a non-terrestrial communication system. The communication system 100 can provide a variety of communication services and applications (e.g., earth monitoring, remote sensing, passive sensing and positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.). The communication system 100 can provide a high degree of availability and robustness through the joint operation of the terrestrial communication system and the non-terrestrial communication system. For example, integrating a non-terrestrial communication system (or its components) into a terrestrial communication system can result in a heterogeneous network including multiple layers. Compared with traditional communication networks, a heterogeneous network can achieve better overall performance through efficient multi-link joint operation, more flexible function sharing, and faster physical layer link switching between the terrestrial network and the non-terrestrial network.

[0033] A terrestrial communication system and a non-terrestrial communication system can be subsystems within a communication system. In the example shown, communication system 100 includes electronic devices (ED) 110a to 110d (generally referred to as ED 110), radio access networks (RAN) 120a and 120b, non-terrestrial communication network 120c (which can also be a RAN or part of a RAN), core network 130, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, Internet 150, and other networks 160. RANs 120a and 120b include respective base stations (BS) 170a and 170b, and BSs 170a and 170b can generally be referred to as terrestrial transmit and receive points (T-TRP) 170a and 170b. Non-terrestrial communication network 120c includes access node 120c, and access node 120c can generally be referred to as non-terrestrial transmit and receive point (NT-TRP) 172.

[0034] Any ED 110 can alternatively or additionally be used to connect to, access, or communicate with any other T-TRP 170a and 170b, NT-TRP 172, Internet 150, core network 130, PSTN 140, other networks 160, or any combination of the foregoing. In some examples, ED 110a can perform uplink transmission and / or downlink transmission with T-TRP 170a via interface 190a. In some examples, EDs 110a, 110b, and 110d can also communicate directly with each other via one or more sidelink air interfaces 190b. In some examples, ED 110d can perform uplink transmission and / or downlink transmission with NT-TRP 172 via interface 190c.

[0035] The air interfaces 190a and 190b may use similar communication technologies. For example, any suitable radio access technology. For example, the communication system 100 may implement one or more channel access methods in the air interfaces 190a and 190b, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA). The air interfaces 190a and 190b may utilize other high-dimensional signal spaces, which may include a combination of orthogonal and / or non-orthogonal dimensions.

[0036] The air interface 190c may implement communication between the ED 110d and one or more NT-TRPs 172 via a wireless link or a simple link. In some examples, the link is a dedicated connection for unicast transmission, a connection for broadcast transmission, or a connection between a group of EDs and one or more NT-TRPs for multicast transmission.

[0037] RANs 120a and 120b communicate with the core network 130 to provide various services to the EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c, such as voice, data, and other services. The RANs 120a and 120b and / or the core network 130 may communicate directly or indirectly with one or more other RANs (not shown), which may or may not be directly served by the core network 130 and may or may not employ the same radio access technology as the RAN 120a, the RAN 120b, or both. The core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access between (i) the RANs 120a and 120b or the EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c or both and (ii) other networks, such as the PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and other networks 160. Additionally, some or all of the EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c may include functionality for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different radio technologies and / or protocols. Instead of (or in addition to) wireless communication, the EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c may communicate with a service provider or switch (not shown) and with the Internet 150 over a wired communication channel. The PSTN 140 may include a circuit-switched telephone network for providing plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 150 may include computer networks and / or subnets (intranets) and includes protocols such as the Internet Protocol (IP), the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP). The EDs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be multimode devices capable of operating according to multiple radio access technologies and include multiple transceivers required to support such operation.

[0038] Figure 3Another example of the ED 110, base stations 170 (e.g., 170a and / or 170b), hereinafter referred to as T-TRP 170 and NT-TRP 172, is shown. The ED 110 is used to connect people, objects, machines, etc. The ED 110 can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), peer-to-peer, machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.

[0039] Each ED 110 represents any suitable end-user device for wireless operation and may include the following devices (or may be referred to as): user equipment / device (UE), wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), mobile station, fixed or mobile subscriber unit, cellular phone, station (STA), machine type communication (MTC) device, personal digital assistant (PDA), smartphone, laptop, computer, tablet, wireless sensor, consumer electronic device, smartbook, vehicle, car, truck, bus, train, or IoT device, industrial device, or a device (e.g., communication module, modem, or chip) in the above devices, etc. The next-generation ED 110 may be referred to using other terms. Each ED 110 connected to the T-TRP 170 and / or NT-TRP 172 can be dynamically or semi-statically initiated (i.e., established, activated, or enabled), closed (i.e., released, deactivated, or disabled), and / or configured in response to one or more of connection availability and connection necessity.

[0040] ED 110 includes a transmitter 201 and a receiver 203 coupled to one or more antennas 204. Only one antenna 204 is shown. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 201 and the receiver 203 may be integrated, for example, as a transceiver. The transmitter (or transceiver) is used to modulate data or other content for transmission via at least one antenna 204 or a network interface controller (NIC). The receiver (or transceiver) is used to demodulate data or other content received via at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission and / or for processing signals received wirelessly or wiredly. Each antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals.

[0041] ED 110 includes at least one memory 208. The memory 208 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by ED 110. For example, the memory 208 may store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein and executed by one or more processing units 210. Each memory 208 includes any suitable one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval devices. Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), hard disk, optical disk, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory stick, secure digital (SD) card, processor cache, etc.

[0042] ED 110 may also include one or more input / output devices (not shown) or interfaces (e.g., a wired interface connected to Figure 1 the Internet 150 in). The input / output devices support interaction with users or other devices in the network. Each input / output device includes any suitable structure for providing information to the user or receiving information from the user, such as a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen, including network interface communication.

[0043] The ED 110 also includes a processor 210 for performing operations related to uplink transmissions to be sent to the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170, operations related to processing downlink transmissions received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170, and operations related to processing sidelink transmissions sent to and received from other EDs 110. The processing operations related to preparing to send an uplink transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. The processing operations related to processing a downlink transmission may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulation, and decoding received symbols. According to an embodiment, the downlink transmission may be received by the receiver 203 using receive beamforming, and the processor 210 may extract signaling from the downlink transmission (e.g., by detecting and / or decoding the signaling). An example of the signaling may be a reference signal sent by the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 276 implements transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming according to a beam direction indication received from the T-TRP 170 (e.g., beam angle information (BAI)). In some embodiments, the processor 210 may perform operations related to network access (e.g., initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as operations related to detecting a synchronization sequence, decoding, and acquiring system information. In some embodiments, the processor 210 may perform channel estimation using, for example, a reference signal received from the NT-TRP 172 and / or the T-TRP 170.

[0044] The processor 210 may be part of the transmitter 201 and / or part of the receiver 203, but is not shown. The memory 208 may be part of the processor 210, but is not shown.

[0045] The processor 210, the processing components in the transmitter 201, and the processing components in the receiver 203 may be implemented by the same or different one or more processors respectively, which are used to execute instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 208). Alternatively, some or all of the processor 210, the processing components in the transmitter 201, and the processing components in the receiver 203 may be implemented using dedicated circuits such as a programmed field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a graphical processing unit (GPU), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0046] In some implementations, T-TRP 170 may be represented by other names. For example, base station, base transceiver station (BTS), radio base station, network node, network device, network-side device, transmit / receive node, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), home eNodeB, next-generation NodeB (gNB), transmission point (TP), site controller, access point (AP) or wireless router, relay station, terrestrial node, terrestrial network device, or terrestrial base station, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distribute unit (DU), positioning node, and so on. T-TRP 170 may be a macro BS, micro BS, relay node, donor node, etc. or a combination thereof. T-TRP 170 may refer to the above devices or the devices (e.g., communication module, modem or chip) in the above devices.

[0047] In some embodiments, the various parts of T-TRP 170 may be distributed. For example, some modules in T-TRP 170 may be remote from the device housing the antenna of T-TRP 170 and may be coupled to the device housing the antenna via a communication link (not shown), sometimes referred to as fronthaul (e.g., common public radio interface (CPRI)). Thus, in some embodiments, the term "T-TRP 170" may also refer to network-side modules that perform the following processing operations: for example, determining the location of ED 110, resource allocation (scheduling), message generation and encoding / decoding, and these modules are not necessarily part of the device housing the antenna of T-TRP 170. These modules may also be coupled to other T-TRPs. In some embodiments, T-TRP 170 may actually be multiple T-TRPs that operate together to serve ED 110 through coordinated multi-point transmission and the like.

[0048] The T-TRP 170 includes at least one transmitter 252 and at least one receiver 254 coupled to one or more antennas 256. Only one antenna 256 is shown. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 252 and the receiver 254 may be integrated as a transceiver. The T-TRP 170 further includes a processor 260 for performing operations related to the following: preparing a downlink transmission to be sent to the ED 110, processing an uplink transmission received from the ED 110, preparing a backhaul transmission to be sent to the NT-TRP 172, and processing a transmission received from the NT-TRP 172 via the backhaul. The processing operations related to preparing a downlink transmission or a backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, precoding (e.g., MIMO precoding), transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. The processing operations related to processing a received transmission in the uplink or on the backhaul may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulating, and decoding received symbols. The processor 260 may also perform operations related to network access (e.g., initial access) and / or downlink synchronization, such as generating the content of a synchronization signal block (SSB), generating system information, and so on. In some embodiments, the processor 260 also generates beam direction indications that the scheduler 253 may schedule for transmission, such as BAI. The processor 260 performs other network-side processing operations that may be described herein, such as determining the location of the ED 110, determining the location where the NT-TRP 172 is deployed, and so on. In some embodiments, the processor 260 may generate signaling to configure one or more parameters of the ED 110 and / or one or more parameters of the NT-TRP 172, and so on. Any signaling generated by the processor 260 is sent by the transmitter 252. Note that the "signaling" used herein may alternatively be referred to as control signaling. Dynamic signaling may be sent in a control channel such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), while static or semi-static high-layer signaling may be included in a data packet that is sent in a data channel such as the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0049] The scheduler 253 can be coupled to the processor 260. The scheduler 253 can be included within the T-TRP 170 or operate separately from the T-TRP 170. The scheduler 253 can schedule uplink transmissions, downlink transmissions, and / or backhaul transmissions, including issuing scheduling grants and / or configuring grant-free (“configured grant”) resources. The T-TRP 170 also includes a memory 258 for storing information and data. The memory 258 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the T-TRP 170. For example, the memory 258 can store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein and executed by the processor 260.

[0050] The processor 260 can be part of the transmitter 252 and / or part of the receiver 254, but is not shown. Additionally, the processor 260 can implement the scheduler 253, but is not shown. The memory 258 can be part of the processor 260, but is not shown.

[0051] The processing components in the processor 260, the scheduler 253, the transmitter 252, and the receiver 254 can be implemented by the same or different one or more processors respectively, which are used to execute instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 258). Alternatively, some or all of the processing components in the processor 260, the scheduler 253, the transmitter 252, and the receiver 254 can be implemented using dedicated circuits such as FPGAs, GPUs, or ASICs.

[0052] Although NT-TRP 172 is shown as a drone, this is just an example. NT-TRP 172 can be implemented using any suitable non-ground form. Additionally, NT-TRP 172 may use other names such as non-ground nodes, non-ground network devices, or non-ground base stations in some implementations. NT-TRP 172 includes a transmitter 272 and a receiver 274 coupled to one or more antennas 280. Only one antenna 280 is shown. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be panels. The transmitter 272 and the receiver 274 may be integrated as a transceiver. NT-TRP 172 also includes a processor 276 for performing operations related to: preparing a downlink transmission to be sent to ED 110, processing an uplink transmission received from ED 110, preparing a backhaul transmission to be sent to T-TRP 170, and processing a transmission received from T-TRP 170 via the backhaul. The processing operations related to preparing a downlink or backhaul transmission may include operations such as encoding, modulation, precoding (e.g., MIMO precoding), transmit beamforming, and generating symbols for transmission. The processing operations related to processing a received transmission in the uplink or backhaul may include operations such as receive beamforming, demodulating, and decoding received symbols. In some embodiments, the processor 276 implements transmit beamforming and / or receive beamforming according to beam direction information (e.g., BAI) received from T-TRP 170. In some embodiments, the processor 276 may generate signaling to configure one or more parameters of ED 110, etc. In some embodiments, NT-TRP 172 implements physical layer processing but does not implement higher layer functions, e.g., functions in the medium access control (MAC) layer or the radio link control (RLC) layer. Since this is just an example, in addition to physical layer processing, NT-TRP 172 may generally also implement higher layer functions.

