Positioning based on time of arrival between packets

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a radio frequency identification (RFID) station may receive a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival. The RFID station may receive a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival following the first time of arrival. The RFID station may estimate a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet arrival time between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet arrival time based on a time difference between the first arrival time and the second arrival time.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001]

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

[0003]

[0004] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless phone services, second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone services, including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks, third- generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless services, and fourth- generation (4G) services (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are now a number of different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

[0005] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage than previous standards. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, 5G technology should provide bitrates on the order of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to one gigabit per second (Gbps), with reduced latency and increased efficiency, compared to previous standards, to enable a wide range of new applications and services. To achieve these goals, 5G technology should introduce improvements in efficiency, density, and speed relative to previous wireless standards. SUMMARY

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In an aspect, a method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station includes receiving a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival, receiving a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival, and estimating a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0008] In an aspect, a method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes sending a first packet to an RFID station at a first time of sending, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being sent, collecting energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent, and storing the collected energy in the energy storage device, and sending a second packet to the RFID station at a second time of sending after the first time of sending based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0009] In an aspect, a radio frequency identification (RFID) station includes at least one memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to receive a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival via the at least one transceiver, receive a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival via the at least one transceiver, and estimate a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0010] In an aspect, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes at least one memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to send a first packet to an RFID station at a first time of sending via the at least one transceiver, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being sent, collect energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent, and store the collected energy in the energy storage device, and send a second packet to the RFID station at a second time of sending after the first time of sending via the at least one transceiver and based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0011] In an aspect, a radio frequency identification (RFID) station includes means for receiving a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival; means for receiving a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival; and means for estimating a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0012] In an aspect, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes means for sending a first packet to an RFID station at a first time of sending, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being sent; means for collecting energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent and storing the collected energy in the energy storage device; and means for sending a second packet to the RFID station at a second time of sending after the first time of sending based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0013] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer- executable instructions that, when executed by a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, cause the RFID station to receive a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival; receive a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival; and estimate a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0014] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer- executable instructions that, when executed by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, cause the RFID tag to send a first packet to an RFID station at a first time of sending, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being sent; collect energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent and store the collected energy in the energy storage device; and send a second packet to the RFID station at a second time of sending after the first time of sending based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0015] Other objects and advantages associated with aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects.

[0017] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B and Figure 2C An example wireless network structure in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 3A An example radio frequency identification (RFID) system in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 3B An example configuration for a passive Internet of Things (IoT) use case in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B and Figure 4C are simplified block diagrams of several example aspects of components that can be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0022] Figure 5 A simplified block diagram of an RFID station and an RFID tag in an RFID system in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is illustrated.

[0023] Figure 6 An example RFID system for a backscatter-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 7 Observed positioning errors in a field test example for determining an estimated position of an RFID tag based on a signal strength-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the disclosure are illustrated.

[0025] Figure 8 Examples of performing a positioning process based on inter-packet arrival times in accordance with aspects of the disclosure are illustrated, including a first timing diagram showing operations of an RFID tag and a second timing diagram showing operations of an RFID station.

[0026] Figure 9 Observed inter-packet arrival times in a field test example in accordance with aspects of the disclosure are illustrated.

[0027] Figure 10 An example method of operating an RFID station is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 11 An example method of operating an RFID tag is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings, which are provided for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Alternative aspects can be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure, related to those that are well known, are not described in detail or are omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0030] Various aspects generally relate to a packet-to-packet arrival time based positioning estimation procedure. Some aspects more specifically relate to a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that can harvest energy from radio frequency waves from an RFID station after transmitting a first packet and can transmit a second packet after the first packet based on whether an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag reaches a configured level. In some examples, a time difference between the first packet and the second packet can correspond to a received signal strength at the RFID tag, which in turn can correspond to a distance between the RFID tag and the RFID station.

[0031] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the described techniques can be used to perform a packet-to-packet arrival time based positioning estimation procedure. In some examples, the described techniques can simplify hardware and / or processing complexity requirements at the RFID tag. Thus, the RFID station can determine a distance between the RFID tag and the RFID station without imposing a significant load on the RFID tag and without significant processing latency. Additionally, the RFID tag can participate in the positioning procedure without excessive hardware and / or processing requirements, without significant processing latency, and thus without incurring excessive power consumption.

[0032] The words “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects of the present disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields, or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0034] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will recognize that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or direct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure can be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects can be described herein in terms such as "logic configured to" perform the actions described.

[0035] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset-positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal,” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with one another directly, e.g., using a device-to-device (D2D) protocol, or communicate with a remote device via a core network and / or one or more other networks (e.g., the Internet). Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specifications), and / or the like.

[0036] A base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with UEs depending on the network in which they are deployed, and can be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. Base stations can be used to serve UEs in order to enable wireless access to a network, including to support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, a base station can provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems it can provide additional control and / or network management functions. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term “traffic channel” (TCH) can refer to an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0037] The term “base station” can refer to a single physical transmission reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that can or can not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or cell sector) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is a point from or to which the base station sends and receives wireless signals, references to transmissions from or receptions at a base station should be interpreted to refer to particular TRPs of the base station.

[0038] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station can not support wireless access by a UE (e.g., can not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but can instead transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or can receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., where signals are transmitted to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., where signals from the UE are received and measured).

[0039] An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transports information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter can transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals over multipath channels, the receiver can receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver can be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, where it is clear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal, an RF signal can also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal.”

[0040] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100, which can also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WW AN), can include various base stations 102, labeled “BS,” and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 can include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base station can include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations can include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, and the like.

[0041] The base stations 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC), or a 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location server 172 can be part of the core network 170 or can be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 can be integrated with the base stations 102. The UEs 104 can communicate directly with the location server 172, either directly or indirectly via the base stations 102. For example, the UEs 104 can communicate with the location server 172 via a base station 102 that is currently serving the UE 104. The UEs 104 can also communicate with the location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), and the like. The communication between the UEs 104 and the location server 172 can be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via the direct connection 128) for signaling purposes, with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagrams for the sake of clarity.

[0042] The base stations 102 can perform functions such as, but not limited to, orchestrating the communication of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 can communicate with one another directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over backhaul links 134, which can be wired or wireless.

[0043] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. Furthermore, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0044] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some areas within geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0045] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0046] The wireless communications system 100 can also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 can perform clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedures prior to communicating to determine whether the channel is available.

[0047] The small cell base stations 102' can operate in a licensed or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base stations 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base stations 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum can boost coverage of the access network and / or increase capacity of the access network. The NR in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. The LTE in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire ® .

[0048] The wireless communications system 100 can also include millimeter wave (mmW) base stations 180 that can operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies in communication with mmW user equipment devices 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the part of the radio frequency spectrum that lies between 30 GHz and 300 GHz. It lies just beyond the band of microwaves; hence, the name. Waves in this band are short and high frequency, which leads to the term millimeter wave. Near mmW can extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as the centimeter wave band. Communications using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band have extremely high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base stations 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over mmW communication links 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it should be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 can also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Thus, it should be appreciated that the foregoing illustrative example is only exemplary and should not be taken as limiting upon the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0049] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus the RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts a RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is in relation to the transmitting network node, and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) for the receiving device. To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or “antenna array”), which in effect does not move the antennas, but the RF beams can be “steered” to point in different directions. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitters is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling one another in an undesired direction.

[0050] Transmit beams can be quasi co-located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters at a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the network node’s own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, then the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, then the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, then the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, then the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0051] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase a gain setting and / or adjust a phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify RF signals received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when a receiver is said to be beamformed in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) for RF signals received from that direction.

[0052] The transmit beams and receive beams can be spatially related. Spatially related means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on parameters of the receive beam.

[0053] Note that depending on the entity forming the “downlink” beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam to receive a downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the “uplink” beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if a UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0054] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency / wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 to 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the “millimeter wave” frequencies (e.g., 30 GHz to 300 GHz) allocated for wireless communications by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set a new wireless communication service, called Citizens Broadband Service (CBS), to be deployed in the Television White Space (TVWS) band (54-698 MHz). The TVWS band is a portion of the spectrum that was originally allocated for television broadcast but is no longer used in many geographic regions. The TVWS band is an example of a spectrum that is shared between multiple wireless communication services.® Extremely High Frequency (EHF) bands (30 GHz - 300 GHz) identified as “millimeter wave” bands.

[0055] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. Moreover, higher bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz - 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz - 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz - 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF bands.

[0056] With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, can broadly represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, can broadly represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF bands.

[0057] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell" and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates a RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (although this is not always the case). The secondary carriers are carriers operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and can be used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carriers can be carriers in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carriers can contain only necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., those that are UE-specific can not be present in the secondary carriers since both the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier for any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on the different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a certain base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," "carrier frequency," and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0058] For example, still referring to Figure 1 One of the frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell") and the other frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0059] The wireless communications system 100 can also include UE 164 that can be in communication with macro cell base station 102 through communication link 120 and / or mmW base station 180 through mmW communication link 184. For example, macro cell base station 102 can support PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 can support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0060] In some cases, UEs 164 and 182 can be capable of sidelink communications. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 using a Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between a UE and a base station) through communication link 120. SL-UEs (e.g., UEs 164, 182) can also communicate with each other directly using a PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs) through wireless sidelink 160. Wireless sidelink (or “sidelink” for short) is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows for direct communication between two or more UEs without the need to communicate through a base station. Sidelink communications can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of the SL-UEs in a group utilizing sidelink communications can be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group can be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102, or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from base station 102. In some cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are performed between SL-UEs without the involvement of base station 102.

