Signaling for joint user equipment (UE) and group environment radio frequency identification (RFID) device positioning

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a first network node obtains one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, and obtaining one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscatter signals of the one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscatter signals are transmitted by one or more ambient radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

Description

Background Technology

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] All aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless communications.

[0003] 2. Related technical descriptions

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), as well as 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), and others.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), delivers higher data transfer speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on Positioning Reference Signals (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)), and other technological enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in the PRS process and technology, and the high-density deployment of 5G, enable high-accuracy positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a simplified summary of the invention relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all conceived aspects or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a wireless communication method performed by a first network node includes: obtaining one or more first positioning measurements during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes; and obtaining one or more second positioning measurements during the positioning session of one or more backscattered signals of the one or more reference signals, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0008] In one aspect, the first network node includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: acquire one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server; and acquire one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscattered signals of one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0009] In one aspect, the first network node includes: components for obtaining one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server; and components for obtaining one or more backscattered signals of one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0010] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first network node, cause the first network node to: obtain one or more first positioning measurements during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes; and obtain one or more second positioning measurements during the positioning session of one or more backscattered signals of one or more reference signals, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0011] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the aspects.

[0013] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0014] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0015] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C It is a simplified block diagram of several examples of components that can be used in user equipment (UE), base stations and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0016] Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods supported in new radios (NR) according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 5 Examples of Long Term Evolution (LTE) Location Protocol (LPP) capability transfer processes, auxiliary data transfer processes, and location information transfer processes between a target device and a location server are illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 Example radio frequency identification (RFID) systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0019] Figure 7A This is a diagram illustrating an example architecture for passive RFID scenarios based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 7B The signal flow of an example architecture via a passive RFID tag is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 8 An example RFID system for a backscatter-based positioning process is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 9 An example RFID system is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure for jointly locating a set of target RFID tags and a target UE using downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning.

[0023] Figure 10 An example RFID system is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure for jointly locating a set of target RFID tags and a target UE using downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning.

[0024] Figure 11 Example methods of wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided below in the description of various examples provided for illustrative purposes and in the accompanying drawings. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0026] Various aspects are involved in joint positioning as a whole. Some aspects are more specifically involved in joint positioning of user equipment (UE) and one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices. In some examples, a first network node (e.g., a UE or base station) acquires one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between the UE and a location server. During the same positioning session, the first network node also acquires one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscattered signals of one or more reference signals. The one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental RFID devices to be positioned.

[0027] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by obtaining one or more first positioning measurements and one or more second positioning measurements during the same positioning session, the described techniques can be used to improve the power consumption of the first network node and reduce the amount of resources required to locate the first network node and one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0028] The terms “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 superior to or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different techniques and methods can be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0030] Furthermore, many aspects are described according to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be considered entirely embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0031] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., 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., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). 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 interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Equipment,” “Wireless Equipment,” “Subscriber Equipment,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Equipment,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.).

[0032] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station may primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, the base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0033] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of a base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected via a transmission medium to a common source) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP can be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station where the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Because, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, references to transmitting from or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0034] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of transmitting signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0035] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0036] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0037] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via core network 170. Location server 172 can be part of core network 170 or can be external to core network 170. Location server 172 can be integrated with base station 102. UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 via base station 102 currently serving UE 104. UE 104 can also communicate with location server 172 via another path, such as via application server (not shown), via another network, such as via wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 can be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), wherein intermediate nodes (if present) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0038] In addition to other functions, base station 102 may perform functions associated with one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) on backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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).

[0041] 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).

[0042] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) process before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0043] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band can be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW extends down to 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0045] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "manipulated" to be pointed in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that radio waves from the individual antennas add up in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in the undesired direction to suppress radiation.

[0046] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to the receiver (e.g., the UE) as having the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, 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, 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, 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 of type QCL D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0047] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is described as performing beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain 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.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0048] The transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific 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 that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0049] It is important to note that, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0050] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency ranges FR1 (410MHz to 7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz to 52.6GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band. Similar naming issues sometimes occur with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this is different from the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) band (30GHz to 300GHz) designated as "millimeter wave" by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0051] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating bands used for these mid-band frequencies as the frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating frequency bands have been identified as the frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0052] In light of the above, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that when the term "below 6 GHz" is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or including intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that when the term "millimeter wave" is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or within the EHF band.