[0053] NT-TRP 172 also includes a memory 278 for storing information and data. The processor 276 may be part of the transmitter 272 and / or part of the receiver 274, but is not shown. The memory 278 may be part of the processor 276, but is not shown.

[0054] The processing components in the processor 276, the transmitter 272, and the receiver 274 can be implemented by the same or different one or more processors, respectively, which are used to execute instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 278). Alternatively, some or all of the processing components in the processor 276, the transmitter 272, and the receiver 274 can be implemented using dedicated circuits such as programmed FPGAs, GPUs, or ASICs. In some embodiments, the NT-TRP 172 can actually be multiple NT-TRPs that operate together to serve the ED 110 through coordinated multi-point transmission and the like.

[0055] Note that the "TRP" used herein can refer to a T-TRP or an NT-TRP.

[0056] The T-TRP 170, the NT-TRP 172, and / or the ED 110 may include other components, but these components are omitted for clarity.

[0057] One or more steps of the exemplary methods provided herein can be performed by Figure 4 corresponding units or modules provided by, etc. Figure 4 Exemplary units or modules in a device (e.g., in the ED 110, the T-TRP 170, or the NT-TRP 172) are shown. For example, operations can be controlled by an operating system module. Also, a signal can be sent by a sending unit or a sending module. A signal can be received by a receiving unit or a receiving module. A signal can be processed by a processing unit or a processing module. Some operations / steps can be performed by an artificial intelligence (AI) module or a machine learning (ML) module. The corresponding units or modules can be implemented using hardware, one or more components or devices that execute software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more of these units or modules can be integrated circuits such as programmed FPGAs, GPUs, or ASICs. It should be understood that if these modules are implemented using software for a processor or the like to execute, then these modules can be retrieved in whole or in part by the processor as needed, retrieved individually or collectively for processing, retrieved in one or more instances, and these modules themselves can include instructions for further deployment and instantiation.

[0058] Other details regarding the ED 110, the T-TRP 170, and the NT-TRP 172 are known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, these details are omitted here.

[0059] Control information is discussed in this document. Control information may sometimes be referred to as control signaling or signaling. In some cases, control information may be transmitted dynamically, e.g., over physical layer control channels such as the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). An example of control information with dynamic indication is the information transmitted in physical layer control signaling, e.g., uplink control information (UCI) transmitted in the PUCCH or downlink control information (DCI) transmitted in the PDCCH. The dynamic indication may be an indication in the lower layers, e.g., physical layer / layer 1 signaling, rather than an indication in the higher layers (e.g., not an indication in RRC signaling or in MAC CE). The semi-static indication may be an indication in semi-static signaling. The semi-static signaling used in this document may refer to non-dynamic signaling, e.g., higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling) and / or MAC CE. The dynamic signaling used in this document may refer to dynamic signaling, e.g., physical layer control signaling transmitted in the physical layer, e.g., DCI transmitted in the PDCCH or UCI transmitted in the PUCCH).

[0060] Figure 5 FIG. shows three EDs communicating with a TRP 352 in a communication system 100 provided by one embodiment. The three EDs are respectively shown as corresponding different UEs, referred to as UE 110x, 110y, and 110z. However, an ED does not have to be a UE. Hereinafter, the reference numeral 110 is used to refer to any one of UE 110x, 110y, 110z or any other UE (e.g., UEs 110a to 110j introduced above).

[0061] TRP 352 may be T-TRP 170 or NT-TRP 172. In some embodiments, the various parts of TRP 352 may be distributed. For example, some of the modules in TRP 352 may be remote from the device that houses the antenna of TRP 352 and may be coupled to the device that houses the antenna via a communication link (not shown). Thus, in some embodiments, the term "TRP 352" may also refer to network-side modules that perform processing operations such as resource allocation (scheduling), message generation, encoding / decoding, etc., which are not necessarily part of the device that houses the antenna and / or panel of TRP 352. For example, these modules that are not necessarily part of the device that houses the antenna / panel of TRP 352 may include one or more modules that perform the following operations: generating the downlink messages discussed herein, generating paging-related information (e.g., DCI scrambled by a paging ID and / or paging message), scheduling downlink transmissions on configured resources in a control channel or data channel (e.g., a notification in DCI or a message in a data channel), generating the scheduled downlink transmissions, processing uplink transmissions (e.g., sensing feedback received from UE 110), and so on. These modules may also be coupled to other TRPs. In some embodiments, TRP 352 may actually be multiple TRPs that operate together to serve UE 110, such as through coordinated multi-point transmission between the UE and the TRPs.

[0062] The TRP 352 includes a transmitter 354 and a receiver 356, which may be integrated as a transceiver. The transmitter 354 and the receiver 356 are coupled to one or more antennas 358. Only one antenna 358 is shown. One, some, or all of the antennas may alternatively be a panel. A processor 360 in the TRP 352 performs (or controls the TRP 352 to perform) most of the operations described herein that are to be performed by the TRP 352, for example, generating downlink messages and / or DCI, generating paging-related information (e.g., DCI scrambled by a paging ID and / or a paging message), generating scheduled downlink transmissions, processing uplink transmissions (e.g., sensing feedback), and so on. Generating information for downlink transmission (e.g., generating DCI or a downlink message) may include arranging the information in a message format, encoding the message, modulating, performing beamforming (if necessary), and so on. Processing uplink transmissions (e.g., received sensing feedback) may include performing beamforming (if necessary), demodulating, and decoding the received message, and so on. Decoding may be performed by a decoding method that decodes according to a channel coding scheme. For example, if the data is encoded using a polar code, polar decoding is used; if a low-density parity check (LDPC) code is used, the LDPC decoding algorithm is used, and so on. Decoding methods are known. For completeness, exemplary decoding methods that may be implemented include (but are not limited to): maximum likelihood (ML) decoding, and / or minimum distance decoding, and / or syndrome decoding, and / or Viterbi decoding, and so on.

[0063] The processor 360 may be part of the transmitter 354 and / or the receiver 356, but is not shown. The TRP 352 also includes a memory 362 for storing information (e.g., control information and / or data).

[0064] The processor 360, the processing components in the transmitter 354, and the processing components in the receiver 356 may be implemented by the same or different one or more processors for executing instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 362). Alternatively, some or all of the processor 360 and / or the processing components in the transmitter 354 and / or the processing components in the receiver 356 may be implemented using dedicated circuits such as a programmed FPGA, GPU, or ASIC.

[0065] If the TRP 352 is the T-TRP 170, the transmitter 354 may be or include the transmitter 252, the receiver 356 may be or include the receiver 254, the processor 360 may be or include the processor 260 and may implement the scheduler 253, and the memory 362 may be or include the memory 258. If the TRP 352 is the NT-TRP 172, the transmitter 354 may be or include the transmitter 272, the receiver 356 may be or include the receiver 274, the processor 360 may be or include the processor 276, and the memory 362 may be or include the memory 278.

[0066] As described above, each UE 110 (e.g., each of the UEs 110x, 110y, and 110z) includes a respective processor 210, a memory 208, a transmitter 201, a receiver 203, and one or more antennas 204 (or panels). For simplicity, only the processor 210, the memory 208, the transmitter 201, the receiver 203, and the antenna 204 in the UE 110x are shown, but the other UEs 110y and 110z also include the same respective components.

[0067] The processor 210 performs (or controls the UE 110 to perform) most of the operations performed by the UE 110 described herein, e.g., operating in a power saving mode, receiving downlink messages, performing sensing, generating messages for uplink transmission (e.g., to provide sensing feedback), etc. Decoding may be performed by a decoding method that decodes according to a channel coding scheme, e.g., if the data is encoded using a polar code, polar decoding is used, if an LDPC code is used, the LDPC decoding algorithm is used, etc. Decoding methods are known. For completeness, exemplary decoding methods that may be implemented include (but are not limited to): ML decoding, and / or minimum distance decoding, and / or syndrome decoding, and / or Viterbi decoding, etc. Generating a message for uplink transmission may include arranging information in a message format, encoding the message, modulating, performing beamforming (if necessary), etc.

[0068] The processor 210 may be part of the transmitter 201 and / or part of the receiver 203, but is not shown.

[0069] UE 110 also includes a sensor 205. The sensor 205 is a device or module for performing sensing. The implementation of the sensor 205 is related to the specific application and depends on the object and / or condition being sensed. In some embodiments, the sensor 205 may control the antenna 204 (or other antennas of the UE 110) to transmit a sensing signal. In this case, the sensor 205 may be implemented by a processor for controlling signal transmission and / or an antenna for transmitting the sensing signal. The sensing signal may be an electromagnetic wave. For example, if RADAR is used for sensing, the sensing signal may be a radio wave, and so on. Also, for example, if LiDAR is used for sensing, the sensing signal may be a light wave, and so on. In some embodiments, the sensing signal may be a reference signal. In some embodiments, the sensor 205 may alternatively or additionally control the antenna 204 (or other antennas of the UE 110) to receive a sensing signal. In this case, the sensor 205 may be implemented by an antenna for receiving the sensing signal and / or a processor for measuring one or more parameters of the sensing signal (e.g., the detected energy and / or amplitude and / or angle of arrival and / or time of receiving the sensing signal). In some embodiments, the sensor 205 may be implemented by the processor 210, the transmitter 201, the receiver 203, and / or the antenna 204.

[0070] In some embodiments, the sensor 205 may additionally or alternatively sense the parameters measured by the sensor 205. For example, the sensor 205 may be a tactile sensor, a strain sensor, a humidity sensor, or a camera sensor (for taking digital images), and so on. Although only one sensor 205 is shown, generally, the UE 110 may have multiple sensors. For example, the UE 110 may have a camera for capturing digital images and an RF sensor for detecting wave reflections. Additionally or alternatively, a single sensor 205 may perform multiple different types of sensing.

[0071] Processor 210 determines feedback to be sent to TRP 352 obtained through sensing by sensor 205. This feedback is related to the specific implementation and depends on the type of sensing performed and / or the information required by TRP 352. In some embodiments, this feedback includes parameters directly measured through sensing. For example, if sensor 205 receives a sensing signal including reflected waves, this feedback can be the measured energy / amplitude and / or direction of one or more of these waves, and / or the relative or absolute arrival time of one or more of these waves. In some embodiments, this feedback includes information derived from one or more sensed parameters. For example, this feedback can include an indication of the position, velocity, distance, orientation, shape, and / or direction of travel of an object, where the position, velocity, distance, orientation, shape, and / or direction of travel of the object are determined by processor 210 based on the sensing signal received by sensor 205. For example, UE 110 can implement RADAR and feedback the determined result (e.g., the position of the object) instead of the measurement parameters of the waves themselves.

[0072] Figure 6 An embodiment is shown where UEs 110x, 110y, and 110z perform sensing on target object 372. UEs 110x, 110y, and 110z communicate with TRP 352 via wireless links 374x, 374y, and 374z respectively. UEs 110x, 110y, and 110z are also near target object 372. TRP 352 needs to know certain attributes related to target object 372. For example, TRP 352 may need to determine at least one of the following attributes related to target object 372: position; size; direction of movement; or material type (which can be based on the reflection intensity). Therefore, TRP 352 triggers UEs 110x, 110y, and 110z to perform sensing using downlink messages etc., in a specific manner which will be described later in conjunction with Figure 8This will be described. UE 110x is used to send sensing signals, and UE 110x, 110y, and 110z are all used to receive sensing signals, and this reception will be performed after reflection by the target object 372. UE 110x, 110y, and 110z respectively receive the sensing signals and send feedback based on the received sensing signals. For example, each UE can send the reception time of the sensing signal, the detected energy, and the angle of arrival. TRP 352 uses this information to determine the position and movement direction of the target object 372. In the example shown, UE 110x is used to perform monostatic sensing because it both sends and receives sensing signals (this may be optional, depending on whether UE 110x has the ability to handle full-duplex transmission and reception), while UE 110y and 110z are respectively used to perform bistatic sensing (that is, the sensing transmission and sensing reception are performed by different nodes) because they only receive sensing signals and do not send sensing signals. In a variant, TRP 352 can send sensing signals to replace or supplement UE 110x, and / or TRP 352 can also receive the sensing signals sent from UE 110x.