[0061] In an aspect, the sidelink 160 can operate over a wireless communication medium of interest that can be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs. A "medium" can include one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. In an aspect, the medium of interest can correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band that is shared between various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)), these systems, particularly those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operations into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.1 lx WLAN technologies commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi." Example systems of this type include different variations of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, etc.

[0062] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any of the illustrated UEs can be SL-UEs. Further, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, can be capable of beamforming. Where the SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they can beamform toward one another (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

[0063] In Figure 1 the illustrated UEs (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any of the UEs 104 (shown as a single UE 104) can receive signals 124 from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112, such as satellites. In an aspect, the SVs 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system that UEs 104 can use as a standalone source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned in orbit about the Earth that enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters can sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UEs 104 can include one or more specialized receivers designed specifically for receiving signals 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SVs 112.

[0064] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBASs), which can be associated with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems or which can otherwise enable the use of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, an SBAS can include an augmentation system that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc. to one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and / or the like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems associated with one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0065] In an aspect, the SVs 112 additionally or alternatively can be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, the SVs 112 connect to an Earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in the 5GC. This element in turn will provide access to other elements in the 5G network, and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user equipment. In this way, the UEs 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signals 124) from the SVs 112 as an alternative or supplement to communication signals from terrestrial base stations 102.

[0066] The wireless communications system 100 can also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In Figure 1 In an example, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., with which the UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (with which the UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192, 194 can be supported with any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WI-FI DIRECT (e.g., Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH®, etc.). ® ® In an example, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., with which the UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (with which the UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192, 194 can be supported with any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WI-FI DIRECT (e.g., Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH®, etc.).

[0067] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally

[0068] ​Another optional aspect can include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately can each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternately can be external to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0069] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. A 5GC 260 (which can be the same as or similar to the 5GC 210) and a RAN 264 (which can be the same as or similar to the RAN 204) can interface with one another over an NG2 interface 262. The 5GC 260 can also interface with a 5G-EPC 266 (which can be the same as or similar to the EPC 218) over an NG3 interface 265. Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 (which corresponds to the 5GC 210 in FIG. 1) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, user plane functions provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, and a termination of non-IP data bearers. The AMF 264 functions include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for one or more UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and an SMS function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and ® functions of a 5G core network (i.e., 5GC 210) for a UE 204 that is in a 5G New Radio (NR) connected mode.

[0070] UPF 262 functions include acting as an anchor point for intra- / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more “end markers.” UPF 262 can also support transfer of location services messages between UE 204 and a location server, such as the SLP 272, over the user plane.

[0071] The SMF 266 functions include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 for proper

[0072] Another optional aspect can include an LMF 270, which can be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately can each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 can support similar functions as the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 can communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to transfer signaling messages, rather than voice or data), the SLP 272 can communicate with UEs 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) over the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as transmission control protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0073] Yet another optional aspect can include a third party server 274 that can communicate with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third party server 274 can be referred to as a Location Services (LCS) client or an external client. The third party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server.

[0074] The user plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and in particular the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, while the interface between gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 can communicate with one another directly via backhaul connections 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface referred to as the “Uu” interface.

[0075] The functionality of a gNB 222 is divided among a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functionality other than those functions specifically allocated to the gNB-DUs 228, including transfer of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DUs 228 are logical nodes that typically host the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Their operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “Fl” interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0076] Deployments of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, can arrange various components or constituent parts in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, network entity, mobility element of a network, RAN node, core network node, network element, or network equipment, such as a base station or one or more elements (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, can be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station, such as a Node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station, a 5G NB, an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), or a cell, etc., can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a self-standing base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

[0077] A disaggregated base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU can be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs can be co-located with the CU, or alternatively can be geographically distributed or virtually distributed in one or more other RAN nodes. The DUs can be implemented to be in communication with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as virtual units, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), virtual distributed unit (VDU), or virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0078] Base station type operations or network designs can take into account the disaggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a disaggregated base station can be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration by the O-RAN Alliance ® Disaggregation can include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functionality of at least one unit, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a disaggregated base station or disaggregated RAN architecture can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0079] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 can include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CUs 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-RT RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both. The CUs 280 can communicate with one or more DUs 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective fronthaul links, such as an Fl interface. The DUs 285 can communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective front-haul links. The RUs 287 can communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 can be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 287.

[0080] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) can include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via wired or wireless transmission media. The associated processor or controller of each of the units or that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of the units can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission media. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units over a wired transmission medium. In addition, the units can include a wireless interface that can include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a RF transceiver) configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units over a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0081] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include RRC, PDCP, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can utilize an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 can be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units can be in bidirectional communication with the CU-CP units via an interface, such as an El interface. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0082] The DU 285 can correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 can be at least partially in accordance with a functional split, such as a functional split by the third generation partnership project (3GPP ®) to host one or more of the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and one or more high-PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.). In some aspects, the DU 285 can also host one or more low-PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285 or with control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0083] Lower layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RUs 287 controlled by the DU 285 can correspond to logical nodes that host RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), inverse FFTs (iFFTs), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a functional split such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RUs 287 can be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of communications with the control and user planes of the RUs 287 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DUs 285 and the CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0084] The SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to support deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via an operations and maintenance interface, such as an Ol interface. For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform, such as an Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269, to perform network element lifecycle management, such as instantiating virtualized network elements, via a cloud computing platform interface, such as an 02 interface. Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 280, the DU 285, the RU 287, and the near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate with hardware aspects of a 4G RAN, such as an Open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via the Ol interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the Ol interface. The SMO framework 255 can also include the non-RT RIC 257, which is configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0085] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include logical functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based steering of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to, or in communication with, the near-RT RIC 259, such as via an Al interface. The near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to include logical functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions by an interface, such as via an E2 interface, that connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and an O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 259.

[0086] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 can receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and can be received at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 can monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 255, such as via reconfiguration of Ol, or via creation of RAN management policies, such as Al policies.

[0087] Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a fast-growing technology that impacts many industries due to its economic potential for inventory / asset management inside and outside of warehouses, sustainable sensor networks in IoT, factories, and / or agriculture, and smart homes. Figure 3A An example RFID system 300A is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID system 300A includes an RFID station 310 configured as an RFID reader and RFID tags (or RFID transponders) 324 and 326. In this example, the RFID station 310 is used to control access to a door 330.

[0088] As Figure 3AAs shown in the middle, a person 344 (e.g., an employee) carrying an asset 346 (e.g., a suitcase) can want to enter a door 330. The person 344 can be carrying an RFID tag 324 (e.g., embedded in an RFID-enabled access card), and the asset 346 can have an RFID tag 326 (e.g., an RFID asset tag) attached to it. To identify the person 344 or the asset 346 for granting or denying entry to the door 330, the RFID station 310 can send an interrogation signal 362. In response to the interrogation signal 362, the RFID tag 324 can send a response signal 364, and the RFID tag 326 can send a response signal 366. The response signal 364 can be modulated with data stored in the RFID tag 324 in response to a command encoded in the interrogation signal 362. In addition, the response signal 366 can be modulated with data stored in the RFID tag 326 in response to a command encoded in the interrogation signal 362. The RFID station 310 can receive and decode the response signals 364 and 366 to obtain the responses provided by the RFID tags 324 and 326.

[0089] Figure 3A Possible applications of RFID systems are shown. In some aspects, applications of RFID technology can include automatic checkout, monitoring of elderly people's medicine intake, vehicle ignition keys, employee attendance systems, locating objects, or tracking objects. In some aspects, an RFID tag can be attached to, embedded in, or integrally formed with a target or object, including a wireless communication device, a shipping container, a good, an identification card, a payment card, an automobile, or a pet.

[0090] In some aspects, the RFID station 310 can be configured to communicate with the RFID tags 324 and 326 over an air interface based on one or more RFID standards or wireless communication standards, such as standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ASTM International, the DASH7 Alliance, EPCglobal, and / or 3GPP standards for passive IoT. In some examples, based on the frequency band of the air interface, RFID technology can be referred to as low frequency (LF) RFID (e.g., from 30 kHz to 300 kHz), high frequency (HF) RFID (e.g., from 3 MHz to 30 MHz), or ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID (e.g., from 300 MHz to 3 GHz).

[0091] In some aspects, in operation, an RFID station or RFID reader can send an interrogation signal to interrogate one or more RFID tags. The interrogation signal can be encoded with one or more commands instructing the RFID tags to perform one or more actions.

[0092] In some aspects, an RFID tag that senses an interrogation signal can respond by sending back a response signal. In many applications, an RFID tag can adjust the impedance of its antenna and send a response signal by reflecting a portion of the interrogation signal in a process known as backscatter. In some implementations, an RFID tag can actively generate and send a response signal.