[0053] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where UE 104 / 182 performs an initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, the UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0054] For example, still refer to Figure 1One of the frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0055] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0056] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to communicate via sidelink. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via radio sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). Radio sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in this group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, the groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources used for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the individual SL-UEs without involving base station 102.

[0057] On one hand, the sidelink 160 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest that can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs for wireless communication. "Medium" can include one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. On another hand, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of unlicensed frequency bands shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as those used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include various variants of CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and so on.

[0058] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are exemplified as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any UE exemplified can be an SL-UE. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any UE exemplified (including UE 164) can be capable of beamforming. When SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0059] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1Any UE (shown as a single UE 104) can receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that allows UE 104 to use as an independent source of location information. Satellite positioning systems typically include a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While typically located in SV 112, transmitters may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SV 112.

[0060] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise made capable of being used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlap Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted geographic augmentation navigation, or GPS and geographic augmentation navigation system (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0061] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects 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 the modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or network nodes in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides 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. Thus, as a replacement or supplement to communication signals from the ground base station 102, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0062] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc. ® wait.

[0063] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For instance, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which work together to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either or both of the gNBs 222 or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0064] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be located outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0065] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 240.5GC 260 is illustrated (which can be used with...). Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 (corresponding to 5GC 210) can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which work together to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Secure Anchoring Functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204 and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204's authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) authentication, AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF and uses this key to derive access network-specific keys. AMF 264 functionality also includes location service management for regulated services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0066] The functions of UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic orientation), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane Quality of Service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and location servers (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0067] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, service orientation configuration at UPF 262 for routing services to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0068] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 can support similar functions to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmit Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0069] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimation) of UE 204. Therefore, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a Location Services (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0070] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, and specifically connect UPF 262 and AMF 264 to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0071] The functionality of the gNB 222 is divided among the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including user data delivery, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is typically managed by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between gNB-DU 228 and gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0072] Communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, can be deployed in various ways with a variety of components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as base stations or one or more units (or components) performing base station functions) can be implemented in aggregated or decomposed architectures. For example, base stations (such as Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base stations, 5GNB, access points (APs), transmit / receive points (TRPs), or cells) can be implemented as aggregated base stations (also known as self-contained base stations or monolithic base stations) or decomposed base stations.

[0073] Aggregated base stations can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. Decentralized base stations can be configured to utilize a 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, the 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 or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. DUs can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0074] Base station type operation or network design can take into account the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, decomposed base stations can be utilized in Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) networks, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN (such as network configurations advocated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or Virtualized Radio Access Networks (vRAN, also known as Cloud Radio Access Networks (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functionality across two or more units in various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which enables flexibility in network design. The various units in a decomposed base station or decomposed RAN architecture can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0075] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with the core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 via 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-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). CUs 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via appropriate midhaul links (such as F1 interfaces). DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via appropriate fronthaul links. RU287 can communicate with the corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, UE204 can be served by multiple RU 287s simultaneously.

[0076] Each unit in the cells (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO frame 255) may 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. Each unit in the cells, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of these units, may be configured to communicate with one or more other units via transmission media. For example, these units may include wired interfaces configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units via wired transmission media. Additionally, these units may include wireless interfaces that may include receivers, transmitters, or transceivers (such as radio frequency (RF) transceivers) configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units via wireless transmission media, or both.

[0077] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher-level control functions. Such control functions may include Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to signal to 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 communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling, as needed.

[0078] DU 285 may correspond to a logic unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU 287s. In some aspects, DU 285 may at least partially host one or more of the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, or modulation and demodulation) according to functional splits (such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). In some aspects, DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU280.

[0079] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RU 287s. In some deployments, an RU287 controlled by a DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or both, based at least in part on functional decomposition (such as lower-layer functional decomposition). In such architectures, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UE 204s. In some specific implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration enables the implementation of the DU 285 and CU 280 in cloud-based RAN architectures such as vRAN architectures.

[0080] SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via operation and maintenance interfaces such as the O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with cloud computing platforms such as Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269 to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via cloud computing platform interfaces such as the O2 interface. Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as Open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RU 287s via the O1 interface. SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of SMO framework 255.