[0073] TRP 352 does not need to trigger all UEs to participate in sensing. For example, TRP 352 may know the positions of the UEs and the approximate position of the target object 372, and may only trigger the UEs in the immediate vicinity of the target object 372 to perform sensing. In Figure 6 the example, UE110w communicates with TRP 352 via the wireless link 374w. However, UE 110w is not triggered to participate in sensing. As the target object 374 and / or the UEs move, TRP 352 can dynamically determine and trigger different UEs to perform sensing.

[0074] Sensing in Power Saving Mode

[0075] In some embodiments, UE 110 can operate in a power saving mode. In some embodiments, when operating in the power saving mode, UE 110 may not fully occupy the system resources available for downlink transmission and / or uplink transmission. For example, the UE may not use all the transmission parameters and time-frequency resources available for downlink transmission and / or uplink transmission. For example, UE 110 may not continuously (or frequently) monitor network instructions on the downlink. For example, UE 110 may not frequently monitor control channels such as PDCCH. For example, if UE 110 is a reduced capacity (RedCap) commercial device, a wearable device, a low-cost industrial wireless device, an IoT device, etc., then UE 110 can operate in the power saving mode most of the time or all of the time. In some embodiments, the main purpose of deploying UE 110 may be sensing, so it operates in the power saving mode most of the time or all of the time.

[0076] In some wireless communication systems, the UE 110 and the network operate according to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. The RRC protocol has different states in terms of UE operation behavior and radio resource utilization. For example, the RRC protocol may include: the RRC idle state, in which no RRC connection is established with the network and no actual RRC configured resources are used; the RRC connected state (also referred to as the "active state"), in which an RRC connection is established and the UE uses all the RRC configured radio resources; the RRC inactive state, in which some RRC resources are reserved and the RRC functions of the UE may be reduced, for example, to help save power. In some embodiments, the idle state and the inactive state can be regarded as power saving modes. In some embodiments, the power saving mode may include multiple actions that consume different powers, but the mode as a whole can still be regarded as a power saving mode. For example, in the power saving mode, the UE 110 can sleep (consuming less power), but will wake up periodically to receive downlink messages (e.g., within a paging occasion) and / or perform sensing and / or send sensing-related feedback. Different actions in this mode can consume different powers, but the mode as a whole is a power saving mode because compared with the state where the UE 110 is actively connected to the network, the overall power consumption and network resource utilization of the device are reduced or limited (e.g., compared with the RRC connected state, the power

[0077] In some embodiments, the power saving mode is a mode in which the UE 110 reduces or limits power consumption and network resource utilization and is associated with at least one of the following:

[0078] · One or more RRC states. For example, the power saving mode can be the RRC inactive state and / or the RRC idle state.

[0079] · Operating mode, in which the UE 110 wakes up from the sleep cycle periodically to receive paging messages (e.g., associated with a paging occasion) and / or other downlink notifications.

[0080] · One or more channels, for example, in terms of channel monitoring or processing. For example, the power saving mode can be a mode that reduces the monitoring occasion or increases the monitoring time period to achieve power saving, for example, a mode associated with any of the following channels: PDCCH only, PDSCH only, PDCCH with PDSCH, reference signal channel.

[0081] · Receive bandwidth. For example, the power saving mode can be a mode that reduces the bandwidth used for receiving communications.

[0082] · System parameter (numerology), for example, the power saving mode can be a mode where the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is fixed and there is no dynamic configuration or handover indication.

[0083] · Power control scheme, for example, the power saving mode can be a mode that limits power in a certain way, for example, limiting the maximum transmission power or by reducing the functions of the UE 110. For example, the UE 110 can support limited downlink reception.

[0084] · Specific sleep mode, for example, the power saving mode can be a mode in which the UE 110 enters a sleep mode (e.g., deep sleep mode or light sleep mode or micro sleep mode), where each type of sleep mode can be predefined (e.g., fixed or preconfigured) to associate traffic transmission or reception with one or more types of channels. The UE 110 can wake up regularly to receive downlink messages for trigger sensing and / or receive paging notifications / messages.

[0085] In some embodiments, after or when the initial access to connect to the network is completed, the UE 110 enters the default power saving mode. The UE 110 remains in the power saving mode by default and can temporarily enhance its operations as needed (e.g., in response to being paged and / or in response to the execution sensing trigger condition of the TRP 352). This enhanced operation can be performed in the power saving mode.

[0086] In some embodiments, when the UE 110 is in the power saving mode, monitoring the downlink control channel (e.g., to obtain DCI) may be performed only during the wake-up period, e.g., during the wake-up period of a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle or a DRX_on window. The operations performed during the wake-up period can be the enhanced operations mentioned above.

[0087] Figure 7Shows the power consumption of UE 110 provided by an embodiment when operating in the power saving mode. In the power saving mode, UE 110 can operate in different operating modes, such as: the default sleep mode, which is a very low power consumption mode during the sleep duration; the wake-up mode, which is a low power consumption mode during the wake-up duration (e.g., during the wake-up time period of the DRX cycle). Although not shown, there may be other operations in the power saving mode, such as a temporary high power mode for sending and / or receiving sensing signals and / or for performing relatively short data transmissions (e.g., for sending sensing-based feedback). The default sleep operation is represented by the dashed line 401. Periodic wake-up durations 402 are scattered between the sleep durations, for example, it is possible at regular intervals, such as according to the DRX cycle. During the wake-up duration 402, UE 110 consumes more power to perform operations, such as monitoring downlink messages. Each wake-up duration 402 may be the wake-up time period of the DRX cycle or the DRX_on window, depending on the implementation. Even though the power consumption of some operations that UE 110 can perform is higher than that of other operations (e.g., being in the wake-up state during duration 402 and in the sleep state during duration 401), UE 110 is still in the power saving mode because this mode is associated with an overall reduced or limited power consumption, for example, mostly in the sleep state. In some embodiments, Figure 7 the power saving mode in

[0088] Figure 8 Shows a method performed by TRP 352 and UE 110 provided by an embodiment.

[0089] In step 452, TRP 352 sends a message to UE 110 configuring one or more parameters related to sensing. For example, an identifier (ID) can be assigned to UE 110, which is associated with UE 110 and used by the network to trigger UE 110 to perform sensing. For example, TRP 352 can use this ID to trigger UE 110 to perform sensing by sending a downlink message including this ID. This ID can be related to a specific UE or a group ID shared by a group of UEs, and can trigger this group of UEs to perform sensing. Additionally or alternatively, one or more other sensing parameters can be configured for UE 110 using the message sent in step 452.

[0090] In some embodiments, at least one of the following can be configured for UE 110 in the message sent in step 452:

[0091] · An ID associated with the UE 110, which is used to trigger the UE 110 to perform sensing, as described above.

[0092] · Time and / or frequency resources for performing sensing, e.g., the time-frequency resources where the UE 110 is to send and / or receive sensing signals when triggered to perform sensing. In some embodiments, the bandwidth part (BWP) (e.g., the BWP for sending and / or receiving sensing signals) used for performing sensing may be different from the BWP used for normal data communication (e.g., paging communication) between the UE and the network. For example, sensing can be performed on a lower frequency band such as the mmWave band.

[0093] · Whether the UE 110 is to send a sensing signal, receive a sensing signal, or both send and receive a sensing signal when triggered to perform sensing.

[0094] · The offset timing to start sensing, e.g., in terms of the number of time slots or time periods between receiving the message triggering the UE 110 to perform sensing and subsequently starting sensing.

[0095] · The sensing window, e.g., the time window for sending and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0096] · The sensing repetition pattern, e.g., the UE 110 can be used to send and / or receive multiple sensing signals when triggered to perform sensing, possibly each signal being sent and / or received at a different beam angle. A pattern for when to send / receive sensing signals, frequency, and / or beam angle, etc., can be configured.

[0097] · The sensing waveform.

[0098] · Time and / or frequency resources for sending the feedback obtained through sensing.

[0099] · Whether the UE 110 is to send an acknowledgement confirming that the UE 110 will perform sensing (e.g., whether the UE 110 is to perform step 462 described later).

[0100] · The first carrier frequency band (or component carrier) for monitoring and receiving downlink messages and the second carrier frequency band (or component carrier) for sensing transmission or reception, where the first carrier frequency band (or component carrier) and the second carrier frequency band (or component carrier) may be the same or different; for example, the first carrier frequency band is a low-frequency carrier, e.g., below 6 GHz, and the second carrier frequency band is a high-frequency carrier, e.g., above 6 GHz.

[0101] Not all of the parameters discussed above need to be indicated in the message sent in step 452. For example, some parameters may be pre-configured or fixed, such as in a standard. Also, some parameters may alternatively be sent in a downlink message in step 458 described later.

[0102] In step 454, UE 110 receives a message configuring one or more parameters. In step 456, UE 110 enters a power saving mode. It should be noted that the configuration described above in connection with steps 452 and 454 can be performed before UE 110 enters the power saving mode, as shown in the example, since step 456 is executed after step 454. Alternatively, one, some, or all of the parameters can be configured when UE 110 switches to the power saving mode. For example, such a configuration can be included in an RRC-Release message, etc., to indicate that UE 110 switches from a connected state / mode to a power saving mode / state (inactive state or idle state). For example, steps 452 and 454 can be part of step 456. For example, UE 110 can be triggered to enter the power saving mode as part of the message triggering UE 110 to enter the power saving mode and / or in a subsequent message at the time of handover. TRP 352 can send an indication of the parameters to be configured to UE 110. In some embodiments, one, some, or all of the parameters to be configured may appear in the power saving mode, i.e., after step 456, depending on the implementation.

[0103] In any case, regardless of whether the configuration in steps 452 / 454 is before the power saving mode, when UE 110 switches to the power saving mode, or may be in the power saving mode, the configuration can be sent in different ways. In some embodiments, the configuration is sent in higher layer signaling (e.g., in RRC signaling or in a MAC CE). In some embodiments, the configuration can be made in one or more messages sent during the initial access procedure, e.g., in system information (SI), e.g., in a master information block (MIB) or a system information block (SIB). Thus, in some embodiments, the message sent in step 452 can be an RRC message, a MAC CE, or SI. In some embodiments, the message sent in step 452 can be in multicast signaling for more than one UE.

[0104] At some point after UE 110 enters the power saving mode, the network is to trigger UE 110 to perform sensing. Thus, in step 458, TRP 352 sends a downlink message that includes an indication for triggering UE 110 in the power saving mode to perform sensing. In step 460, UE 110 receives the downlink message in the power saving mode. UE 110 may decode the downlink message to obtain the indication for triggering UE 110 to perform sensing. As described later, in some embodiments, the downlink message may be associated with paging. For example, the downlink message may be a paging message supplemented with an indication for triggering UE 110 to perform sensing (e.g., the enhanced paging message described later). The paging message may also page one or more UEs, that is, indicate to one or more UEs that there is data to be sent to one or more UEs. In some embodiments, in order to obtain the downlink message, UE 110 may: (1) receive DCI scrambled by an ID, where the ID is also used for paging (e.g., P-RNTI), (2) obtain the time-frequency position of the downlink message from the DCI, and (3) receive the downlink message at the time-frequency position.

[0105] In step 462, UE 110 may send an acknowledgement (ACK) to TRP 352 that UE 110 is going to perform sensing. The ACK may be sent in a short data transmission (SDT), etc., for example, on grant-free resources or through a two-step RACH procedure. TRP 352 receives the ACK in step 464. In an implementation where UE110 can choose whether to perform sensing, steps 462 and 464 may be beneficial. There may be cases where UE 110 should not or cannot perform sensing, for example, the battery power of UE 110 is very low or UE 110 is performing other temporary processing tasks. If UE 110 is not ready to perform the requested sensing, UE 110 may not send an ACK in step 462, or instead send a negative acknowledgement (NACK). Optionally, the ACK or NACK may be sent together with a UE sensing ID (or UEI-RNTI) configured by the network (e.g., in step 452 or when UE switches from the connected state to the power saving mode / state). TRP 352 may interpret the ACK received in step 464 as an indication that UE 110 is going to perform sensing, and may interpret the absence of an ACK or the receipt of a NACK within a specific time window as an indication that UE 110 will not perform sensing. If TRP 352 does not receive an ACK, depending on the implementation or scenario, TRP 352 may attempt to trigger other UEs to perform sensing. In the shown method, UE 110 is triggered to perform sensing and agrees to perform sensing.