[0093] In some aspects, a response signal from an RFID tag can include a message encoded with data stored in the RFID tag, such as a serial number, a price, a date, a time, a destination, an encrypted message, an electronic signature, other attributes, any combination of attributes, and the like. The response signal is then received by an RFID station, where the message is demodulated and decoded by the RFID station.

[0094] In some aspects, RFID tags can be classified into three types of devices based on their capabilities, including passive RFID tags, semi-passive RFID tags, and active RFID tags.

[0095] In some aspects, passive RFID tags can have no power source and can send a response signal through backscatter. In some aspects, passive RFID tags can collect power from an ambient signal to power up. In some aspects, passive RFID tags can have limited computing capabilities and can not have the ability for advanced signal processing or operations, such as analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion. In some aspects, semi-passive RFID tags can have their own power source and can still send a response signal through backscatter. In some aspects, semi-passive RFID devices can have a limited power source on board that can be used to power a microchip on it.

[0096] In some aspects, active RFID tags can have a power source on board and can generate and send a response signal through active transmission powered by the on-board power source. In some aspects, active RFID tags can send a response signal to an RFID station regardless of whether the RFID tag is within the coverage of the RFID station. In some aspects, active RFID tags can still be able to perform energy harvesting operations.

[0097] Further, in some aspects, further study in 3GPP for passive IoT can include: use cases of interest that are not captured elsewhere in 3GPP, e.g., identification, tracking, and monitoring; scenarios of interest that include public networks or private networks, indoor or outdoor environments, and macro cells, micro cells, or pico cells; existing solutions (e.g., RFID) that address use cases of interest; determining feasibility of use cases and scenarios; design targets that include link budget, data rate, power consumption, cost, supported energy or energy harvesting technology; and coexistence with UEs and infrastructure in the frequency bands of current 3GPP technologies. As 5G expands into more areas than eMBB, such as ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and / or MTC, 5G and beyond can be extended to support passive IoT.

[0098] In some aspects, an RFID system can be implemented integrally or in parallel with the communication system 100 described above (e.g., based on the same devices such as TRPs or UEs or based on the same radio resources). Figure 3B An example configuration 300B for passive Internet of Things (IoT) use cases is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The configuration 300B can include a base station 370 configured as an RFID station and an RFID tag 380. The base station 370 can transmit an interrogation signal 392, and the RFID tag 380 can transmit a response signal 394 in response to the interrogation signal. In some aspects, the RFID tag 380 can transmit the response signal 394 based on backscatter transmission or active transmission.

[0099] In some aspects, an RFID system can be implemented integrally or in parallel with a wireless communication system (e.g., LTE or 5G NR as described above) and can transmit RFID interrogation signals over the radio resources of the wireless communication system.

[0100] In some aspects, 3GPP developed specifications for supporting MTC / NB-IoT and reduced capability (RedCap) for MTC use cases. In some aspects, communication standards such as 3GPP Release 18 and beyond or subsequent developments of 6G can be developed to more efficiently manage passive IoT devices. The communication standards can be developed to more efficiently support RFID-enabled devices, including that a gNB can read / write information stored on a passive IoT device; a gNB can provide energy to a passive IoT device; information-bearing signals can be reflected to a gNB; and / or a gNB can read signals reflected by a passive IoT to decode information transmitted by the IoT device.

[0101] Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B and Figure 4CSeveral example components (represented by corresponding blocks) in the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as a dedicated network) are illustrated to support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different implementations in different types of apparatuses (e.g., in ASICs, in System on Chips (SoCs), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other apparatuses in the communication system. For example, other apparatuses in the system can include similar components to those described as providing similar functionality. In addition, a given apparatus can contain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus can include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies. Figure 2A and Figure 2B

[0102] The UE 402 and the base station 404 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 410 and 450, respectively, which provide the components (e.g., components for transmitting, for receiving, for measuring, for tuning, for refraining from transmitting, etc.) for communicating over one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and / or the like. The WWAN transceivers 410 and 450 can each be connected to one or more antennas 416 and 456, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over an air interface at a certain time / frequency resource or resources (e.g., carrier) in a particular spectrum band (e.g., the UHF spectrum, the SHF spectrum, the EHF spectrum, etc.). The WWAN transceivers 410 and 450 can be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 418 and 458 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, and for receiving and decoding signals 418 and 458 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT(s). Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 410 and 450 include one or more transmitters 414 and 454, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 418 and 458, respectively, and one or more receivers 412 and 452, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 418 and 458, respectively.

[0103] ​At least in some cases, the UE 402 and the base station 404 each also include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 can be connected to one or more antennas 426 and 466, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc. via the designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, Bluetooth ® , ZIGBEE ® , Z-WAVE ® , PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehi cl e environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 can be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 428 and 468 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 428 and 468 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 include one or more transmitters 424 and 464, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 428 and 468, respectively, and one or more receivers 422 and 462, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 428 and 468, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 can be Wi-Fi transceivers, Bluetooth ® transceivers, ZIGBEE ® and / or Z-WAVE ® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0104] At least in some cases, the UE 402 and the base station 404 also include satellite signal receivers 430 and 470. The satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 can be connected to one or more antennas 436 and 476, respectively, and can provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478, respectively. Where the satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 can be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS ®Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (NAVIC) signals, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) signals, etc. In cases where satellite signal receiver 430 and satellite signal receiver 470 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receiver 430 and satellite signal receiver 470 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478, respectively. Satellite signal receiver 430 and satellite signal receiver 470 can request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and in at least some cases perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the location of UE 402 and base station 404, respectively.

[0105] Base station 404 and network entity 406 each include one or more network transceivers 480 and 490, respectively, which provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 404, other network entities 406). For example, base station 404 can employ one or more network transceivers 480 to communicate with other base stations 404 or network entities 406 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 406 can employ one or more network transceivers 490 to communicate with one or more base stations 404 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 406 over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0106] The transceiver can be configured to communicate over wired or wireless links. The transceiver, whether a wired or wireless transceiver, includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 414, 424, 454, 464) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 412, 422, 452, 462). In some implementations, the transceiver can be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device), can include separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or can be implemented in other manners in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceiver 480 and network transceiver 490 in some implementations) can be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 414, 424, 454, 464) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 416, 426, 456, 466), such as an antenna array, that allows the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 402, base station 404) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 412, 422, 452, 462) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 416, 426, 456, 466), such as an antenna array, that allows the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 402, base station 404) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry can share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 416, 426, 456, 466), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given moment in time, not both at the same time. The wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 410 and 450, short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460) can also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0107] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 410, 420, 450, and 460, and network transceivers 480 and 490 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 480 and 490 in some implementations) can be generally referred to as “transceivers,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via wired transceivers, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 402) and a base station (e.g., base station 404) will typically involve signaling via wireless transceivers.

[0108] The UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 also include other components that can be useful in implementing the operations disclosed herein. The UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 each include one or more processors 432, 484, and 494 for providing functionality, such as wireless communication functionality, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, the processors 432, 484, and 494 can provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for computing, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 432, 484, and 494 can include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0109] The UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 each include memory circuitry implementing memory 440, 486, and 496 (e.g., including a memory device each) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, the memory 440, 486, and 496 can provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some aspects, the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 can each include an RFID component 442, 488, and 498. The RFID component 442, 488, and 498 can be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 432, 484, and 494, respectively, which, when executed, cause the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the RFID component 442, 488, and 498 can be external to the processors 432, 484, and 494 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the RFID component 442, 488, and 498 can be memory modules stored in the memory 440, 486, and 496, respectively, which, when executed by the processors 432, 484, and 494 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.) cause the UE 402, the base station 404, and the network entity 406 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 4A Possible locations of the RFID component 442 are illustrated, which can be part of, for example, the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the memory 440, the one or more processors 432, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 4BPossible locations of an RFID component 488 are illustrated, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 450, memory 486, one or more processors 484, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 4C Possible locations of an RFID component 498 are illustrated, which can be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 490, memory 496, one or more processors 494, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component.

[0110] The UE 402 can include one or more sensors 444 coupled to the one or more processors 432 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information unrelated to motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, and / or the satellite signal receiver 430. By way of example, the sensors 444 can include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical- mechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensors 444 can include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 444 can use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to compute positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0111] Further, the UE 402 includes a user interface 446 that provides means for providing indications (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) to a user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., upon the user actuating a sensing device, such as a keypad, a touchscreen, a microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 404 and the network entity 406 can also include user interfaces.

[0112] Referring to the one or more processors 484 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 406 can be provided to the processor 484. The one or more processors 484 can implement functionality for the RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 484 can provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error detection on the SDCU, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC data PDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0113] The transmitter 454 and the receiver 452 can implement layer 1 (LI) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, can include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 454 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to a subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams if multiple antennas are used on the transmitter 454. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine the

[0114] At the UE 402, a receiver 412 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 416. The receiver 412 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 432. The transmitter 414 and the receiver 412 implement Layer- 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 412 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 402. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 402, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 412. The receiver 412 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base stations 404. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates computed by the channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the one or more processors 432, which implement Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

[0115] On the downlink, the one or more processors 432 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The one or more processors 432 are also responsible for error detection.

[0116] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base stations 404, the one or more processors 432 provide RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0117] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 404 can be used by the transmitter 414 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 414 can be provided to different antennas 416. The transmitter 414 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0118] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 404 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 402. Receiver 452 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 456. Receiver 452 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 484.