[0081] 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, including artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows for model training and updates, or policy-based guidance for applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259, such as via an A1 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 an interface, such as via an E2 interface, through data collection and actions, connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DU 285s, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0082] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. This information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and can be received from non-network data sources or network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and use AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or by creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0083] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) are illustrated, which can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of UE 302). Figure 2A and Figure 2B The NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructures depicted herein (such as dedicated networks) are used to support the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in System-on-Chip (SoCs), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may contain one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0084] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communication with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively; and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0085] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide access via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth) through a wireless communication medium of interest. ® Zigbee ® Z-Wave ®Components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) that enable communication between PC5, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). Short-range transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceiver 320 and short-range wireless transceiver 360 each include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 respectively for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 respectively for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceiver 320 and short-range wireless transceiver 360 can be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, etc. ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® Transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0086] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376 respectively, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations from other systems as needed, and in at least some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0087] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, which provide components (e.g., transmitting components, receiving components, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may use one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. Similarly, network entity 306 may use one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0088] Transceivers can be configured to communicate via wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some embodiments it may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other embodiments it may be implemented in a different manner. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceiver 380 and network transceiver 390 in some embodiments) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming, as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device may perform only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0089] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some specific embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific embodiments) may generally be described as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0090] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operation disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 may provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0091] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for the positioning component 342 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3BPossible locations for the positioning component 388 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for the positioning component 398 are illustrated. The positioning component may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0092] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, sensor 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0093] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0094] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement functionality for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation 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 processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0095] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator can be used to determine the decoding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. These channel estimates can be derived from a reference signal transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel condition feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0096] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation points transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0097] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0098] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation 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 via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0099] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0100] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0101] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 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 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0102] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C 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 3A to 3C 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 3A In certain cases, specific implementations of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, PCs, or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal receiver 330, or the sensor 344, etc. For example, in... Figure 3B In certain cases, specific implementations of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal receiver 370, 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.

[0103] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, 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 304), data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between these different logical entities.

[0104] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C 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 blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memory 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0105] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 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 306 may be a component of a private network that is configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0106] NR supports various cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and positioning methods based on both downlink and uplink. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 4 Examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process illustrated in scenario 410, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement) and reports these differences to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurement, the positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the UE's location.

[0107] For the DL-AoD positioning illustrated in scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE regarding the received signal strength of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's position based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0108] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the base stations involved. Based on the received-receive (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known location of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use the TDOA to estimate the UE's location.

[0109] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angle of the receive beam to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0110] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multiple Round-Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT" and "Multi-RTT"). During RTT, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), which then sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the time of transmission of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest time slot boundary of the received signal and the transmitted signal. The two entities can then transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip time (RTT) between the two entities based on these two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity can transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to another entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined based on the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For the multi-RTT positioning illustrated in scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning process with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined based on the distance to the second entities and the known location of the second entities (e.g., using polygonal measurements). RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning technologies (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy, as illustrated in scenario 440.

[0111] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), identifiers of detected neighboring base stations, estimated timing, and signal strength. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0112] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide auxiliary data to the UE. For example, auxiliary data may include: the identifier of the base station (or the cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., including the number of consecutive time slots of the PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots of the PRS, silence sequences, frequency hopping sequences, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may be derived directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using auxiliary data.

[0113] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may also include the expected RSTD value and the associated uncertainty or search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from + / - 500 microseconds (µs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements is in FR1, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from + / - 32 µs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from + / - 8 µs.

[0114] Location estimates can be referred to by other names, such as location estimation, location, positioning, fixed location, etc. Location estimates can be geodesic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible elevation), or they can be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of the location. Location estimates can be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible elevation). Location estimates can include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume that the location is expected to include with a specified or default confidence level).

[0115] The Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) is used point-to-point between a location server (e.g., LMF 270) and a target device (e.g., UE) to locate the target device using positioning-related measurements obtained from one or more reference sources (physical entities or portions of physical entities that provide signals measurable by the target device to obtain the location of the target device). An LPP session is used between the location server and the target device to obtain positioning-related measurements or location estimates, or to transfer auxiliary data. Currently, a single LPP session is used to support a single location request, and multiple LPP sessions can be used between the same endpoints to support multiple different location requests. Each LPP session includes one or more LPP transactions (or procedures), where each LPP transaction performs a single operation (capability exchange, auxiliary data transfer, or location information transfer). Each LPP transaction involves the exchange of one or more LPP messages between the location server and the target device. The general format of an LPP message consists of a set of common fields followed by a body. The body (which may be empty) contains information specific to a particular message type. Each message type contains information specific to one or more positioning methods and / or information common to all positioning methods.