[0106] In addition to triggering the UE 110 to perform sensing, the downlink message sent in step 458 and received in step 460 may also configure one or more parameters related to sensing or provide other information. For example, in some embodiments, the downlink message may include an indication of at least one of the following:

[0107] · Time and / or frequency resources for performing sensing, e.g., the time-frequency resources where the UE 110 is to send and / or receive sensing signals. As described above, in some embodiments, the BWP for performing sensing may be different from the BWP for normal data communication. For example, sensing may be performed on a low frequency band.

[0108] · Whether the UE 110 is to send a sensing signal, receive a sensing signal, or both send and receive sensing signals.

[0109] · Offset timing to start sensing, e.g., in terms of the number of time slots or time periods between receiving the message triggering the UE 110 to perform sensing and subsequently starting sensing.

[0110] · Sensing window, e.g., the time window for sending and / or receiving sensing signals.

[0111] · Sensing repetition pattern, e.g., the UE 110 may be used to send and / or receive multiple sensing signals when triggered to perform sensing, possibly each signal being sent and / or received at a different beam angle. A pattern for when to send / receive sensing signals, frequency, and / or beam angle, etc., can be configured.

[0112] · Sensing waveform.

[0113] · Time-frequency resources for sending the feedback obtained through sensing.

[0114] · Whether the UE 110 is to send an acknowledgement confirming that the UE 110 will perform sensing (e.g., whether the UE 110 is to perform step 462).

[0115] · Location associated with the target object to be sensed.

[0116] · Beam direction for sending sensing signals.

[0117] · Beam direction for receiving sensing signals.

[0118] · Carrier frequency band or component carrier for sensing signal transmission or reception.

[0119] Not all of the parameters discussed above need to be indicated in the downlink message. For example, some parameters may be pre-configured or fixed, such as in the standard. Also, some parameters can alternatively be indicated in the configuration sent in step 452. The advantage of providing an indication in the downlink message is that the indicated parameters can be changed dynamically. For example, each time the UE 110 is triggered to perform sensing, different configurations may be indicated. For example, the network can dynamically decide, before triggering the UE 110 to perform sensing, whether the UE 110 should send a sensing signal or receive a sensing signal, depending on the position of the UE relative to the target object to be sensed, and so on. The downlink message can indicate to the UE 110 whether the UE 110 is to send a sensing signal or receive a sensing signal. The advantage of indicating the configuration in the message sent in step 452 is that the configuration can be indicated semi-statically (e.g., in higher layer signaling) and then used each time the UE 110 is triggered to perform sensing via the downlink message. For example, if the UE 110 always only receives sensing signals, before the UE 110 enters the power saving mode or when switching to the power saving mode, the UE 110 can be configured to only receive sensing signals in the message sent in step 452. Then, the UE 110 can be triggered via the downlink message to perform sensing in the power saving mode, but since the UE 110 was previously configured to only receive sensing signals, the downlink message does not have to indicate whether the UE 110 is to send or receive a sensing signal during the sensing process. Thus, signaling overhead in the downlink message can be saved.

[0120] In step 466, in response to receiving an indication to trigger the UE 110 to perform sensing, the UE 110 performs sensing in the power saving mode. Performing sensing in the power saving mode can include at least one of the following operations: sending a sensing signal or receiving a sensing signal. That is, depending on how the UE 110 is configured, the UE 110 may (e.g., in pre-configured or time-frequency resources dynamically indicated in the downlink message) only send a sensing signal, only receive a sensing signal, or both send and receive a sensing signal. The received sensing signal can be a signal reflected by the target object, similar to the example described above in conjunction with Figure 6 the Figure 6 example. In the

[0121] example, the UE 110x, 110y, and 110z are respectively triggered to perform sensing. The UE 110x performs sensing by both sending and receiving sensing signals. The UE 110y and UE 110z perform sensing by only receiving sensing signals. Figure 8In the method, the UE 110 still performs sensing in the power saving mode. There is no switching to other states that are not the power saving mode. For example, there is no switching to the RRC connected state to perform sensing. In some embodiments, the UE 110 performs transmission synchronization or timing reference for signal transmission or reception during sensing in the power saving mode based on network broadcast signaling (e.g., SI or SSB) or the common reference signal of the network. In Figure 8 In a variant, the UE 110 may instead exit the power saving mode before performing sensing. For example, it switches to the RRC connected state. However, this delays the sensing operation and also consumes more power. Therefore, the advantage of the UE 110 performing sensing in the power saving mode is shorter delay and lower power consumption. For example, the UE 110 may be in the sleep state and wake up during the paging occasion. During the paging occasion, the UE 110 may be triggered to perform sensing in the downlink message associated with paging (e.g., in various ways described herein). Then, the UE 110 may perform sensing in a short message (e.g., on an uplink control channel such as PUCCH) during the wake-up period and send the feedback obtained through sensing, and then immediately return to the sleep state, thus always remaining in the power saving mode.

[0122] In step 468, the UE 110 sends the feedback obtained through sensing. As described above, these feedbacks may include one or more parameters directly measured through sensing (e.g., measured energy / amplitude, angle of arrival, and detection time), and / or these feedbacks may include one or more items of information derived from the directly measured parameters, such as an indication of the position or speed of the target object. In some embodiments, these feedbacks may be sent on a control channel such as PUCCH. In some embodiments, these feedbacks may be sent in grant-free transmission and / or on contention-based resources. In some embodiments, resources may be authorized for sending feedback.

[0123] In step 470, the TRP 352 then receives the feedback from the UE 110.

[0124] In some embodiments, step 468 is also performed in the power saving mode. That is, the UE 110 performs both sensing and sending feedback in the power saving mode. In other embodiments, these feedbacks may be sent at a later time point, for example, after the UE 110 exits the power saving mode. For example, this may occur if the UE 110 does not have the ability to send uplink communication in the power saving mode.

[0125] Figure 8Many steps in [the method] are represented by dashed boxes indicating that they are optional steps. For example, the method may start at a later time after the UE 110 enters the power-saving mode, which is why steps 452, 454, and 456 are represented as optional. Another example is that the UE 110 may be used not to send an ACK indicating that the UE 110 is about to perform sensing, which is why steps 462 and 464 are omitted. In the case where the UE 110 cannot select whether the UE 110 is about to perform sensing and / or the TRP 352 does not require an indication of whether the UE 110 is about to perform sensing to save overhead (for example, if the TRP 352 never receives the sensing-based feedback from the UE 110, the TRP 352 may regard this situation as an indication that the UE 110 has not performed sensing), steps 462 and 464 can be omitted. Whether the UE 110 is to send an ACK confirming that it is about to perform sensing, that is, whether the UE 110 is to perform step 462, can be configured in the message sent in step 452 or the downlink message sent in step 458, or this configuration can be predefined / fixed. Steps 468 and 470 are also optional because in the implementation, the UE 110 does not necessarily send the feedback obtained by the UE 110. For example, the UE 110 may use the sensed information by itself (for example, to guide its next operation). Alternatively, the UE 110 may send feedback, but not necessarily immediately. In some embodiments, the UE 110 may send feedback to other devices other than the TRP 352. For example, the UE 110 may send feedback to other UEs. In this case, Figure 8 in the method of [the above], step 468 can be included, but step 470 can be omitted. Whether the UE 110 is to send feedback and / or to which entity the UE 110 is to send feedback are both configurable. For example, it can be configured in the message sent in step 452 or the downlink message sent in step 458.

[0126] Figure 8 The method shown is related to a single UE 110. However, in some embodiments, the downlink message can be sent to multiple UEs. For example, in addition to paging, it can also be sent in a broadcast or multicast message. For example, a group of UEs may each use a common ID to descramble the DCI in the control channel, so as to schedule the downlink message for these UEs. Then, each UE in the group decodes the downlink message. Then, each UE checks the downlink message to determine whether to trigger the UE to perform sensing.

[0127] Figure 9 shows an example of a downlink message that can be sent in Figure 8 step 458 of [the above]. The downlink message 504 includes an indication 484 for triggering the UE 110 to perform sensing. For example, this indication can be an identifier ( Figure 9(the "sensing ID" in ), which is associated with the UE 110 and triggers the UE 110 to perform sensing when present in the downlink message 504. Optionally, the downlink message 504 may also include one or more other IDs that trigger other UEs to perform sensing. For example, in Figure 6 's example, three UEs (UE 110x, UE 110y, and UE 110z) can be triggered to perform sensing. In some embodiments, there may be a single ID that is shared by a group of UEs and triggers all of these UEs to perform sensing when present in the downlink message. In some embodiments, each UE can be triggered by its own unique sensing ID. There can also be any variation between the two cases. Thus, in some embodiments, the downlink message 504 may include multiple IDs that trigger multiple UEs to perform sensing, the multiple IDs are respectively associated with one or more corresponding different UEs among the UEs, and the multiple IDs include at least the ID associated with the UE 110 that triggers the UE 110 to perform sensing.

[0128] Although not shown in Figure 9 , the downlink message 504 may include: an indication of one or more sensing parameters or information discussed above in connection with Figure 8 , such as: an indication of the time-frequency resources for performing sensing; and / or whether the UE 110 is to transmit a sensing signal, receive a sensing signal, or both transmit and receive a sensing signal; and / or the offset timing to start sensing; and / or the sensing window; and / or the sensing repetition pattern; and / or the sensing waveform; and / or the time-frequency resources for transmitting the feedback obtained through sensing; and / or whether the UE is to transmit an acknowledgment that the device will perform sensing; and / or the location associated with the target object to be sensed; and / or the beam direction for transmitting the sensing signal; and / or the beam direction for receiving the sensing signal; and / or the carrier frequency band or component carrier for the sensing operation. Some of these parameters may be indicated according to the specific situation of each UE. For example, it can be indicated for each UE whether the UE is to transmit a sensing signal, receive a sensing signal, or both transmit and receive a sensing signal. Other parameters may be indicated only once and are common to all UEs triggered to perform sensing. For example, an indication of the frequency band or component carrier for the sensing operation or the approximate location of the target object can be indicated once in the downlink message 504 and used by all UEs. In some embodiments, the downlink message 504 includes the location associated with the target object, which is provided in a field common to all UEs triggered to perform sensing.

[0129] Although not shown in Figure 9 , the downlink message 504 may additionally or alternatively include paging information for paging one or more UEs. Later in connection with Figure 15The described enhanced paging message is an example of such a downlink message.

[0130] Figure 10 An exemplary manner is shown in which the downlink message 504 can be sent in Figure 8 step 458 and received in step 460. The UE 110 monitors the control channel for control information within a monitoring occasion (e.g., possibly within the wake-up duration of the power saving mode). In some embodiments, the monitoring occasion may be a paging occasion. The control channel monitored within the monitoring occasion is shown as the PDCCH, and the control information is shown as DCI 502. DCI 502 is sent by the TRP 352 and decoded by the UE 110. DCI 502 schedules the downlink message 504 in a data channel, which is shown as the PDSCH. The UE 110 decodes the downlink message 504 to obtain an indication in the downlink message that triggers the UE 110 to perform sensing. The downlink message 504 may also indicate other information / parameters discussed above in connection with Figure 8 and Figure 9 In the example of Figure 10 , the steps of receiving the downlink message 504 include: the UE 110: receiving DCI 502, obtaining an indication of the time-frequency position of the downlink message 504 in the data channel from DCI 502, and receiving the downlink message 504 at the time-frequency position in the data channel. That is, the TRP 352 not only sends the downlink message 504, but also sends DCI 502 including an indication of the time-frequency resource where the downlink message 504 is located. As shown in other examples below, the downlink message 504 may be associated with paging. For example, DCI 502 may be a paging notification and / or DCI 502 may be sent within a paging occasion and / or DCI 502 may be scrambled by an ID (e.g., scrambling its CRC), where the ID is also used for paging (e.g., P-RNTI), and / or the downlink message 504 may also include paging information (e.g., the downlink message may be a paging message supplemented with an indication that triggers the UE 110 to perform sensing), and / or DCI 502 may also schedule a paging message, etc.