[0119] In the uplink, one or more processors 484 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from UE 402. IP packets from one or more processors 484 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 484 are also responsible for error detection.

[0120] For convenience, UE 402, base station 404 and / or network entity 406 are in Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4C The example shown herein includes various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionalities in different designs. In particular, Figures 4A to 4C Various components are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 4A In certain cases, specific implementations of UE 402 may omit WWAN transceiver 410 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, personal computers (PCs), or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth). ® (e.g., cellular only), or the short-range wireless transceiver 420 can be omitted (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal receiver 430 can be omitted, or the sensor 444 can be omitted, etc. For example, in Figure 4B In certain cases, specific implementations of base station 404 may omit WWAN transceiver 450 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 460 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal receiver 470, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0121] Various components of UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 434, 482, and 492, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 434, 482, and 492 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406, respectively. For example, in cases where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated into the same base station 404), data buses 434, 482, and 492 can provide communication between these different logical entities.

[0122] Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4C The components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide that functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalities represented by boxes 410-446 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 402 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by boxes 450-488 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 404 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Additionally, some or all of the functionalities represented by boxes 490-498 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 406 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 402, base station 404, network entity 406, etc., such as processors 432, 484, 494, transceivers 410, 420, 450 and 460, memory 440, 486 and 496, RFID components 442, 488 and 498, etc.

[0123] In some designs, network entity 406 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 406 may operate differently from the network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 406 may be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 402 via base station 404 or independently of base station 404 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as Wi-Fi).

[0124] Figure 5 A simplified block diagram illustrating an RFID station 510 and an RFID tag 530 in an RFID system 500 according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown. In some aspects, the RFID station 510 may be an RFID reader and corresponds to the RFID station 310 in FIG. 3. In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 may correspond to the RFID tag 324 or 326 in FIG. 3.

[0125] like Figure 5 As shown, the RFID station 510 includes an antenna 512 and a transmitter 514 and a receiver 516 electrically coupled to the antenna 512. Additionally, the RFID tag 530 includes an antenna 532 and a transmitting circuit 534 configured to transmit a response signal via the antenna 532. Figure 5 The controller 536 (abbreviated as "Tx Ckt") is configured to control the transmitting circuit 534. Figure 5 The abbreviation for "CTRL" is used in the middle, and the power circuit 538 is configured to provide electrical power to the controller 536 and the transmitting circuit 534. Figure 5 In Chinese, it is abbreviated as "Pwr Ckt".

[0126] In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 may be able to transmit a response signal based on active transmission. In this scenario, the transmitting circuit 534 may include a transmitter configured to actively transmit a response signal via the antenna 532. In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 may be able to transmit a response signal based on backscatter transmission. In this case, the transmitting circuit 534 may include an antenna impedance adjustment circuit configured to adjust the impedance of the antenna 532.

[0127] In some aspects, a TRP in a wireless communication system can be configured to function as or include an RFID station 510. In such a scenario, the RFID station 510 can correspond to the base station 404, the transmitter 514 can correspond to the transmitter 454 and / or the RFID component 488 in the WWAN transceiver 450 or the transmitter 464 in the short-range wireless transceiver 460; the receiver 516 can correspond to the receiver 452 and / or the RFID component 488 in the WWAN transceiver 450 or the receiver 462 in the short-range wireless transceiver 460; and the antenna 512 can correspond to the antenna 456 or the antenna 466. In some aspects, a UE in a wireless communication system can be configured to function as or include an RFID station 510. In such a scenario, the RFID station 510 can correspond to the UE 402, the transmitter 514 can correspond to the transmitter 414 and / or the RFID component 442 in the WWAN transceiver 420 or the transmitter 424 in the short-range wireless transceiver 420; the receiver 516 can correspond to the receiver 412 and / or the RFID component 442 in the WWAN transceiver 420 or the receiver 422 in the short-range wireless transceiver 420; and the antenna 512 can correspond to the antenna 416 or the antenna 426.

[0128] In some aspects, a UE in a wireless communication system can be configured to function as or include an RFID tag 530. In such a scenario, the RFID tag 530 can correspond to the UE 402, the transmitting circuitry 534, the controller 536, and the power circuitry 538 can correspond to the RFID component 442, and the antenna 532 can correspond to the antenna 416 or the antenna 426.

[0129] In some aspects, in operation, the transmitter 514 of the RFID station 510 can transmit an interrogation signal 552 to the RFID tag 530 via the antenna 512. In some aspects, the interrogation signal 552 can be embedded with a command from the RFID station 510. The command can provide the RFID tag 530 with a timeframe for responding to the interrogation signal 552, instruct the RFID tag 530 to provide its identification code or other information related to the identity or capabilities of the RFID tag 530, or a combination thereof. The RFID tag 530, when powered on and upon receiving the interrogation signal 552, can cause the controller 536 to prepare a response message based on the embedded command, and control the transmitting circuitry 534 to transmit a response signal based on the prepared response message through active transmission or backscatter transmission. In some aspects, the controller 536 can control the transmitting circuitry 534 to modulate the response signal 556 to carry the response message.

[0130] In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 can be a passive RFID tag. In such a scenario, the power circuit 538 can collect electrical power from the interrogation signal 552 to power the controller 536 and the transmit circuit 534. In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 can be a semi-passive RFID tag or an active RFID tag. In such a scenario, the power circuit 538 can power the controller 536 and the transmit circuit 534 based on power collected from the interrogation signal 552 or a board- mounted battery (not shown) of the RFID tag 530. Additionally, in some examples, the power circuit 538 can perform energy harvesting functionality for detecting the presence or absence of the interrogation signal 552 or other purposes as further exemplified in this disclosure.

[0131] Further, the receiver 516 of the RFID station 510 can receive the response signal 556 from the RFID tag 530 via the antenna 512. The RFID station 510 can decode the response signal 556 to obtain a response message provided by the RFID tag 530. In some aspects, the RFID system 500 can be used to measure a distance or estimate a position of the RFID tag 530. In such an application, the RFID station 510 can also measure a time of arrival (ToA) of the response signal 556 as observed at the RFID station 510.

[0132] In some aspects, RFID systems can also be used in many ways to locate and identify objects to which corresponding RFID tags are attached, as well as to read information from and / or write information to RFID devices. In some examples, RFID systems can be used in various applications in product-related and service-related industries for tracking objects being processed, inventoried, or disposed. In such cases, RFID devices are typically attached to individual items or packaging.

[0133] Figure 6 An example RFID system 600 for a backscatter-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The RFID system 600 includes an RFID tag 610, and the positioning of the RFID tag will be determined based on a backscatter-based positioning process. The RFID system 600 includes one or more receiving RFID stations 622, 624, 626, and 628. The RFID system 600 also includes a transmitting RFID station 630. In some examples, the RFID station 630 can also be configured as a receiving RFID station. In some aspects, the RFID system 600 can include one or more transmitting RFID stations.

[0134] In some aspects, the RFID tag 610 can correspond to a standalone RFID tag, an RFID tag included or embedded in a device, or a device configured to act as an RFID tag. In some aspects, the RFID tag 610 can correspond to an RFID tagFigure 3A , Figure 3B or Figure 5 corresponding to the RFID tags described in Figure 3A , Figure 3B or Figure 5 corresponding to the RFID stations described in

[0135] In some aspects, to perform a backscatter-based positioning procedure, RFID station 630 can transmit an interrogation signal 642 to RFID tag 610. In some aspects, interrogation signal 642 can be a positioning reference signal of the wireless communication network, such as a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). In response to interrogation signal 642, RFID tag 610 can transmit a backscatter signal by reflecting (also referred to in this disclosure as backscattering) interrogation signal 642. The backscatter signal can be observed at RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630, and labeled in Figure 6 as the respective received backscatter signals 652, 654, 656, 658, and 662.

[0136] In some aspects, RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630 can record the point in time at which received backscatter signals 652, 654, 656, 658, and 662 arrive (or also referred to as time of arrival). Based on the measured reception point in time and transmission time of interrogation signal 642 at RFID station 630, the combined propagation times (denoted as τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0) of interrogation signal 642 and received backscatter signals 652, 654, 656, 658, and 662 can satisfy the following expression:

[0137] ,

[0138] ,

[0139] ,

[0140] ,

[0141] , and

[0142] .

[0143] τ tx-TAG denotes the propagation time from the transmitting RFID station 630 to the RFID tag 610. TAG-rx0 denotes the propagation time from the RFID tag 610 to the transmitting RFID station 630. TAG-rx1 denotes the propagation time from the RFID tag 610 to the receiving RFID station 622. TAG-rx2 denotes the propagation time from the RFID tag 610 to the receiving RFID station 624. TAG-rx3 denotes the propagation time from the RFID tag 610 to the receiving RFID station 626. TAG-rx4 denotes the propagation time from the RFID tag 610 to the receiving RFID station 628.

[0144] In some aspects, based on τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0, an estimated position of the RFID tag 610 can be determined based on a time-of-arrival (ToA) positioning method. In some examples, the time-of-arrival values can correspond to the propagation time values from the RFID tag 610 to the respective RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630, can have the following relationship:

[0145] The estimated distances between the RFID tag 610 and the respective RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630 can be computed by multiplying the time-of-arrival values by the speed of the RF wave (e.g., the speed of light). Further, based on the estimated distances and the positioning information of the RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630, an estimated position of the RFID tag 610 can be derived.