[0116] An LPP session typically includes at least a capability transfer or instruction process, an auxiliary data transfer or delivery process, and a location information transfer or delivery process. Figure 5 Examples of LPP capability transfer process 510, LPP auxiliary data transfer process 530, and LPP location information transfer process 550 between a target device (labeled "target") and a location server (labeled "server") according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0117] The purpose of LPP capability transfer procedure 510 is to enable the transfer of capabilities from a target device (e.g., UE 204) to a location server (e.g., LMF 270). In this context, capabilities refer to location and protocol capabilities associated with LPP, as well as location methods supported by LPP. In LPP capability transfer procedure 510, the location server (e.g., LMF 270) indicates the type of capability required by the target device (e.g., UE 204) in an LPP request capability message. The target device responds with an LPP provide capability message. The capabilities included in the LPP provide capability message should correspond to any capability type specified in the LPP request capability message. Specifically, for each location method for which a capability request is included in the LPP request capability message, if the target device supports that location method, the target device includes its capabilities for the supported location methods in the LPP provide capability message. For the LPP capability indication procedure, the target device provides capabilities to the location server in the LPP provide capability message that were not requested (i.e., the LPP request capability message was not received).

[0118] The purpose of LPP Assisted Data Delivery Procedure 530 is to enable a target device to request assisted data from a location server for location assistance, and to enable the location server to deliver assisted data to the target device without a request. In LPP Assisted Data Delivery Procedure 530, the target device sends an LPP Request Assisted Data message to the location server. The location server responds to the target device with an LPP Provide Assisted Data message containing the assisted data. The delivered assisted data should match or be a subset of the assisted data requested in the LPP Request Assisted Data. The location server may also provide any unrequested information it deems useful to the target device. The location server may also send one or more additional LPP Provide Assisted Data messages to the target device containing further assisted data. For the LPP Assisted Data Delivery Procedure, the location server provides unrequested assisted data necessary for location. Assisted data may be provided periodically or non-periodically.

[0119] The purpose of LPP location information transmission procedure 550 is to enable a location server to request location measurement data and / or location estimates from a target device, and to enable the target device to transmit location measurement data and / or location estimates to the location server without a request. In LPP location information transmission procedure 550, the location server transmits an LPP request location information message to the target device to request location information, indicating the type of location information required and the potentially associated QoS. The target device responds to the location server with an LPP provide location information message to transmit the location information. Unless the location server explicitly allows additional location information, the transmitted location information should match or be a subset of the location information requested by the LPP request location information message. More specifically, if the requested information is compatible with the capabilities and configuration of the target device, the target device includes the requested information in the LPP provide location information message. Otherwise, if the target device does not support one or more of the requested positioning methods, the target device continues to process the message as if it only contains information about supported positioning methods, and handles the signaling content of unsupported positioning methods through LPP error detection. If requested by an LPP Request for Location Information message, the target device sends an Additional LPP Provide Location Information message to the location server to deliver additional location information. The LPP location information delivery process supports delivery based on location estimates from unrequested services.

[0120] LPP also defines procedures related to error indication when a receiving endpoint (target device or location server) receives erroneous or unexpected data or detects some data loss. Specifically, when a receiving endpoint determines that a received LPP message contains an error, it may return an error message indicating one or more errors to the sending endpoint and discard the received / erroneous message. If the receiving endpoint is able to determine that the erroneous LPP message is an LPP error or abort message, it discards the received message without returning an error message to the sending endpoint.

[0121] LPP also defines procedures associated with abort instructions to allow a target device or location server to abort an ongoing process due to an unexpected event (e.g., an LCS client canceling a location request). Abort procedures can also be used to stop ongoing processes (e.g., periodic location reports from a target device). During an abort procedure, the first endpoint determines that process P must be aborted and sends an abort message carrying the transaction ID of process P to the second endpoint. The second endpoint then aborts process P.