[0131] Figure 11 An exemplary manner is shown in which the downlink message 504 can be in Figure 8Another exemplary manner sent in step 458 and received in step 460. UE 110 is in a power saving mode, where there is a wake-up duration and a sleep duration. In the example shown, the wake-up duration is 20 ms and the sleep duration is 380 ms. This is just an example. The wake-up duration and / or the sleep duration can have different lengths, or in some implementations, there may not even be a separate wake-up duration and sleep duration in the power saving mode. During the shown wake-up duration, UE 110 monitors the control channel within the monitoring occasion to obtain control information. This monitoring occasion can be a paging occasion. The control channel monitored within the monitoring occasion is shown as the PDCCH, and the control information is shown as DCI 502. DCI 502 is sent by TRP 352 and decoded by UE 110. DCI 502 schedules both the paging message 508 and the downlink message 504. These messages are scheduled in the data channel, which is shown as the PDSCH. UE110 decodes the downlink message 504 to obtain an indication in the downlink message that triggers UE 110 to perform sensing. For example, if UE110 is being paged, or if UE 110 needs to check if it is being paged, then UE 110 can also decode the paging message 508. In some cases, for example, if UE 110 is used only for performing sensing and cannot be or has never been paged, or if the DCI includes one or more bits indicating that UE 110 is not paged, then UE 110 may not be able to decode the paging message. The downlink message 504 decoded by UE 110 can also indicate other information / parameters discussed above in conjunction with Figure 8 and Figure 9 . In the example of Figure 11 , the step of receiving the downlink message 504 includes: UE 110: receiving the DCI, obtaining an indication of the time-frequency position of the downlink message 504 in the data channel from the DCI, and receiving the downlink message 504 at the time-frequency position in the data channel. The downlink message 504 is associated with paging because the DCI also schedules the paging message 508. For example, it is possible that the CRC of the DCI is scrambled by an ID, which is a paging ID, for example, P-RNTI. The paging message 508 and the downlink message 504 can be scheduled in a single set of time-frequency resources. For example, the downlink message 504 can be appended to the paging message 508 (as shown in Figure 11 ) or otherwise integrated or multiplexed with the paging message 508. Figure 12 is Figure 11 a variant that shows that DCI 502 can alternatively schedule the paging message 508 and the downlink message 504 on two different time-frequency resources respectively.

[0132] Figure 13 shows that the downlink message 504 can be in Figure 8Another exemplary manner is sent in step 458 and received in step 460. UE 110 is in a power saving mode, where there is a wake-up duration and a sleep duration. In the example shown, the wake-up duration is 20 ms and the sleep duration is 380 ms. This is just an example. The wake-up duration and / or the sleep duration can have different lengths, or in some implementations, there may not even be separate wake-up and sleep durations in the power saving mode. During the shown wake-up duration, UE 110 monitors the control channel within the paging occasion to obtain the DCI carrying the paging notification 502. The control channel is shown as the PDCCH. The paging notification 502 is sent by TRP 352 and decoded by UE 110. The paging notification 502 schedules the downlink message 504 that triggers UE 110 to perform sensing. This message is scheduled in the data channel, which is shown as the PDSCH. UE 110 decodes the downlink message 504 to obtain the indication in the downlink message that triggers UE 110 to perform sensing. The DCI of the paging notification 502 is scrambled by a paging-specific ID, which can be the P-RNTI. The dashed box 506 shows the DCI in more detail. The DCI includes a CRC. It is the CRC part of the DCI that is scrambled. The scrambling is achieved by performing an XOR with the P-RNTI.

[0133] Although not shown in Figure 13 For example, if there are other UEs that need to be paged, the paging notification 502 can also schedule a paging message. However, for example, if the network only wants to trigger sensing and not page within a specific paging occasion, this is not necessary. Additionally or alternatively, although not shown in Figure 13 the downlink message 504 can include paging information in addition to triggering UE 110 to perform sensing. For example, the downlink message 504 can page one or more UEs.

[0134] In Figure 13 other variations of

[0135] Figure 14 it is shown that the downlink message 504 can be in Figure 8Another exemplary manner sent in step 458 and received in step 460. UE 110 is in a power saving mode, where there is a wake-up duration and a sleep duration. In the example shown, the wake-up duration is 20 ms and the sleep duration is 380 ms. This is just an example. The wake-up duration and / or the sleep duration can have different lengths, or in some implementations, there may not even be separate wake-up and sleep durations in the power saving mode. During the shown wake-up duration, UE 110 monitors the control channel within the monitoring occasion to obtain DCI 502. This monitoring occasion can be a paging occasion. The control channel is shown as PDCCH. In some embodiments, DCI 502 can be a paging notification. DCI 502 is sent by TRP 352 and decoded by UE 110. DCI 502 schedules a downlink message 504 called an enhanced paging message 504 because it is a paging message supplemented with an indication for triggering UE 110 to perform sensing. The enhanced paging message 504 is scheduled in the data channel, which is shown as PDSCH. UE 110 decodes the enhanced paging message 504 to obtain the indication for triggering UE 110 to perform sensing. DCI 502 is scrambled by an ID, which is shown as RNTI in the dashed circle 508. The RNTI can be dedicated to paging (e.g., P-RNTI), or it can be a new ID related to both sensing and paging, such as a sensing P-RNTI. The dashed box 508 shows DCI 502 in more detail. DCI 502 includes a CRC. It is the CRC part of DCI 502 that is scrambled. The scrambling is achieved by performing an XOR with the RNTI.

[0136] Figure 15 Shows an example of the enhanced paging message 504. In this example, it is assumed that the UE is triggered to perform Figure 6 the sensing shown. Figure 8 The UE 110 can be any one of UE 110x, 110y, or 110z that is triggered to perform sensing. Additionally, in Figure 15 the enhanced paging message 504, it is assumed that some UEs are also being paged. As shown at 524, the enhanced paging message 504 includes a UE paging ID 1 associated with UE 110x. The presence of the UE paging ID 1 indicates that UE 110x is being paged. In response, UE 110x can perform the required steps when paged, such as performing a network access procedure (e.g., an initial network access procedure) to synchronize and send / receive data messages to / from TRP 352. The network access procedure can include a radio access channel (RACH) procedure.

[0137] The UE sensing ID 1 serves as a trigger condition for triggering the UE 110x to perform sensing. If the UE sensing ID 1 does not exist, the UE 110x will still be paged, but the UE 110x will not be triggered to perform sensing. Sensing parameters can also be configured for the UE 110x. Examples of sensing parameters are as described above and can include: an indication of the time-frequency resources for performing sensing; and / or whether the UE 110x is to transmit a sensing signal, receive a sensing signal, or both transmit and receive a sensing signal; and / or the offset timing for starting sensing; and / or the sensing window; and / or the sensing repetition pattern; and / or the sensing waveform; and / or the time-frequency resources for transmitting the feedback obtained through sensing; and / or whether the UE 110x is to transmit an acknowledgement confirming that the UE 110x will perform sensing; and / or the beam direction for transmitting the sensing signal; and / or the beam direction for receiving the sensing signal. The sensing parameters shown in 524 are related to the UE 110x, and if needed, the network can dynamically change / indicate these parameters for the UE 110x at any time when triggering the UE 110x to perform sensing. For example, each time the UE 110x is triggered to perform sensing, the network can indicate the beam direction for receiving the sensing signal, which is commensurate with the position of the UE 110x relative to the target's approximate position.

[0138] As shown in 526, the enhanced paging message 504 further includes a UE sensing ID 2 associated with the UE 110y. The UE sensing ID2 serves as a trigger condition for triggering the UE 110y to perform sensing. Since there is no paging ID associated with the UE 110y, the UE110y is not paged. Instead, only the UE 110y is triggered to perform sensing. Sensing parameters for the UE 110y can also be configured.

[0139] As shown in 528, the enhanced paging message 504 further includes a UE sensing ID 3 associated with the UE 110z. The presence of the UE sensing ID3 serves as a trigger condition for triggering the UE 110z to perform sensing. Since there is no paging ID associated with the UE 110z, the UE 110z is not paged. Instead, the UE 110z is only triggered to perform sensing. Sensing parameters for the UE 110z can also be configured.

[0140] As shown in 530, the enhanced paging message 504 further includes a UE paging ID 4 associated with the UE 110w. The UE paging ID4 is used to page the UE 110w. In response, the UE 110w can perform the required steps when paged, for example, perform a network access procedure (e.g., an initial network access procedure). Since the UE 110w is not triggered to perform sensing, the sensing ID of the UE 110w is not included in the enhanced paging message 504.

[0141] In some embodiments, if the UE is part of a sensing group triggered to perform sensing together, the UE sensing ID1, UE sensing ID 2, and UE sensing ID 3 can be the same ID.

[0142] The enhanced paging message 504 includes configured sensing parameters assigned for UEs 110x, 110y, and 110z. These parameters may not be common to all UEs, but are set according to the specific situation of the UE. An example can be an indication of whether the UE is to send a sensing signal, receive a sensing signal, or both send and receive a sensing signal. Another example can be an indication of the beam direction for sending and / or receiving the sensing signal. However, as shown at 532, there can be one or more other sensing parameters or information common to all UEs performing sensing. These only need to be indicated once, for example, in a field common to all UEs. An example can be an indication of the location of the target object. Another example can be the offset timing to start sensing, for example, the number of time slots between receiving the enhanced paging message 504 and when the UE is subsequently to start performing sensing.

[0143] In a specific example, the following parameters are common to all UEs performing sensing and are indicated at 532: carrier band / component carrier, offset timing to start sensing, and an indication of the approximate location of the target object 372. For each UE triggered to perform sensing, the following parameters are indicated according to the specific situation of each UE (e.g., 524 represents UE 110x, 526 represents UE 110y, etc.): whether the UE is to send, receive, or both send and receive a sensing signal; whether the UE is to confirm that it will perform sensing (i.e., Figure 8 step 462). For example, in the Figure 8 message sent in step 452, other sensing parameters (e.g., time-frequency resources for performing sensing) are indicated in advance.

[0144] In another specific example, the following parameters are common to all UEs performing sensing and are indicated at 532: carrier band / component carrier, offset timing to start sensing, an indication of the approximate location of the target object 372, time-frequency resources or resource indication for performing sensing, and a sensing window or transmission period for performing sensing. For each UE triggered to perform sensing, the following parameters are indicated according to the specific situation of each UE (e.g., 524 represents UE 110x, 526 represents UE 110y, etc.): whether the UE is to send, receive, or both send and receive a sensing signal; whether the UE is to confirm that it will perform sensing (i.e., Figure 8 step 462). For example, in the Figure 8 message sent in step 452, other sensing parameters that the UE may need are indicated in advance.

[0145] In some embodiments, the DCI 502 that schedules the downlink message transmitted in step 458 of Figure 8 may include an indication of whether the downlink message is to trigger sensing only, page the UE only, or both trigger sensing and page the UE. Figure 16 is an example of an enhanced paging message 504 scheduled by DCI 502. The DCI 502 includes a two-bit bit field 600 that indicates whether the enhanced paging message 504 is to trigger sensing only, page for communication only, or both trigger sensing and page for communication. Table 602 is an example of how these two bits map to different scenarios. Since Figure 15 the enhanced paging message 504 shown both triggers sensing and pages, the bit field 600 has the bits 11. The disadvantage of including the field 600 in the DCI is that it is additional information that needs to be sent in the DCI. The advantage of doing so is that it can prevent the UE from performing unnecessary decoding of the enhanced paging message 504. For example, if UEs 110y and 110z are devices that are only used to perform sensing (e.g., they are low-power, low-cost sensors), then if the field 600 has the bits 01 indicating that the enhanced paging message 504 is for paging only, UEs 110y and 110z know that they do not need to decode the enhanced paging message 504. Similarly, if UE110w is a mobile phone that performs sensing but can be paged, then if the field 600 has the bit field 10 indicating that the enhanced paging message 504 is for sensing only, UE 110w knows that it does not have to decode the enhanced paging message 504.

[0146] In Figure 16 a variant of Figure 15 , the downlink message is not necessarily the enhanced paging message 504 explained above (e.g., in connection with Figure 9 ). Instead, the downlink message can be the downlink message 504 shown in

[0147] which, when the UE is to be paged, is supplemented with paging information. Figures 10 to 16In any of the embodiments shown, if the UE 110 is not notified of the scheduling of the downlink message, there is a redundant overhead associated with detecting / decoding the DCI. For example, for each monitoring occasion (e.g., paging occasion) of the DCI that may send a scheduling downlink message, the UE 110 may need to perform blind detection as follows: for each candidate PDCCH in the control channel, the UE 110 attempts to decode the DCI 502 carried by the candidate PDCCH, descrambles the CRC value of the DCI 502 using an ID (e.g., P-RNTI or sensed P-RNTI), and checks whether the CRC value is valid. If the CRC value is invalid, the UE 110 assumes that there is no valid DCI 502 scheduling the downlink message 504. The detection is unnecessary. To attempt to reduce the overhead associated with unnecessary detection of the DCI within each monitoring occasion, the UE 110 can be used to monitor early notification messages, e.g., paging early indication (PEI) messages, e.g., messages sent in DCI format DCI 2_7. The early notification message can have a separate monitoring period. For example, one PEI period can include several paging periods, so that the PEI message can indicate that one or more UEs skip multiple paging periods. In such an early indication, a DCI format such as DCI 2_7 in the NR network can be a specially designed low-power DCI, which is only received by the UE before the actual paging occasion arrives.