[0146] In some aspects, based on τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0, an estimated position of the RFID tag 610 can be determined based on a time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) positioning method. In some examples, the propagation time differences between any two of the RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630 can have the following expression: where i and j represent the corresponding two of the RFID stations 622, 624, 626, 628, and 630. An estimated curve through the RFID tag 610 can be determined based on the product of the propagation time differences and the speed of the RF wave (e.g., the speed of light), and an estimated position of the RFID tag 610 can be derived based on the cross-section of the estimated curve.

[0147] In some aspects, based on τ0, an estimated distance between the RFID tag 610 and the RFID station 630 can also be determined based on a round-trip-time (RTT) positioning method.

[0148] Figure 6A non-limiting example of a backscatter-based positioning procedure with a transmitting RFID station that also functions as a receiving RFID station and four other receiving RFID stations is shown. In some examples for performing a backscatter-based positioning procedure, a transmitting RFID station can be configured to not function as a receiving RFID station. Additionally, in some examples for performing a backscatter-based positioning procedure, the number of transmitting RFID stations or receiving RFID stations can be different from the example shown in Figure 6

[0149] However, in some aspects, backscatter-based positioning procedures performed based on ToA, TDOA, or RTT positioning methods (e.g., utilizing a transmitted response signal transmitted through backscatter) and / or RFID-based positioning procedures (e.g., utilizing a transmitted response signal transmitted through active transmission) can require higher tag-side hardware and / or processing complexity, and can incur higher reader-side signal interference.

[0150] In another example, an RFID system can determine an estimated position (or range) of an RFID tag based on signal propagation loss between the RFID tag and one or more RFID stations. In some aspects, the RFID tag and the RFID stations can measure a signal strength (e.g., a received signal strength indicator, RSSI, measurement) of an interrogation signal and / or a response signal. In some aspects, an RFID station can obtain an RSSI of an interrogation signal as observed at the RFID tag in order to determine a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag.

[0151] Figure 7 Observed positioning errors for a field test example for determining an estimated position of an RFID tag based on a signal strength-based positioning procedure according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. As shown in Figure 7 Figure 7 As shown in

[0152] ​​In some aspects, the signal strength based positioning procedure can impose or impose little additional hardware and / or processing complexity on the RFID tags or the RFID station in the RFID system. However, in some aspects, the signal strength based positioning procedure can require the RFID tags to report a measured signal strength (e.g., RSSI), which can still impose some implementation complexity or latency in the positioning procedure.

[0153] Figure 8 An example of performing a positioning procedure based on inter-packet arrival times is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, including a first timing diagram 800A showing operations of an RFID tag and a second timing diagram 800B showing operations of an RFID station. In the first timing diagram 800A, the horizontal axis (labeled “Time”) represents time, and the vertical axis (labeled “Stored Energy”) represents an energy level stored in an energy storage device of the RFID tag. In some aspects, the energy level can be measured in units of volts, joules, and / or watt-hours. In the second timing diagram 800B, the horizontal axis (labeled “Time”) represents time.

[0154] In some aspects, Figure 8 The RFID tags described in the Figure 3A , Figure 3B or Figure 5 may correspond to any of the RFID tags described in the Figure 8 In some aspects, Figure 3A , Figure 3B or Figure 5 may correspond to any of the RFID stations described in the

[0155] As shown in the first timing diagram 800A, the RFID tag can store energy in the energy storage device, and the energy level stored in the energy storage device is indicated by line 810. The RFID tag can transmit a first packet to the RFID station at a first transmission time Tl (represented by block 822 and arrow 824). The RFID tag can be energized by the energy stored in the energy storage device of the RFID tag. In some aspects, at time T2, the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag can be reset to a reset level due to the first packet being transmitted. As shown in the second timing diagram 800B, the RFID station can receive the first packet (represented by block 826) at a first arrival time T3.

[0156] After time T2, the RFID tag can collect energy based at least on the radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is transmitted. The RFID tag can store the collected energy in the energy storage device. As indicated by line 810 after time T2, the energy level of the energy storage device increases over time. At time T4, the energy level of the energy storage device can reach the configured level.

[0157] In some aspects, the RFID tag can transmit a second packet to the RFID station at a second transmission time T4 based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level (represented by block 832 and arrow 834). In some aspects, at time T5, the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag can be reset to the reset level again due to the second packet being transmitted. As shown in the second timing diagram 800B, the RFID station can receive the second packet (represented by block 836) at a second arrival time T6 after the first arrival time T3. In some aspects, the transmission of the first and second packets can enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet arrival time between the first packet and the second packet, such as based on a time difference (labeled as dT) between the first arrival time T3 and the second arrival time T6. In some aspects, the RFID station can estimate the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on the inter-packet arrival time.

[0158] In some aspects, the RFID station can estimate the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on a mapping relationship between different possible inter-packet arrival times and corresponding estimated distance values (e.g., corresponding to distances directly or to RSSIs from which distances can be derived). Generally, the longer the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag, the longer the charging time required by the RFID tag to charge the energy storage device to the configured level.

[0159] Figure 9 Observed inter-packet arrival times in live test examples according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In this example, four RFID tags were tested, including a first RFID tag at a distance of 5.6 m from the RFID station, a second RFID tag at a distance of 5.9 meters (m) from the RFID station, a third RFID tag at a distance of 6.5 m from the RFID station, and a fourth RFID tag at a distance of 6.7 m from the RFID station. In this example, the RFID station was configured to transmit a first packet to the RFID tags at a first transmission time Tl and a second packet to the RFID tags at a second transmission time T2. The RFID station was configured to receive the first packet at a first arrival time T3 and the second packet at a second arrival time T6. Figure 9In the diagram, the horizontal axis represents packet indices (labeled "PACKETINDEX"), and the vertical axis represents the inter-packet arrival time (which corresponds to the time difference between two packets and is labeled dT[s] in seconds). Additionally, line 910 represents the inter-packet arrival time of packets from the first RFID tag (average dT = 8.15s), line 920 represents the inter-packet arrival time of packets from the second RFID tag (average dT = 18.12s), line 930 represents the inter-packet arrival time of packets from the third RFID tag (average dT = 33.44s), and line 940 represents the inter-packet arrival time of packets from the fourth RFID tag (average dT = 56.25s).

[0160] like Figure 9 As shown, in the field test example, the inter-packet arrival time can be correlated with the distance between the RFID tag and the RFID station. In some aspects, the inter-packet arrival time can indicate the received RSSI. In some aspects, the RFID station can estimate the distance of the RFID tag using the inter-packet arrival time (i.e., dT) from the RFID tag, either alone or in addition to using the reported RSSI. In some aspects, the RFID station can maintain a mapping from dT to RSSI based on energy harvesting capability information and configuration on the RFID tag side. In some aspects, the RFID station can maintain a mapping from dT to distance / location based on learning / calibrating using RFID tags at known locations.

[0161] In some aspects, RFID stations can determine mapping relationships based on the capability information of RFID tags, including the energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tags, the power consumption level used for transmitting packets by the RFID tags, the accuracy of the RFID tags in monitoring the energy levels of their energy storage devices, the accuracy of the RFID tags in monitoring the signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station, or a combination thereof. In other aspects, RFID stations can update or calibrate mapping relationships based on one or more training packets from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

[0162] Furthermore, in some aspects, in order to enable the use of inter-packet arrival time for RFID tag distance / location estimation, the RFID station may need to know the energy harvester characteristics (e.g., RSSI and energy harvesting efficiency), the power consumption for transmitting packets, and / or whether the RFID tags are configured to continuously transmit packets whenever sufficient stored power is available. In some aspects, there may not be any energy accumulation in the energy storage device exceeding the configured level.

[0163] In some respects, RFID stations can be continuous (at least from)Figure 8 the first time of arrival T3 to the second time of arrival T6) to energize the RFID tag.

[0164] In some aspects, as shown in Figure 8 The first timing diagram 800A illustrates a set of operations including an energy harvesting operation to charge the energy storage device (e.g., from time T2 to time T4) and a packet transmission operation to transmit a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level (e.g., from time T4 to time T5), where the energy level of the energy storage device can be reset (e.g., at time T5) due to the corresponding packet being transmitted. In some aspects, the RFID tag can continuously repeat the set of operations mentioned above.

[0165] In some aspects, the RFID tag can transmit the first packet and the second packet based on an active transmission, and the RFID station can receive the first packet and the second packet from the RFID tag via the active transmission.

[0166] In some aspects, the energy storage device can include a battery or a supercapacitor. In some aspects, the RFID tag can store at least a first portion of the harvested energy in the battery, store at least a second portion of the harvested energy in the supercapacitor, or both.

[0167] In some aspects, the RFID tag can include additional data in the first packet and / or the second packet. For example, the RFID tag can include first sensor data of one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the first packet, second sensor data of the one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second packet, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the one or more sensors can include sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and / or ambient illumination.

[0168] In some aspects, the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level corresponds to the energy storage device having stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted.