[0122] Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a rapidly evolving technology impacting numerous industries due to its economic potential for inventory / asset management both inside and outside warehouses, IoT, sustainable sensor networks in factories and / or agriculture, and smart homes. An RFID system comprises an RFID reader device (or simply "reader") and one or more RFID transponders or tags. An RFID reader is a powerful device with reasonable memory and computing resources. An RFID tag is a wireless microchip that can be used to mark objects for automatic identification. An RFID tag transmits an information-carrying signal when it receives a signal from a reader. RFID tags can operate without batteries, have low operating costs, low maintenance costs, and a long lifespan.

[0123] Figure 6 An example RFID system 600 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 6 In the example, RFID system 600 includes an RFID reader 610 and two RFID tags 624 and 626. Figure 6As shown, a person (e.g., an employee) carrying asset 646 (e.g., a suitcase) attempts to enter a door controlled by RFID reader 610. The person may carry an RFID tag 624 (e.g., embedded in an RFID-enabled access card), and asset 646 may have an RFID tag 626 (e.g., an RFID asset tag) attached to it. To identify the person or asset 646 to grant or deny entry to the door, RFID reader 610 may send an interrogation signal 662. In response to interrogation signal 662, RFID tag 624 may send a backscatter response signal 664, and RFID tag 626 may send a backscatter response signal 666. The backscatter response signal 664 may be modulated using data stored in RFID tag 624 in response to a command encoded in interrogation signal 662. Similarly, the backscatter response signal 666 may be modulated using data stored in RFID tag 626 in response to a command encoded in interrogation signal 662. The RFID reader 610 can receive response signals 664 and 666 and decode these backscatter response signals to obtain the response provided by the RFID tags 624 and 626.

[0124] There are different types of RFID tags with significantly different computing capabilities. Passive RFID tags (also known as environmental RFID tags) have no power source and harvest energy from ambient wireless signals to power their transmitting / receiving circuitry. The transmitted signal is typically backscattered modulated, has limited computing power, and lacks the capability for advanced signal processing (e.g., analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs)). Semi-passive tags have a limited onboard power supply that can be used to power their microchip. Active tags have an onboard power supply and are capable of transmitting regardless of whether the reader is within range of them.

[0125] Figure 7A Figure 700 illustrates an example architecture for passive RFID scenarios based on various aspects of this disclosure. For example... Figure 7A As shown, the RFID reader device 710 sends an energy signal (referred to herein as an "interrogation signal") toward the passive RFID tag 720. The energy signal activates or powers the RFID tag 720, which then sends a modulated backscattered information signal to the RFID reader device 710.

[0126] Figure 7B The signal flow of an example architecture via a passive RFID tag 720 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. For example... Figure 7BAs shown, the antenna 730 of the passive RFID tag 720 receives an interrogation signal. A power generation circuit 740 (also called an energy harvesting circuit) extracts power / energy from the received interrogation signal and supplies power to all components of the passive RFID tag 720. A demodulator 750 demodulates the interrogation signal and sends the demodulated signal to control logic 760 (e.g., an ASIC) for processing. The control logic 760 may also include a read-only memory (ROM) (not shown) and a positioning component 764 configured to cause the passive RFID tag 720 to perform operations related to interference cancellation as described herein in conjunction with other components. The control logic 760 generates a response signal and sends it to a modulator 770, which generates a modulated backscattered signal and sends it to the power generation circuit 740. The power generation circuit 740 then transmits the backscattered signal through the antenna 730.

[0127] Future generations of wireless communication (such as 6G) may include standards for managing passive IoT devices. For example, it is anticipated that the gNB will read / write information stored on passive IoT devices. To this end, it is anticipated that the gNB will provide power to the passive IoT device, and in response to this power, the information-carrying signal will be reflected back to the gNB, which can then read the reflected signal from the passive IoT device to decode the information sent by the IoT device.

[0128] Figure 8 An example RFID system 800 for a positioning process based on uplink backscattering, according to various aspects of this disclosure, is illustrated. The RFID system 800 includes RFID tags 810 (e.g., RFID tag 720), whose positioning will be determined based on the uplink backscattering positioning process. The RFID system 800 also includes a plurality of receiver (Rx) TRPs 822 configured to receive / measure backscattered RFID signals from the RFID tags 810. The RFID system 800 also includes a transmitter (Tx) TRP 830 that acts as an RFID reader (e.g., RFID reader device 710) and is configured to send an interrogation signal 842 to the RFID tag 810. The Tx TRP 830 can also be configured as an Rx TRP.