[0148] The following is an example. The UE 110 is in a sleep mode, used to wake up and monitor the notification in the DCI (e.g., paging notification) within the paging occasion, which schedules an indication of paging and / or triggers a sensed downlink message. At an earlier point in time, the UE 110 first decodes an early notification message such as a PEI, e.g., in a DCI (e.g., DCI 2_7). The early notification message indicates whether there is a message for paging the UE 110 and / or triggering the UE to perform sensing in subsequent paging occasions. If not, the UE 110 can skip those one or more paging occasions and remain in the sleep mode. For example, the early notification message can include a field indicating the number of subsequent paging occasions that the UE 110 is to skip, where the number can be between 1 and and so on, is pre-configured, e.g., semi-statically configured using higher layer signaling. The UE 110 can be part of a group of UEs or a UE subgroup. There may be Subgroups, each with a unique ID. The early notification message can also include one or more IDs of one or more subgroups for which one or more paging occasions are to be skipped, or vice versa. In some embodiments, the early notification message can include one or more bits to indicate whether a UE, a group of UEs, or a subgroup of UEs is to be paged or triggered to perform sensing within one or more upcoming paging occasions. If the early notification indicates paging only, and a particular UE is only used for performing sensing and knows that it cannot be paged, then the UE can skip one or more paging occasions and remain in a sleep state.

[0149] By implementing the above early notification message, when a UE knows that it will not be paged or triggered to perform sensing, it is very likely to reduce UE operations by avoiding the UE unnecessarily attempting to detect / decrypt the DCI within the paging occasion. In some embodiments, the subgroup of UEs associated with sensing can be different from the subgroup of UEs associated with paging, which makes the early notification message more flexible in specifying that certain UEs skip certain paging occasions in different scenarios. In other embodiments, the subgroup of UEs is the same for both paging and sensing. For example, if any UE in the subgroup is to be paged or triggered to perform sensing within an upcoming paging occasion, then the subgroup is indicated in the early notification message not to skip the upcoming paging occasion.

[0150] In view of the above, in Figure 8 some embodiments of the method, the downlink message is associated with a paging occasion, and the method further includes: (1) UE 110 decodes control information before the paging occasion, for example, the UE decodes an early notification message sent in DCI such as PEI; (2) UE 110 obtains from the control information an indication of whether to trigger UE110 to perform sensing within the paging occasion; (3) receives the downlink message only in response to control information indicating that UE 110 is to be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion. Steps (1) and (2) can be performed between Figure 8 steps 456 and 458 of

[0151] Other variations

[0152] In Figure 8In some embodiments of the method, before the UE 110 enters the power saving mode or when the UE 110 switches to the power saving mode, for example, in the message sent in step 452, resources for performing sensing can be configured in advance for the UE 110. Then, when the UE 110 is triggered to perform sensing, the downlink message may only include the most basic content related to sensing. For example, the downlink message may only include the ID associated with the UE 110 that triggers the UE 110 to perform sensing. This trigger condition can be used to "activate" the previously configured resources for sensing. This setting can be referred to as "configured grant". For example, one, part, or all of the following resources can be configured in advance and activated for use when the UE 110 is triggered to perform sensing:

[0153] · Any resources described in step 452 in combination with Figure 8 which can be configured before the UE 110 enters the power saving mode or when the UE 110 switches to the power saving mode.

[0154] · A set of time and / or frequency resources for sensing within a time period T, for example, the number of time slots for sensing.

[0155] · Sensing repetition frequency periodicity, for example, it can be a multiple of T.

[0156] · Transmission parameters, for example, sensing waveform and / or pilots to be used.

[0157] · Unauthorized periodicity, for example, how the time-frequency resources for sensing are repeated.

[0158] · Sensing repetition frequency periodicity, for example, how many rounds of sensing are performed within the sensing window.

[0159] · Signal waveform, for example, the sensing waveform used.

[0160] · Sensing feedback and / or measurement report channel.

[0161] In other embodiments, each time sensing is triggered, one, part, or all of the above-listed parameters can be dynamically indicated in the downlink message sent in Figure 8 step 458.

[0162] In some embodiments, the UE 110 can be used as a relay for other UEs that are outside the coverage of the TRP 352 but still need to participate in sensing. For example, Figure 17 is Figure 6 a variant where another UE 110q participates in sensing but is outside the coverage of the TRP 352. The UE 110q cannot receive from the TRP 352 in Figure 8The downlink message sent in step 458. UE 110q also cannot directly send the feedback obtained through the sensing performed by UE 110q to TRP 352. Therefore, UE 110q establishes sidelink communication with UE 110y, which is communicating with TRP 352. UE 110y acts as a relay between UE 110q and TRP 352. For example, when UE 110y receives the downlink message in Figure 8 step 460, UE 110y can forward the downlink message to UE 110q through a sidelink channel (e.g., using device-to-device (D2D) communication). As another example, when UE 110y receives the downlink message, UE 110y not only looks for an indication that triggers UE 110y to perform sensing, but also looks for an indication that triggers UE 110q to perform sensing. For example, UE 110y can look for both the UE sensing ID of UE 110y (triggering UE 110y to perform sensing) and the UE sensing ID of UE 110q (triggering UE 110q to perform sensing). UE 110q may have previously provided (e.g., through a sidelink) the UE sensing ID of UE 110q to UE 110y. In response to UE 110y finding an indication that triggers UE 110q to perform sensing, UE 110y can forward the downlink message to UE 110q, or send other messages to UE 110q indicating that UE 110q should perform sensing. If UE 110y does not directly forward the downlink message to UE 110q, UE 110y can send the sensing parameters configured for UE 110q in the downlink message. UE 110y can also receive the feedback obtained through the sensing performed by UE 110q from UE 110q through a sidelink. UE 110y can send the feedback of UE 110q to TRP 352 on behalf of UE 110q.

[0163] Therefore, in Figure 8 some embodiments of the method, UE 110 can be the first UE (e.g., UE 110y), and the indication that triggers the first UE to perform sensing can be the first indication. The downlink message can also include a second indication for triggering a second UE (e.g., UE 110q) to perform sensing. In response to the presence of the second indication, the first UE (e.g., UE 110y) can send a message to the second UE (e.g., UE 110q) notifying the second UE (e.g., UE 110q) that the second UE (e.g., UE 110q) is to perform sensing. The above method can further include: receiving the feedback obtained through sensing by the second UE (e.g., UE 110q), and sending the feedback to TRP 352.

[0164] The above relay can also be applicable to paging. For example, UE 110q can share its paging ID with UE 110y. If UE 110y discovers the paging ID associated with UE 110q in a downlink message, UE 110y can notify UE 110q by forwarding the downlink message or by sending a separate message. UE 110y can be used as a relay for paging data communication. For example, UE 110y performs a network access procedure to switch to the connected state and communicates with TRP 352 on behalf of UE 110q, acting as a relay for forwarding data between TRP 352 and UE 110q.

[0165] As described above, early notification messages such as PEI can indicate that the UE does not monitor DCI within certain notification opportunities. For example, it can indicate that the UE skips certain paging opportunities. In an embodiment implementing early notification messages, UE 110y can also be used as a relay between TRP 352 and UE 110q. For example, UE 110q can share its subgroup ID with UE 110y. If the early notification message indicates that the subgroup associated with UE 110q can skip one or more paging opportunities, UE 110y can notify UE 110q by forwarding the early notification message or by sending a separate message via the sidelink, etc.

[0166] The UE performing the forwarding does not necessarily have to perform sensing. The UE performing the forwarding may not be triggered to perform sensing and / or may never perform sensing. Figure 18 is shown Figure 17 a variant where UE 110q is still outside the coverage of TRP 352, but UE 110w is used as a relay instead of UE 110y. UE 110w is not triggered to perform sensing, but UE 110q is triggered to perform sensing. UE 110w discovers an indication in the downlink message that triggers UE 110q to perform sensing. In response, UE 110w either forwards the downlink message to UE 110q via the sidelink or sends another message via the sidelink to trigger UE 110q to perform sensing. UE 110w also forwards the sensing result to TRP 352 on behalf of UE 110q.

[0167] In some embodiments, in addition to the indication triggering UE 110 to perform sensing, in Figure 8The downlink message sent in step 458 may also include other information. For example, as described above, one or more sensing parameters may be indicated to configure the sensing performed by UE 110. In some embodiments, the downlink message sent in step 458 provides information for the UE 110 to perform directional sensing. Directional sensing may include the UE 110 controlling one or more beams in the general direction of the target object 372 to transmit sensing signals in the general direction of the target object 372 (in the case where the UE 110 transmits sensing signals) and / or to concentrate on receiving sensing signals from the general direction of the target object 372. This provides an advantage because if the UE 110 has information about the general direction in which the sensing signals should be transmitted and / or received, the UE 110 can sense more reliably. The following are three examples of information for directional sensing. In the first example, the information sent in the downlink message indicates the general position of the target object 372, which is represented by the azimuth of the target object 372 relative to a reference point known to the UE. For example, the reference point known to the UE is the TRP 352, and the azimuth of departure (AoD) and zenith of departure (ZoD) from the reference point to the target object 372 and the estimated distance range from the reference point are indicated. The UE 110 uses this information and its own position to determine the general position / azimuth of the UE 110 relative to the target object 372. Then, the UE 110 can use one or more beams controlled in the general direction of the target object 372 to perform sensing. In the second example, the information sent in the downlink message indicates the general position of the target object 372, which is represented by absolute positioning, such as a grid ID corresponding to the grid or space where the target object 372 is generally located and / or GPS coordinates corresponding to the general position of the target object. In the case of the grid ID, the TRP 352 and the UE know the position of the grid in advance. The UE 110 uses the grid ID or GPS coordinates and its own position to determine the general position / azimuth of the UE 110 relative to the target object 372. Then, the UE 110 can use one or more beams controlled in the general direction of the target object 372 to perform sensing. In a variant of these first two examples, if the UE 110 is used to receive sensing signals, the TRP 352 may also send an indication of the position associated with the UE that transmits the sensing signals to the UE 110, and this indication can also be used by the UE 110 to select the beam angle for receiving the sensing signals. In the third example, the TRP 352 knows the positions of the UE that transmits and receives the sensing signals and also knows the general position of the target object 372. The TRP 352 calculates the direction / orientation range (e.g., beam angle) for the UE 110 and sends an indication of the direction / orientation range (e.g., beam angle) to the UE 110 in the downlink message.UE 110 controls its beam in the indicated direction during sensing. In the first two examples, information associated with the location of the target object 372 can be indicated in a field of a downlink message common to all UEs, e.g., in Figure 15 part 532 of the enhanced paging message 504. In the third example, the TRP 352 is to calculate a custom beam direction for each UE, so this information will be provided in a UE-specific field (e.g., in Figure 15 the enhanced paging message 504). The beam direction of UE 110x is indicated as part of the sensing parameter of UE 110x, the beam direction of UE 110y is indicated as part of the sensing parameter of UE 110y, and so on. In all three examples, the TRP 352 needs to know the approximate location of the target object 372. This approximate location can be selected by the TRP 352 as the last known exact location of the target object 372 or based on the last known exact location of the target object 372. For example, the TRP 352 can calculate the approximate location of the target object 372 based on the last known location of the target object 372, the last known direction and speed of the target object 372, and the time elapsed since the last known travel location / speed / direction.