[0169] In some aspects, the RFID tag can report capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station. In some aspects, the capability information can include an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag, a power consumption level for the RFID tag to transmit the first packet or the second packet, an accuracy of the RFID tag to monitor the energy level of the energy storage device, an accuracy of the RFID tag to monitor a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the RFID station can transmit a capability query to the RFID tag, and the capability information can be reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

[0170] In some aspects, the RFID station can transmit and the RFID tag can receive configuration information regarding the transmission of at least the first packet and / or the transmission of the second packet. In some aspects, the configuration information can indicate: a configured level; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period during which radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof. In some aspects, based on the capability information of the RFID tag, the RFID station can determine the configured level, determine the start time, the end time, or the duration of the time period, or both.

[0171] In some aspects, the RFID tag capability regarding monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device can be reported to the RFID station for determining an accuracy of the positioning based on the inter-arrival time. For example, if the RSSI / voltage monitoring circuit in the RFID tag can tolerate X% of error, the estimated accuracy of the positioning can have at least X% of uncertainty (e.g., X can be 1 or 10).

[0172] Figure 10 An example method 1000 of operating an RFID station is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, the method 1000 can be performed by an RFID station, which can correspond to any of the RFID stations described in the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID station can be a TRP or a UE, such as any of the TRPs or UEs described in the present disclosure.

[0173] At operation 1010, the RFID station can receive a first packet from the RFID tag at a first arrival time. In some aspects, operation 1010 can correspond to the operation as illustrated in block 826 at the first arrival time T3 in FIG. 8A, FIG. 8B, or FIG. 8C, as described with reference to the present disclosure. In some aspects, the first packet can be received from the RFID tag via an active transmission. Figure 8 In some aspects, the first packet can be received from the RFID tag via an active transmission.

[0174] In an aspect, operation 1010 can be performed by the RFID station 510. In an aspect, operation 1010 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, the one or more processors 484, the memory 486, and / or the RFID component 488, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation. In an aspect, operation 1010 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 432, the memory 440, and / or the RFID component 442, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0175] At operation 1020, the RFID station can receive a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival. In some aspects, operation 1020 can correspond to the operation as exemplified by block 836 at the second time of arrival T6 in FIG. 8. In some aspects, the second packet can be received from the RFID tag via an active transmission. Figure 8

[0176] In an aspect, operation 1020 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, the one or more processors 484, the memory 486, and / or the RFID component 488, any or all of which can be considered as means for performing this operation. In an aspect, operation 1020 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 432, the memory 440, and / or the RFID component 442, any or all of which can be considered as means for performing this operation.

[0177] At operation 1030, the RFID station can estimate a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival. In some aspects, the time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival in operation 1030 can correspond to the time difference labeled dT in FIG. 8. Figure 8

[0178] In an aspect, operation 1030 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 450, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, the one or more processors 484, the memory 486, and / or the RFID component 488, any or all of which can be considered as means for performing this operation. In an aspect, operation 1030 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 432, the memory 440, and / or the RFID component 442, any or all of which can be considered as means for performing this operation.

[0179] In some aspects, the RFID station can further transmit radio frequency waves to energize the RFID tag. In some aspects, the radio frequency waves can be transmitted continuously at least from the first time of arrival to the second time of arrival.

[0180] ​​In some aspects, the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag can be estimated based on a mapping relationship between different possible inter-packet arrival times and corresponding estimated distance values. In some aspects, the RFID station can determine the mapping relationship based on capability information of the RFID tag, which can include: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; power consumption levels for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag; accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the RFID station can further update or calibrate the mapping relationship based on one or more training packets from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

[0181] In some aspects, the RFID station can further transmit configuration information to the RFID tag regarding transmission of at least the second packet. In some aspects, the configuration information can indicate: a configured level of the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag, which corresponds to the energy storage device having stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period during which the radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0182] In some aspects, the RFID station can receive capability information of the RFID tag. In some aspects, based on the capability information of the RFID tag, the RFID station can determine the configured level, can determine the start time, the end time, or the duration of the time period, or both. In some aspects, the capability information of the RFID tag can indicate: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; power consumption levels for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, an energy level of an energy storage device; accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0183] In some aspects, the RFID station can send a capability query to the RFID tag, and the capability information can be reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

[0184] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of the method 1000 is to simplify hardware and / or processing complexity requirements at the RFID tag for an inter-packet arrival time based positioning estimation procedure. Thus, the RFID station can determine the distance between the RFID tag and the RFID station without imposing a significant load on the RFID tag and without significant processing latency.

[0185] Figure 11An example method 1100 of operating an RFID tag is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In an aspect, method 1100 can be performed by an RFID tag, which can correspond to any of the RFID tags described in the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID tag can be embedded in or integrally formed with a UE, such as any of the UEs described in the present disclosure.

[0186] At operation 1110, the RFID tag can transmit a first packet to the RFID station at a first transmission time. In some aspects, the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag can be reset as a result of the first packet being transmitted. In some aspects, operation 1110 can correspond to the operation as illustrated by block 822 at the first transmission time Tl in FIG. 8, where the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag can be reset to the reset level as illustrated in FIG. 8. Figure 8 Figure 8 In some aspects, the transmission of the first packet can be performed based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

[0187] In an aspect, operation 1110 can be performed by RFID tag 530. In an aspect, operation 1110 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0188] At operation 1120, the RFID tag can collect energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is transmitted, and can store the collected energy in the energy storage device. In some aspects, operation 1120 can correspond to the operation from time T2 to time T4 as illustrated in FIG. 8. In some aspects, the RFID tag can store at least a first portion of the collected energy in the battery, can store at least a second portion of the collected energy in the supercapacitor, or a combination thereof. Figure 8

[0189] In an aspect, operation 1120 can be performed by RFID tag 530. In an aspect, operation 1120 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0190] ​​At operation 1130, the RFID tag can transmit a second packet to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet. In some aspects, operation 1130 can correspond to operations as exemplified by block 832 at the second transmission time T4 of the RFID tag, where the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag can reach a configured level at a time T4 as exemplified by Figure 8 Figure 8 In some aspects, the transmission of the second packet can be performed based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

[0191] In some aspects, the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level can correspond to the energy storage device having stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to communicate the second packet after the first packet is transmitted.

[0192] In an aspect, operation 1130 can be performed by the RFID tag 530. In an aspect, operation 1130 can be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 410, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, the one or more processors 432, the memory 440, and / or the RFID component 442, any or all of which can be considered means for performing this operation.

[0193] In some aspects, the RFID tag can include first sensor data of one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the first packet, can include second sensor data of the one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second packet, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the RFID tag can continuously repeat a set of operations including an energy harvesting operation to charge the energy storage device and a packet communication operation to communicate a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level, the energy level of the energy storage device being reset as a result of the corresponding packet being transmitted.

[0194] In some aspects, the RFID tag can report capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station. In some aspects, the capability information can include: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for the RFID tag to communicate the first packet or the second packet; an accuracy of the RFID tag to monitor the energy level of the energy storage device; an accuracy of the RFID tag to monitor a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the RFID tag can receive a capability query from the RFID station, and the RFID tag can report the capability information based on the capability query from the RFID station.

[0195] ​In some aspects, the RFID tag can further receive configuration information from the RFID station. In some aspects, the configuration information can indicate: a configured level; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period during which radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0196] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1100 is to simplify hardware and / or processing complexity requirements at the RFID tag for a packet- to-packet arrival time based positioning estimation procedure. Thus, the RFID tag can participate in the positioning procedure without excessive hardware and / or processing requirements, without significant processing latency, and thus without causing excessive power consumption.

[0197] In the detailed description above, various features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses are to be taken exclusively, such that only a specific combination of described features is considered if an example clause is recited. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure can include fewer than all of the features of an independently recited example clause. Therefore, the following clauses should be construed in this manner: as the description is to be taken in conjunction with the appended claims, where each clause is to be taken as a separate example clause. Although each dependent clause can refer to a particular combination of features in a clause, aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination or combinations that the dependent clause refers to. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include combinations of aspects of dependent clauses with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or combinations of any features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly contemplate these combinations unless expressly expressed or readily inferable that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Further, it is also contemplated that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause even if the clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0198] Various implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0199] Clause 1. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the method comprising: receiving a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival; receiving a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival; and estimating a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on a packet-to-packet arrival time between the first packet and the second packet, the packet-to-packet arrival time based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0200] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising transmitting radio frequency waves to energize the RFID tag.

[0201] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the radio frequency waves are transmitted continuously from at least the first time of arrival to the second time of arrival.

[0202] Clause 4. The method of any one of clauses 1-3, wherein receiving the first packet and receiving the second packet are performed based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

[0203] Clause 5. The method of any one of clauses 1-4, wherein estimating the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is based on a mapping relationship between different possible inter-packet times of arrival and respective estimated distance values.

[0204] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, further comprising determining the mapping relationship based on capability information of the RFID tag, the capability information comprising: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0205] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, further comprising updating or calibrating the mapping relationship based on one or more training packets from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

[0206] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 1-7, further comprising transmitting configuration information to the RFID tag regarding transmission of at least the second packet.

[0207] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the configuration information indicates: a configured level of an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag, the configured level corresponding to a configured amount of energy that has been stored in the energy storage device to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0208] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, further comprising: receiving capability information of the RFID tag; and determining the configured level, determining the start time, the end time, or the duration of the time period, or both, based on the capability information of the RFID tag.