[0129] To perform a backscatter-based positioning process, Tx TRP 830 can send an interrogation signal 842 to RFID tag 810. The interrogation signal 842 can be a positioning reference signal, such as DL-PRS. In response to the interrogation signal 842, RFID tag 810 can send a backscatter signal 852 by reflecting (backscattering) the interrogation signal 842. The backscatter signal 852 can be received / measured at Rx TRP 822 and optionally at Tx TRP 830.

[0130] It should be noted that in the case of multiple Rx TRP 822s, a central controller may exist to coordinate the Rx TRP 822s (e.g., providing timing and resource configuration for the interrogation signal 842). Alternatively, TRP 822 and 830 may coordinate among themselves on the backhaul link.

[0131] Rx TRP 822 records the reception time (i.e., ToA) of the received backscattered signal 852. Based on the measured reception and transmission times of the interrogation signal 842 at Tx TRP 830, the following range estimate is obtained:

[0132] In the above text, the parameter τ tx-TAG This represents the propagation time from Tx TRP 830 to RFID tag 810. Parameter τ TAG-rx1 τ TAG-rx2 τ TAG-rx3 and τ TAG-rx4 This represents the propagation time from RFID tag 810 to the corresponding Rx TRP 822. Parameter τ TAG-rx0 This indicates the propagation time from RFID tag 810 to Tx TRP 830.

[0133] Based on τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0, the estimated location of RFID tag 810 can be determined using either a classic ToA-based positioning method (e.g., illustrated in scenario 430) or a TDOA-based positioning method (e.g., illustrated in scenario 410). For the ToA-based positioning method:

[0134] The estimated range between RFID tag 810 and the corresponding TRP 822 and / or 830 can be calculated by multiplying the propagation times τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0 by the estimated velocities (e.g., the speed of light) of the interrogation signal 842 and the backscattered signal 852. Based on the estimated ranges of RxTRP 822 and 830 and the known locations, the estimated location of RFID tag 810 can be derived.

[0135] For TDoA-based location methods:

[0136] Where i represents TRP 822 or 830, and ref represents a reference TRP (e.g., Tx TRP 830). The intersection of the determined hyperbolas indicates the estimated location of the RFID tag 810.

[0137] For the UL-TDOA-based positioning method:

[0138] Where i represents TRP 822 or 830, and “ref” represents the reference TRP (e.g., Tx TRP 830).

[0139] Currently, DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA positioning are supported for a single target UE via PRS and SRS transmissions, respectively. Furthermore, SRS and PRS have been proposed for positioning target environmental RFID devices (i.e., RFID tags). This disclosure provides a technique for jointly positioning a set of one or more target environmental RFID devices and a target UE within the same positioning session using the same positioning resources. For example, UL-TDOA and / or DL-TDOA positioning can be used to jointly position a target UE and one or more target environmental RFID devices within the same positioning session using the same positioning resources. Compared to the case where the target UE and target environmental RFID devices are positioned separately, the proposed solution results in power savings at the target UE and utilizes fewer resources for positioning signal transmission.

[0140] Figure 9 An example RFID system 900 is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure for jointly locating a collection of target RFID tags and a target UE using UL-TDOA positioning. Figure 9 In the example, the RFID system 900 includes a target UE 930, a set of M target RFID tags 910 (labeled "RFID tag 1", "RFID tag 2", and "RFID tag M"), and a set of N receiver (Rx) TRPs 922 (labeled "Rx TRP 1" and "Rx TRP N"). Because the location of the target UE 930 and the target RFID tags 910 will be determined using UL-TDOA positioning, the target UE 930 sends one or more SRSs measured by the Rx TRPs 922. The SRS also acts as an interrogation signal to the RFID tags 910 (and therefore the UE 930 is also an RFID reader). The Rx TRPs 922 are also configured to measure backscattered RFID signals from the RFID tags 910.

[0141] After UE 930 transmits the configured SRS, each Rx TRP 922 receives a set of 1+M signals. Specifically, in Figure 9 In the example, Rx TRP 1 directly receives SRS (labeled "Direct Signal 1"), backscatter signal 11, backscatter signal 12, and backscatter signal M1 from UE 930. Rx TRP 1 obtains the positioning measurements of these signals, denoted as "m1", "m11", "m12", and "mM1", respectively. Similarly, Rx TRP N directly receives SRS (labeled "Direct Signal N"), backscatter signal 1N, backscatter signal 2N, and backscatter signal MN from UE 930. Rx TRP N obtains the positioning measurements of these signals, denoted as "mN", "m1N", "m2N", and "mMN", respectively.