[0168] In some embodiments, when triggering the UE 110 to perform sensing in the Figure 8 method, the UE 110 can be used to perform multiple sensing instances within a time period / window. The time period / window can be referred to as a sensing window, and the time for sending and / or receiving sensing signals can be referred to as a sensing mode. For example, the sensing window and / or sensing mode can be configured in the message sent in step 452 or in the downlink message sent in step 458. In some embodiments, different sensing instances are performed at different beam angles. Figure 19Shows an example of triggering UEs 110x and 110z to perform multiple sensing instances. UE 110x is used to continuously transmit sensing signals k times at k different beam angles, as shown by transmit beams Tx 1 …… Txk. These beam angles are close to each other and are all in the general direction of the target object 372. For example, this is because the above-mentioned directional sensing is implemented. UE 110z is used to continuously receive sensing signals n times at n different beam angles, as shown by receive beams Rx 1, Rx 2 …… Rx n. These beam angles are close to each other and are all in the general direction of the target object 372. For example, this is because the above-mentioned directional sensing is implemented. In the example shown, n is greater than k (i.e., n>k) because the reflection of the sensing signal from the target object 372 is more random and more difficult to predict in terms of one or more reflection angles. Therefore, the beam angle distribution for receiving the sensing signal is also larger. Alternatively or additionally, the time required for UE 110z to perform the receive sensing may be longer than the time required for UE 110x to transmit the sensing signal. In the example shown, UE 110z determines the information shown in Table 630 in each sensing instance (i.e., for each of receive beams Rx 1 to Rx n). At time t1, UE 110z performs receive sensing at beam angle Rx 1, which includes attempting to detect the sensing signal reflected from the target object 372. UE 110z attempts to detect the energy S1, which can be in the form of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or reference signal receive power (RSRP). UE 110z also determines the time (Rxt1) when the sensing signal is received and the angle of arrival (AoA1). Comparing the time (Rx t1) when the sensing signal is received with time t1 can be used to determine the propagation time of the reflection path.

[0169] The same actions are repeated for receive sensing beam angles Rx 2 to Rx n respectively. Then, in some embodiments, when UE 110z is to send the feedback obtained through sensing, UE 110z selects the row with the most reliable / robust result in Table 630 according to certain selection criteria. For example, the row with the highest detected energy of the sensing signal. Only the information in that row (or the information based on the values in that row) will be fed back to the TRP 352. For example, it is fed back in the message sent in Figure 8 step 468. In some embodiments, if multiple rows in Table 630 have reliable values (e.g., all rows have sensing signals with detected energy greater than a certain threshold), the information in these rows or the information based on these rows can be fed back to the TRP 352. In some embodiments, if none of the rows in Table 630 have reliable values, UE 110z can send a NACK to the TRP 352 instead of sending the information in Table 630.

[0170] Combine Figure 19 The advantage of the described method is that, since multiple sensing signals are transmitted and / or received at different beam angles at different times, and one or more of the strongest received signals are used for feedback, sensing may be more reliable. The network can configure a specific sensing signal transmission and / or reception time pattern and beam scanning direction by means of a message sent in step 452 of Figure 8 (e.g., in RRC signaling before the UE enters the power saving mode) or by means of a downlink message sent in step 458 of Figure 8 .

[0171] In some embodiments, sensing may need to be performed by one or more UEs that are not in the power saving mode. For example, one or more UEs may be in the connected mode, e.g., in the RRC connected state. In some embodiments, a UE that is not in the power saving mode (e.g., a UE in the RRC connected state) can be used to monitor an occasion (e.g., a paging occasion) to obtain DCI of a downlink message that schedules the UE to perform sensing. For example, a UE may not monitor whether it is paged (because the UE is already connected to the network and a communication session has been established), but the UE may still monitor whether it is triggered to perform sensing. In other embodiments, a UE that is not in the power saving mode can be triggered to perform sensing in broadcast, multicast, or UE-specific signaling. This signaling can also configure one or more parameters related to sensing. This signaling can be sent in DCI. The following is a non-exhaustive list of one or more items that can be sent in the signaling:

[0172] · Sensing beam and / or timing pattern. For example, the signaling can include an M-bit field that provides an indication of the sensing signals to be transmitted and / or received in different transmit time intervals (TTIs). A transmission pattern can be defined in terms of duration.

[0173]

[0174] · Number of sensing time periods and / or repetition patterns. For example, the signaling can include an N-bit field that indicates this information, which is used by the UE receiving the sensing signals to better detect or measure the sensing signals.

[0175] ​· Transmit and / or receive sensing IDs. For example, the ID can be used to indicate which UEs are to transmit sensing signals. The ID can be UE-specific or associated with a group of UEs, e.g., to indicate that all UEs in the group are to transmit sensing signals. Additionally or alternatively, the ID can be used to indicate which UEs are to receive sensing signals. The ID can be UE-specific or associated with a group of UEs, e.g., to indicate that all UEs in the group are to receive sensing signals. In some embodiments, the UEs can be in one or more sensing groups or subgroups. Here is an example. These UEs are all part of a sensing group, and the signaling is in DCI scrambled by a sensing RNTI specific to the sensing group. The UEs in the sensing group are divided into multiple subgroups. The signaling includes a field (e.g., a bitmap) indicating which subgroups are to transmit sensing signals and / or which subgroups are to receive sensing signals.

[0176] · Resource pool index. For example, the signaling can include a field of log2I bits indicating one of the I resource pools of sensing signals to be used by the UEs transmitting sensing signals.

[0177] · Time interval before performing sensing, e.g., a field of n bits indicating the number of time slots from receiving the signaling to starting sensing.

[0178] · Time and / or frequency resources for performing sensing.

[0179] · Repetition frequency periodicity, e.g., the repetition rate of sensing in terms of TTI or time slots.

[0180] · Indication of the time and / or frequency resources for transmitting the feedback obtained through sensing, e.g., the PUCCH resource indicator when transmitting feedback on the PUCCH.

[0181] · Redundancy version (RV) associated with retransmission and / or HARQ process ID.

[0182] The signaling can indicate one or more of the above. In some embodiments, the signaling is DCI, and the sensing RNTI (or other predefined RNTI) can be configured (e.g., via RRC signaling) to scramble the DCI. A group of UEs receiving the signaling can share the sensing RNTI (or other predefined RNTI).

[0183] For UEs in the power saving mode, as described above, the UEs can monitor at various occasions (e.g., paging occasions) to obtain the DCI scheduling the downlink message. As described above in connection with Figures 10 to 16The example is explained. In some embodiments, the timing for monitoring the DCI of the scheduling downlink message (e.g., paging timing) can be configured by information associated with the synchronization signal block (SSB) and the system information (SI). For example, system information such as the master information block (MIB) or the system information block (SIB) can configure one or more monitoring timings and / or one or more parameters related to sensing. This may be part of the configuration described in step 452 / 454 of Figure 8 In some embodiments, the configuration can be performed as part of the initial access procedure. In some embodiments, when the UE 110 first connects to the network, for example, during initial access, the UE 110 sends a capability report indicating the sensing capability of the UE 110 to the TRP 352. For example, if the UE 110 can only receive sensing signals but not send sensing signals, the UE 110 indicates this to the TRP 352 so that the network can configure sensing appropriately (e.g., not expecting the UE 110 to send sensing signals). In some embodiments, the UE 110 can provide an ID associated with sensing to the TRP 352. For example, the UE 110x can provide the UE sensing ID 1 to the TRP 352 so that the TRP 352 knows which ID to use when triggering the UE 110x to perform sensing in Figure 15 the enhanced paging message 504.

[0184] When performing Figure 8 In embodiments of step 462 and / or step 468, there are different options for sending the uplink message. In one example, if step 462 is executed (that is, the UE 110 sends an ACK indicating that it itself will perform sensing), the acknowledgment channel can be used to send the ACK. In another example, if step 468 is executed (that is, the UE 110 sends sensing-based feedback), the sensing reporting channel can be used to send the feedback. The configured channels can be in the uplink control channel, for example, the time-frequency resources in the PUCCH. These channels can be configured in the message sent in Figure 8 step 452.

[0185] In some embodiments, if step 462 and / or step 468 are executed, these steps may be executed as part of a RACH procedure, e.g., as part of a two-step RACH procedure. The following is an example. In addition to sensing, UE 110 also executes a RACH procedure, e.g., for initial network access and connection establishment. The RACH procedure includes one or more uplink messages sent by UE 110. UE 110 includes the ACK of step 462 and / or the feedback of step 468 in the uplink message sent by UE 110 during the RACH procedure. For example, if a two-step RACH is being executed, the ACK of step 462 and / or the feedback can be sent in message A ("Msg A") sent by UE 110 as part of the two-step RACH. As another example, the ACK of step 462 and / or the feedback can be sent in message 1 ("Msg 1") or message 3 ("Msg 3") sent by UE 110 as part of the RACH procedure. Thus, in some embodiments, Figure 8 The method may include: sending an ACK in step 462 and / or sending feedback in step 468 as part of an uplink message sent during a RACH procedure (e.g., in a RACH channel). For example, the ACK and / or feedback may be appended to or incorporated into the uplink message sent during the RACH procedure. If an ACK (or NACK) is sent in step 462, it may be sent together with a UE sensing ID (or UE I-RNTI) configured by the network (e.g., in step 452 or when the UE switches from a connected state (e.g., RRC connected state) to a power saving mode / state).

[0186] In some embodiments, when triggering UE 110 to perform sensing, the UE first switches from a power saving mode to a connected state (e.g., RRC connected state) to perform sensing. The RACH procedure may be executed when switching from a power saving mode to a connected state. In other embodiments, when triggering UE 110 to perform sensing, a RACH procedure for transmission timing synchronization may be executed, but UE 110 does not exit the power saving mode. In some embodiments, UE 110 may optionally receive an instruction or message from the network to remain in the power saving mode during the sensing operation. The UE may send an ACK or NACK during the RACH procedure (as described above in step 462). The UE may receive a timing advance (TA) adjustment during the RACH procedure. However, the UE does not exit the power saving mode, e.g., the UE does not switch to a connected state. In other embodiments, SI / SSB and / or downlink common reference signals may be used to achieve timing synchronization to replace or supplement the execution of the RACH procedure to achieve transmission timing synchronization for sensing.

[0187] InFigure 8 In the method, the UE (UE 110) is triggered to perform sensing by a message from the TRP 352. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, the TRP or an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) device can be triggered to perform sensing. Therefore, Figure 8 and all the supplements and variations described therein can be modified such that a device can be triggered to perform sensing. The device can be a UE (e.g., UE 110), but can also be other devices, such as a TRP. Figure 20 illustrates Figure 6 a variation in which the TRP 353 is triggered to perform sensing. In the example shown, the TRP 353 is used to receive sensing signals, as shown at 660. In some embodiments, different from the UE 110x and UE 110y, the TRP 353 may not be triggered by a downlink message sent in Figure 8 step 458. For example, the TRP 353 can be triggered to perform sensing through a backhaul or a TRP-to-TRP link. The TRP 353 can also use this link to feedback the sensing result. In Figure 20 the example, the TRP 352 also participates in sensing by sending and receiving sensing signals, as shown at 662 and 664. The TRP 353 or the TRP 352 or other TRPs (not shown) can be the serving TRP.

[0188] In addition, in Figure 8 , it is the TRP (TRP 352) that sends the downlink message triggering the sensing. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, a UE (e.g., the "primary UE" or a relay UE) can send the downlink message. Therefore, Figure 8 and all the supplements and variations described therein can be modified such that a device can send the downlink message. The device can be a TRP (e.g., TRP 352), but can also be other devices, such as a UE.

[0189] In view of the above, Figure 8 the method and all the supplements and variations described therein can be executed by a device. The device can execute step 458 and (if included) steps 452, 464, and / or 470. The device can execute any variation or example described herein that is performed by the TRP 352. The device can be a network device, such as a TRP, for example, in combination with Figure 5 the described TRP 352. The device can include at least one processor and a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to execute Figure 8 the method steps in. The device can be a component in a network device, such as controlling the device to executeFigure 8 An integrated circuit chip for the method steps. The apparatus may perform steps 460 and 466 and (if included) steps 454, 456, 462, and / or 468. The apparatus may perform any variant or example described herein that is performed by a UE such as UE 110. The apparatus may be an ED or a UE, for example, in combination with Figure 5 the UE 110 described. The apparatus may include at least one processor and a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform Figure 8 the method steps in. The apparatus may be a component in a device, for example, a component in a UE. For example, the apparatus may be an integrated circuit chip that controls the UE to perform Figure 8 the method steps.

[0190] Many variants are described herein Figure 8 , including examples of specific messages, steps, etc. All permutations and combinations of these variants and examples are contemplated. For example, any method for the occurrence of the downlink message 504 described in combination with Figures 10 to 14 may be combined with any variant of the downlink message described herein (e.g., in combination with Figure 9 and Figure 15 ), and these variants may be combined with any sensing parameter configuration described herein (in the message sent in step 452 or the downlink message sent in step 458), and so on.