[0209] Clause 11. The method of clause 10, wherein the capability information of the RFID tag indicates: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, the energy level of the energy storage device; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0210] Clause 12. The method of any one of clauses 10-11, further comprising sending a capability query to the RFID tag, wherein the capability information is reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

[0211] Clause 13. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the method comprising: sending a first packet to an RFID station at a first transmission time, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being sent; harvesting energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent, and storing the harvested energy in the energy storage device; and sending a second packet to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level, to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0212] Clause 14. The method of clause 13, wherein sending the first packet and sending the second packet are performed based on an active transmission.

[0213] Clause 15. The method of any one of clauses 13-14, wherein storing the harvested energy in the energy storage device comprises: storing at least a first portion of the harvested energy in a battery; storing at least a second portion of the harvested energy in a supercapacitor; or a combination thereof.

[0214] Clause 16. The method of any one of clauses 13-15, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level corresponds to the energy storage device having stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is sent.

[0215] Clause 17. The method of any one of clauses 13-16, further comprising: including first sensor data of one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the first packet; including second sensor data of the one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second packet; or a combination thereof.

[0216] Clause 18. The method of any one of clauses 13-17, further comprising continuously repeating a set of operations including: an energy harvesting operation for charging the energy storage device; and a packet transmitting operation for transmitting a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, the energy level of the energy storage device being reset as a result of the corresponding packet being sent.

[0217] Clause 19. The method of any one of clauses 13-18, further comprising reporting capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station, the capability information including: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station by the RFID tag; or a combination thereof.

[0218] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, further comprising receiving a capability query from the RFID station, wherein reporting the capability information is based on the capability query from the RFID station.

[0219] Clause 21. The method of any one of clauses 13-20, further comprising receiving configuration information from the RFID station, the configuration information indicating: the configured level; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which the radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0220] Clause 22. A radio frequency identification (RFID) station, comprising: at least one memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival; receive, via the at least one transceiver, a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival; and estimate a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0221] Clause 23. The RFID station of clause 22, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, radio frequency waves to energize the RFID tag.

[0222] Clause 24. The RFID station of clause 23, wherein the radio frequency waves are transmitted continuously from at least the first time of arrival to the second time of arrival.

[0223] Clause 25. The RFID station of any one of clauses 22 to 24, wherein the first packet and the second packet are received based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

[0224] Clause 26. The RFID station of any one of clauses 22 to 25, wherein the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is estimated based on a mapping relationship between different possible inter-packet time of arrivals and respective estimated distance values.

[0225] Clause 27. The RFID station of clause 26, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the mapping relationship based on capability information of the RFID tag, the capability information comprising: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0226] Clause 28. The RFID station of clause 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to update or calibrate the mapping relationship based on one or more training packets from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

[0227] Clause 29. The RFID station of any of Clauses 22-28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, configuration information to the RFID tag regarding transmission of at least the second packet.

[0228] Clause 30. The RFID station of Clause 29, wherein the configuration information indicates: a configured level of an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag, the configured level corresponding to a configured amount of energy that has been stored by the energy storage device to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period during which radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0229] Clause 31. The RFID station of Clause 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, capability information of the RFID tag; and determine the configured level, the start time, the end time, or the duration of the time period, or both, based on the capability information of the RFID tag.

[0230] Clause 32. The RFID station of Clause 31, wherein the capability information of the RFID tag indicates: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, the energy level of the energy storage device; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0231] Clause 33. The RFID station of any of Clauses 31-32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a capability query to the RFID tag, wherein the capability information is reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

[0232] Clause 34. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag comprising: at least one memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a first packet to an RFID station at a first transmission time, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being transmitted; collect energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is transmitted and store the collected energy in the energy storage device; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver and based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level, a second packet to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0233] Clause 35. The RFID tag of clause 34, wherein the first packet and the second packet are transmitted based on active transmission.

[0234] Clause 36. The RFID tag of any of clauses 34 to 35, wherein storing the collected energy in the energy storage device comprises: storing at least a first portion of the collected energy in a battery; storing at least a second portion of the collected energy in a supercapacitor; or a combination thereof.

[0235] Clause 37. The RFID tag of any of clauses 34 to 36, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level corresponds to the energy storage device having stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to communicate the second packet after the first packet is transmitted.

[0236] Clause 38. The RFID tag of any of clauses 34 to 37, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: include first sensor data of one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the first packet; include second sensor data of the one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second packet; or a combination thereof.

[0237] Clause 39. The RFID tag of any one of Clauses 34-38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to continuously repeat a set of operations comprising: an energy harvesting operation for charging the energy storage device; and a packet transmitting operation for transmitting a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, the energy level of the energy storage device being reset due to the corresponding packet being sent.

[0238] Clause 40. The RFID tag of any one of Clauses 34-39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to report, via the at least one transceiver, capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station, the capability information comprising: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, the energy level of the energy storage device; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0239] Clause 41. The RFID tag of Clause 40, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a capability query from the RFID station, wherein the capability information is reported based on the capability query from the RFID station.

[0240] Clause 42. The RFID tag of any one of Clauses 34-41, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, configuration information from the RFID station, the configuration information indicating: the configured level; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which the radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0241] Clause 43. A radio frequency identification (RFID) station, comprising: means for receiving a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival; means for receiving a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival; and means for estimating a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0242] Clause 44. The RFID station of Clause 43, further comprising means for transmitting radio frequency waves to energize the RFID tag.

[0243] Clause 45. The RFID station of clause 44, wherein the radio frequency waves are transmitted continuously from at least the first time of arrival to the second time of arrival.

[0244] Clause 46. The RFID station of any one of clauses 43 to 45, wherein the first packet and the second packet are received based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

[0245] Clause 47. The RFID station of any one of clauses 43 to 46, wherein the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is estimated based on a mapping relationship between different possible inter-packet times of arrival and respective estimated distance values.

[0246] Clause 48. The RFID station of clause 47, the RFID station further comprising means for determining the mapping relationship based on capability information of the RFID tag, the capability information comprising: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0247] Clause 49. The RFID station of clause 48, the RFID station further comprising means for updating or calibrating the mapping relationship based on one or more training packets from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

[0248] Clause 50. The RFID station of any one of clauses 43 to 49, the RFID station further comprising means for transmitting configuration information to the RFID tag regarding transmission of at least the second packet.

[0249] Clause 51. The RFID station of clause 50, wherein the configuration information indicates: a configured level of an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag, the configured level corresponding to a configured amount of energy stored with the energy storage device to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0250] Clause 52. The RFID station of clause 51, further comprising: means for receiving capability information of the RFID tag; and means for determining the configured level, determining the start time, the end time, or the duration of the time period, or both, based on the capability information of the RFID tag.

[0251] Clause 53. The RFID station of clause 52, wherein the capability information of the RFID tag indicates: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, the energy level of the energy storage device; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0252] Clause 54. The RFID station of any one of clauses 52 to 53, further comprising means for sending a capability query to the RFID tag, wherein the capability information is reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

[0253] Clause 55. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising: means for sending a first packet to an RFID station at a first transmission time, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset due to the first packet being sent; means for harvesting energy based on at least radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent, and storing the harvested energy in the energy storage device; and means for sending a second packet to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level, to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet arrival time between the first packet and the second packet.

[0254] Clause 56. The RFID tag of clause 55, wherein the first packet and the second packet are sent based on active transmission.

[0255] Clause 57. The RFID tag of any one of clauses 55 to 56, wherein the means for harvesting energy and storing the harvested energy in the energy storage device comprises: means for storing at least a first portion of the harvested energy in a battery; means for storing at least a second portion of the harvested energy in a supercapacitor; or a combination thereof.

[0256] Clause 58. The RFID tag of any one of clauses 55-57, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device corresponds to the configured level reaching a configured amount of energy stored by the energy storage device to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted.

[0257] Clause 59. The RFID tag of any one of clauses 55-58, further comprising: means for including first sensor data of one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the first packet; means for including second sensor data of the one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second packet; or a combination thereof.

[0258] Clause 60. The RFID tag of any one of clauses 55-59, further comprising means for continuously repeating a set of operations including: an energy harvesting operation for charging the energy storage device; and a packet transmitting operation for transmitting a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, the energy level of the energy storage device being reset as a result of the corresponding packet being transmitted.

[0259] Clause 61. The RFID tag of any one of clauses 55-60, further comprising means for reporting capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station, the capability information including: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station by the RFID tag; or a combination thereof.

[0260] Clause 62. The RFID tag of clause 61, further comprising means for receiving a capability query from the RFID station, wherein the capability information is reported based on the capability query from the RFID station.

[0261] Clause 63. The RFID tag of any one of clauses 55-62, further comprising means for receiving configuration information from the RFID station, the configuration information indicating: the configured level; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which the radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0262] Clause 64. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, cause the RFID station to: receive a first packet from an RFID tag at a first time of arrival; receive a second packet from the RFID tag at a second time of arrival after the first time of arrival; and estimate a distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag based on an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet, the inter-packet time of arrival based on a time difference between the first time of arrival and the second time of arrival.

[0263] Clause 65. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 64, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to transmit radio frequency waves to energize the RFID tag.

[0264] Clause 66. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 65, wherein the radio frequency waves are transmitted continuously from at least the first time of arrival to the second time of arrival.