[0191] It should be noted that the expression "at least one of A or B" used herein can be interchanged with the expression "A and / or B". This expression means that A or B or a list of A and B can be selected. Similarly, the expression "at least one of A, B, or C" used herein can be interchanged with "A and / or B and / or C" or "A, B, and / or C". This expression means that a list of the following can be selected: A or B or C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, or all of A, B, and C. The same principle applies to longer lists with the same format.

[0192] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments of the present invention, various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The specification and drawings are thus to be regarded only as illustrative of some embodiments of the present invention as defined by the appended claims, and are contemplated to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present invention. Thus, while the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made without departing from the present invention as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the scope of the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments of the processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, modules, methods and steps described in the specification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate, based on the disclosure of the present invention, that existing or to-be-developed processes, machines, products, compositions of matter, modules, methods or steps that perform substantially the same function as the corresponding embodiments described herein or are capable of achieving substantially the same results as the described embodiments can be used in accordance with the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover such processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, components, methods or steps within their scope.

[0193] In addition, any module, component or device that executes instructions illustrated herein may include or otherwise access one or more non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media to store information, such as computer / processor-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and / or other data. A non-exhaustive list of examples of non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media includes magnetic tape cartridges, tapes, disk memories or other magnetic storage devices, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital video discs or digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs TM and other optical discs, or other optical storage, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other storage technologies. Any of these non-transitory computer / processor storage media may be part of a device or may be accessed or connected by a device. Any application or module described herein may be implemented using computer / processor-readable / executable instructions that may be stored or otherwise held by these non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media.

Claims

1. A method performed by a device in a power-saving mode, characterized in that, The method includes: Receiving a downlink message in the power saving mode, the downlink message including an indication for triggering the device to perform sensing; In response to receiving the indication, performing at least one of the following operations in the power saving mode: transmitting a sensing signal or receiving the sensing signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The downlink message is associated with paging.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The downlink message includes a paging message supplemented with the indication for triggering the device to perform sensing.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, Receiving the downlink message includes: Receiving downlink control information DCI scrambled by an ID, where the ID is also used for paging; Obtaining the time-frequency position of the downlink message from the DCI; Receiving the downlink message at the time-frequency position.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The power saving mode is a mode in which the device has reduced or restricted power consumption, and the power saving mode is associated with at least one of the following: one or more radio resource control RRC states; one or more channels; receive bandwidth; system parameters; power control scheme; resource or power management; RRC idle state; RRC inactive state; deep sleep mode; shallow sleep mode; or micro sleep mode.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The indication for triggering the device to perform sensing includes an identifier ID associated with the device in the downlink message.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The ID is configured to be associated with the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, At least one of the following is also configured before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to transmit the sensing signal or receive the sensing signal, or both transmit and receive the sensing signal; offset timing for starting sensing; Sensing window; Sensing repetition pattern; sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for transmitting feedback obtained through sensing; Or whether the device is to transmit an acknowledgement that the device will perform sensing.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The downlink message further includes an indication of at least one of the following: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to transmit the sensing signal or receive the sensing signal, or both transmit and receive the sensing signal; offset timing for starting sensing; Sensing window; sensing repetition pattern; sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for transmitting feedback obtained through sensing; whether the device is to transmit an acknowledgement that the device will perform sensing; Position associated with the target object to be sensed; beam direction for transmitting the sensing signal; or beam direction for receiving the sensing signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The downlink message includes the position associated with the target object, and the position is provided in a field common to all devices triggered to perform sensing.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The downlink message includes multiple IDs for triggering multiple devices to perform sensing, the multiple IDs being respectively associated with corresponding different one or more of the devices, and the multiple IDs including at least the ID for triggering the device to perform sensing associated with the device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The downlink message is associated with a paging occasion, and the method further includes: Decoding control information before the paging occasion; Obtain an indication from the control information as to whether the device is to be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion; Receive the downlink message only in response to the control information indicating that the device is to be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that, The device is a first device, the indication is a first indication, the downlink message further includes a second indication for triggering a second device to perform sensing, and the method further includes: in response to the presence of the second indication, the first device sends a message to the second device notifying the second device that the second device is to perform sensing.

14. A device, characterized in that, Comprising: At least one processor; A memory storing processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform the following operations: Receive, in a power saving mode, a downlink message including an indication for triggering the device to perform sensing; In response to receiving the indication, perform at least one of the following operations in the power saving mode: send a sensing signal or receive the sensing signal.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that, The downlink message is associated with paging.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that, The downlink message includes a paging message supplemented with the indication for triggering the device to perform sensing.

17. The device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The device is to receive the downlink message by performing the following operations: Receive downlink control information DCI scrambled by an ID, where the ID is also used for paging; Obtain the time-frequency position of the downlink message from the DCI; Receive the downlink message at the time-frequency position.

18. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that, The power saving mode is a mode in which the device has reduced or restricted power consumption, and the power saving mode is associated with at least one of the following: one or more radio resource control RRC states; one or more channels; receive bandwidth; system parameters; power control scheme; resource or power management; RRC idle state; RRC inactive state; deep sleep mode; light sleep mode; or micro sleep mode.

19. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that The indication for triggering the device to perform sensing includes an identifier ID associated with the device in the downlink message.

20. The device according to claim 19, wherein The ID is configured to be associated with the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode.

21. The device according to claim 20, wherein, At least one of the following is also configured before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to send the sensing signal or receive the sensing signal, or both send and receive the sensing signal; offset timing for starting sensing; Sensing window; Sensing repetition pattern; sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for sending feedback obtained by sensing; Or whether the device is to send a confirmation that the device is to perform sensing.

22. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that, The downlink message further includes an indication of at least one of the following: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to send the sensing signal or receive the sensing signal, or both send and receive the sensing signal; offset timing for starting sensing; Sensing window; sensing repetition pattern; sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for sending feedback obtained through sensing; whether the device is to send an acknowledgement that the device is going to perform sensing. A location associated with a target object to be sensed; a beam direction for sending the sensing signal; or a beam direction for receiving the sensing signal.

23. The device according to claim 22, characterized in that, The downlink message includes the location associated with the target object, which is provided in a field common to all devices triggered to perform sensing.

24. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 23, characterized in that, The downlink message includes a plurality of IDs for triggering a plurality of devices to perform sensing, the plurality of IDs being respectively associated with corresponding different ones or more of the devices, and the plurality of IDs including at least the ID associated with the device for triggering the device to perform sensing.

25. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 24, characterized in that, The downlink message is associated with a paging occasion, and the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the device to perform the following operations: Decode control information before the paging occasion; Obtain from the control information an indication of whether the device is to be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion; Receive the downlink message only in response to the control information indicating that the device is to be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion.

26. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 25, characterized in that, The device is a first device, the indication is a first indication, the downlink message further includes a second indication for triggering a second device to perform sensing, and in response to the presence of the second indication, the first device is to send a message to the second device notifying the second device that the second device is to perform sensing.

27. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 26, characterized in that The device is a user equipment UE.

28. A method performed by a device, characterized in that, The method includes: Send a downlink message, where the downlink message includes an indication for triggering a device in a power saving mode to perform sensing; Subsequently receive from the device in the power saving mode the feedback obtained by the device through sensing.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein The downlink message is associated with paging.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein The downlink message includes a paging message supplemented with the indication for triggering the device to perform sensing.

31. The method according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that, Further includes: Send downlink control information DCI scrambled by an ID, where the ID is also used for paging, and the DCI includes an indication of the time-frequency resources where the downlink message is located.

32. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that, The power saving mode is a mode in which the device has reduced or restricted power consumption, and the power saving mode is associated with at least one of the following: one or more radio resource control RRC states; one or more channels; receive bandwidth; system parameters; power control schemes; resource or power management; RRC idle state; RRC inactive state; deep sleep mode; light sleep mode; or micro sleep mode.

33. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 32, characterized in that, The indication for triggering the device to perform sensing includes an identifier ID associated with the device in the downlink message.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein The ID is configured to be associated with the device by the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein At least one of the following is also configured by the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to transmit the sensing signal, receive the sensing signal, or both transmit and receive the sensing signal; an offset timing for starting sensing; A sensing window; A sensing repetition pattern; a sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for transmitting feedback obtained through sensing; Or whether the device is to transmit an acknowledgement that the device is going to perform sensing.

36. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 34, characterized in that, The downlink message further includes an indication of at least one of the following: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to transmit the sensing signal, receive the sensing signal, or both transmit and receive the sensing signal; an offset timing for starting sensing; A sensing window; a sensing repetition pattern; a sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for transmitting feedback obtained through sensing; whether the device is to transmit an acknowledgement that the device is going to perform sensing; A location associated with a target object to be sensed; a beam direction for transmitting the sensing signal; or a beam direction for receiving the sensing signal.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein The downlink message includes the location associated with the target object, and the location is provided in a field common to all devices triggered to perform sensing.

38. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 37, characterized in that, The downlink message includes a plurality of IDs for triggering a plurality of devices to perform sensing, the plurality of IDs being respectively associated with corresponding different ones or more of the devices, and the plurality of IDs including at least an ID associated with the device for triggering the device to perform sensing.

39. The method according to any one of claims 28 to 38, characterized in that, The downlink message is associated with a paging occasion, and the method further includes: transmitting control information before the paging occasion, where the control information includes an indication of whether the device is to be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion.

40. A device, characterized in that, The device includes: At least one processor; A memory storing processor-executable instructions, where the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform the following operations: Transmit a downlink message, where the downlink message includes an indication for triggering a device in the power saving mode to perform sensing; Subsequently receive, from the device in the power saving mode, feedback obtained by the device through sensing.

41. The device according to claim 40, characterized in that, The downlink message is associated with paging.

42. The device according to claim 41, characterized in that, The downlink message includes a paging message supplemented with the indication for triggering the device to perform sensing.

43. The device according to claim 41 or 42, characterized in that, When executed by the at least one processor, the instructions further cause the device to perform the following operation: transmit downlink control information DCI scrambled by an ID, where the ID is also used for paging, and the DCI includes an indication of the time-frequency resources where the downlink message is located.

44. The device according to any one of claims 40 to 43, characterized in that, The power saving mode is a mode in which the device has reduced or limited power consumption, and the power saving mode is associated with at least one of the following: one or more Radio Resource Control (RRC) states; one or more channels; receive bandwidth; system parameters; power control scheme; resource or power management; RRC idle state; RRC inactive state; deep sleep mode; light sleep mode; or micro sleep mode.

45. The device according to any one of claims 40 to 44, characterized in that, The indication for triggering the device to perform sensing includes an identifier (ID) associated with the device in the downlink message.

46. The device according to claim 45, characterized in that The ID is configured by the device to be associated with the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode.

47. The device according to claim 46, characterized in that, At least one of the following is also configured by the device before the device enters the power saving mode or when the device switches to the power saving mode: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to transmit the sensing signal, receive the sensing signal, or both transmit and receive the sensing signal; an offset timing to start sensing; Sensing window; Sensing repetition pattern; sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for transmitting feedback obtained through sensing; Or whether the device is to transmit an acknowledgement that the device will perform sensing.

48. The device according to any one of claims 40 to 46, characterized in that, The downlink message further includes an indication of at least one of the following: time-frequency resources for performing sensing; whether the device is to transmit the sensing signal, receive the sensing signal, or both transmit and receive the sensing signal; an offset timing to start sensing; Sensing window; sensing repetition pattern; sensing waveform; Time-frequency resources for transmitting feedback obtained through sensing; whether the device is to transmit an acknowledgement that the device will perform sensing; A location associated with a target object to be sensed; a beam direction for transmitting the sensing signal; or a beam direction for receiving the sensing signal.

49. The device according to claim 48, wherein, The downlink message includes the location associated with the target object, and the location is provided in a field common to all devices triggered to perform sensing.

50. The device according to any one of claims 40 to 49, characterized in that, The downlink message includes a plurality of IDs for triggering a plurality of devices to perform sensing, the plurality of IDs being respectively associated with corresponding different ones or more of the devices, and the plurality of IDs include at least the ID for triggering the device to perform sensing and associated with the device.

51. The device according to any one of claims 40 to 50, characterized in that, The downlink message is associated with a paging occasion, and when executed by the at least one processor, the instruction further causes the device to perform the following operation: transmit control information before the paging occasion, where the control information includes an indication of whether the device will be triggered to perform sensing within the paging occasion.

52. The device according to any one of claims 40 to 51, characterized in that The device is a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP).

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