[0265] Clause 67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 64 to 66, wherein the first packet and the second packet are received based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

[0266] Clause 68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 64 to 67, wherein the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is estimated based on a mapping relationship between different possible inter-packet times of arrival and respective estimated distance values.

[0267] Clause 69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 68, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to determine the mapping relationship based on capability information of the RFID tag, the capability information comprising: energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring, by the RFID tag, a signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or a combination thereof.

[0268] Clause 70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 69, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to update or calibrate the mapping relationship based on one or more training packets from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

[0269] Clause 71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 64-70, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to transmit configuration information to the RFID tag regarding transmission of at least the second packet.

[0270] Clause 72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 71, wherein the configuration information indicates: a configured level of an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag, the configured level corresponding to a configured amount of energy stored with the energy storage device to power the RFID tag to transmit the second packet after the first packet is transmitted; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0271] Clause 73. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 72, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to: receive capability information of the RFID tag; and determine the configured level, the start time, the end time, or the duration of the time period, or both, based on the capability information of the RFID tag.

[0272] Clause 74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 73, wherein the capability information of the RFID tag indicates: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station by the RFID tag; or a combination thereof.

[0273] Clause 75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 73-74, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to send a capability query to the RFID tag, wherein the capability information is reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

[0274] Clause 76. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, cause the RFID tag to: send a first packet to an RFID station at a first transmission time, an energy level of an energy storage device of the RFID tag being reset as a result of the first packet being sent; collect energy based at least on radio frequency waves from the RFID station after the first packet is sent and store the collected energy in the energy storage device; and based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level, send a second packet to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time to enable the RFID station to determine an inter-packet time of arrival between the first packet and the second packet.

[0275] Clause 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 76, wherein the first packet and the second packet are sent based on active transmission.

[0276] Clause 78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76-77, wherein storing the collected energy in the energy storage device comprises: storing at least a first portion of the collected energy in a battery; storing at least a second portion of the collected energy in a supercapacitor; or a combination thereof.

[0277] Clause 79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76-78, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level corresponds to the energy storage device having stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to communicate the second packet after the first packet is sent.

[0278] Clause 80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76-79, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID tag, cause the RFID tag to: include first sensor data of one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the first packet; include second sensor data of the one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second packet; or a combination thereof.

[0279] Clause 81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76-80, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID tag, cause the RFID tag to: continuously repeat a set of operations comprising: an energy harvesting operation for charging the energy storage device; and a packet transmitting operation for transmitting a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, the energy level of the energy storage device being reset as a result of the corresponding packet being sent.

[0280] Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76-81, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID tag, cause the RFID tag to report capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station, the capability information comprising: an energy harvesting efficiency characteristic of the RFID tag; a power consumption level for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; an accuracy of monitoring a signal strength of the radio frequency waves from the RFID station by the RFID tag; or a combination thereof.

[0281] Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 82, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID tag, cause the RFID tag to receive a capability query from the RFID station, wherein the capability information is reported based on the capability query from the RFID station.

[0282] Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 76-83, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID tag, cause the RFID tag to: receive configuration information from the RFID station, the configuration information indicating: the configured level; a start time, an end time, or a duration of a time period in which the radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or a combination thereof.

[0283] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0284] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0285] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an ASIC, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0286] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., an UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0287] In one or more example aspects, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray® disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0288] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made therein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the methods described in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure can be described or claimed in singular form, the plural can also be considered unless expressly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A method for operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the method comprising: Receive the first packet from the RFID tag at the first arrival time; The second packet is received from the RFID tag at a second arrival time following the first arrival time; as well as The distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is estimated based on the inter-group arrival time between the first group and the second group, wherein the inter-group arrival time is based on the time difference between the first arrival time and the second arrival time.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting radio frequency waves to excite the RFID tag.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the radio frequency waves are transmitted continuously from at least the first arrival time to the second arrival time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first packet and receiving the second packet are performed based on an active transmission from the RFID tag.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the estimation of the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is based on a mapping between different possible inter-group arrival times and corresponding estimated distance values.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising determining the mapping relationship based on the capability information of the RFID tag, the capability information including: The energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; The power consumption level used for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; The accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag by the RFID tag; The accuracy of the RFID tag in monitoring the signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or Their combination.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising updating or calibrating the mapping relationship based on one or more training groups from one or more training devices at one or more known locations.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting configuration information about the transmission of at least the second group to the RFID tag.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the configuration information indicates: The configured energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag corresponds to the energy storage device that has stored a configured amount of energy to power the RFID tag to send the second packet after the first packet is sent. The start time, end time, or duration of the time period during which radio frequency waves for energy harvesting from the RFID station are continuously transmitted; or Their combination.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Capability information for receiving the RFID tag; as well as Based on the capability information of the RFID tag, the configured level is determined, and the start time, end time, or duration of the time period is determined, or both.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the capability information of the RFID tag indicates: The energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; The power consumption level used for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; The accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; The accuracy of the RFID tag in monitoring the signal strength of the radio frequency wave from the RFID station; or Their combination.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising sending a capability query to the RFID tag, wherein the capability information is reported by the RFID tag based on the capability query.

13. A method for operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the method comprising: At the first transmission time, a first packet is sent to the RFID station, and the energy level of the RFID tag's energy storage device is reset as the first packet is sent. After the first packet is sent, energy is collected at least based on radio frequency waves from the RFID station, and the collected energy is stored in the energy storage device. as well as Based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, the second packet is sent to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time, so that the RFID station can determine the inter-packet arrival time between the first packet and the second packet.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein sending the first packet and sending the second packet are performed on an active basis.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein storing the collected energy in the energy storage device comprises: At least a portion of the collected energy is stored in the battery; At least a second portion of the collected energy is stored in a supercapacitor; or Their combination.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device reaches the configured level corresponding to the configured amount of energy stored in the energy storage device to power the RFID tag for transmitting the corresponding second packet after the first packet is sent.

17. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: The first sensor data from one or more sensors of the RFID tag is included in the first group; Include the second sensor data from one or more sensors of the RFID tag in the second group; or Their combination.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising continuously repeating a set of operations including: Energy harvesting operations for charging the energy storage device; and A packet transmission operation for transmitting a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device is reset as the corresponding packet is transmitted.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising reporting capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station, the capability information including: The energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; The power consumption level used for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; The accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; The accuracy of the RFID tag in monitoring the signal strength of the radio frequency wave from the RFID station; or Their combination.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving a capability query from the RFID station, wherein reporting the capability information is based on the capability query from the RFID station.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving configuration information from the RFID station, the configuration information indicating: The configured level; The start time, end time, or duration of the time period during which the radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or Their combination.

22. A radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the radio frequency identification (RFID) station comprising: At least one memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: The first packet is received from the RFID tag at the first arrival time via the at least one transceiver; The second packet is received from the RFID tag at a second arrival time following the first arrival time via the at least one transceiver; as well as The distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is estimated based on the inter-group arrival time between the first group and the second group, wherein the inter-group arrival time is based on the time difference between the first arrival time and the second arrival time.

23. The RFID station of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit radio frequency waves via the at least one transceiver to excite the RFID tag.

24. The RFID station of claim 22, wherein the distance between the RFID station and the RFID tag is estimated based on a mapping between different possible inter-group arrival times and corresponding estimated distance values.

25. The RFID station of claim 24, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the mapping relationship based on capability information of the RFID tag, the capability information including: The energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; The power consumption level used for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; The accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device of the RFID tag by the RFID tag; The accuracy of the RFID tag in monitoring the signal strength of radio frequency waves from the RFID station; or Their combination.

26. The RFID station of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit configuration information regarding the transmission of at least the second packet to the RFID tag via the at least one transceiver.

27. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag comprising: At least one memory; At least one transceiver; and At least one processor, communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: A first packet is transmitted to the RFID station via the at least one transceiver at a first transmission time, and the energy level of the RFID tag's energy storage device is reset as the first packet is transmitted. After the first packet is sent, energy is collected at least based on radio frequency waves from the RFID station, and the collected energy is stored in the energy storage device. as well as The second packet is sent to the RFID station at a second transmission time after the first transmission time, via the at least one transceiver and based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching a configured level, so that the RFID station can determine the inter-packet arrival time between the first packet and the second packet.

28. The RFID tag of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to continuously repeat a set of operations comprising: Energy harvesting operations for charging the energy storage device; and A packet transmission operation for transmitting a corresponding packet based on the energy level of the energy storage device reaching the configured level, wherein the energy level of the energy storage device is reset as the corresponding packet is transmitted.

29. The RFID tag of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to report capability information of the RFID tag to the RFID station via the at least one transceiver, the capability information including: The energy harvesting efficiency characteristics of the RFID tag; The power consumption level used for transmitting the first packet or the second packet by the RFID tag; The accuracy of monitoring the energy level of the energy storage device by the RFID tag; The accuracy of the RFID tag in monitoring the signal strength of the radio frequency wave from the RFID station; or Their combination.

30. The RFID tag of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive configuration information from the RFID station via the at least one transceiver, the configuration information indicating: The configured level; The start time, end time, or duration of the time period during which the radio frequency waves from the RFID station for energy harvesting are continuously transmitted; or Their combination.

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