[0142] The measurements obtained for positioning can be categorized as follows: (1) the measurement set associated with the target UE 930, denoted as S = {m1, m2, ..., mN}; (2) the measurement set associated with the target RFID tag 1, denoted as S_1 = {m11, ..., m1N}; (3) the measurement set associated with the target RFID tag 2, denoted as S_2 = {m21, ..., m2N}; and (4) the measurement set associated with the target RFID tag M, denoted as S_M = {mM1, ..., mMN}. The positioning of the target UE 930 can be estimated using the measurement set S (based on UL-TDOA positioning), and the positioning of each target RFID tag i can be estimated using the measurement set S_i (i = 1, 2, ..., M) (again using UL-TDOA positioning).

[0143] As will be understood, although Figure 9 An example is given with N=2 Rx TRP 922 and M=3 RFID tags 910, but there may be more than two Rx TRP 922 and more or less than three RFID tags 910.

[0144] Figure 10 An example RFID system 1000 is illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure for jointly locating a set of target RFID tags and a target UE using DL-TDOA positioning. Figure 10In the example, the RFID system 1000 includes a target UE 1030, a set of M target RFID tags 1010 (labeled "RFID tag 1", "RFID tag 2", and "RFID tag M"), and a set of N transmitter (Tx) TRPs 1022 (labeled "Tx TRP 1" and "Tx TRP N"). Because the location of the target UE 1030 and the target RFID tags 1010 will be determined using DL-TDOA positioning, the Tx TRPs 1022 transmit DL-PRS measured by the UE 1030. The DL-PRS also acts as an interrogation signal to the RFID tags 1010 (and therefore the Tx TRPs 1022 are also RFID readers). The UE 1030 is also configured to measure the backscattered RFID signals from the RFID tags 1010.

[0145] After each Tx TRP 1022 sends the configured DL-PRS to UE 1030, UE 1030 receives a set of 1+M signals. Specifically, in Figure 10 In the example, UE 1030 directly receives DL-PRS (labeled "Direct Signal 1"), backscatter signal 11, backscatter signal 21, and backscatter signal M1 from Tx TRP 1. UE 1030 obtains the positioning measurements for these signals, denoted as "m1", "m11", "m21", and "mM1", respectively. Similarly, UE 1030 directly receives DL-PRS (labeled "Direct Signal N"), backscatter signal 1N, backscatter signal 2N, and backscatter signal MN from Tx TRP N. UE 1030 obtains the positioning measurements for these signals, denoted as "mN", "m1N", "m2N", and "mMN", respectively.

[0146] The measurements obtained for positioning can be categorized as follows: (1) a set of measurements associated with the target UE 1030, denoted as S = {m1, m2, ..., mN}; (2) a set of measurements associated with the target RFID tag 1, denoted as S_1 = {m11, ..., m1N}; (3) a set of measurements associated with the target RFID tag 2, denoted as S_2 = {m21, ..., m2N}; and (4) a set of measurements associated with the target RFID tag M, denoted as S_M = {mM1, ..., mMN}. The positioning of the target UE 1030 can be estimated using the set of measurements S (based on DL-TDOA positioning), and the positioning of each target RFID tag i can be estimated using the set of measurements S_i (i = 1, 2, ..., M) (again using DL-TDOA positioning).

[0147] As will be understood, although Figure 10An example is given where N = 2 Tx TRP 1022 and M = 3 RFID tags 1010, but there may be more than two Tx TRP 1022 and more or less than three RFID tags 1010.

[0148] On one hand, for UE-assisted positioning, during the capability exchange process (e.g., LPP capability transfer process 510), the UE may report (to the location server) its ability to jointly process measurements from the target UE (itself) and RFID tags in the target environment. That is, the UE may report the number of RFID devices it can simultaneously process, along with backscattered signals from itself and direct signals from the transmitting TRP. For UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning, during the capability reporting process, the UE may report (to the location server) the maximum number of RFID tags in the target environment that can be jointly processed by the UE. For UE-based positioning, during the capability exchange process, the UE may report (to the location server) its ability to jointly process measurements from the target UE (itself) and RFID devices in the target environment and calculate its estimated positioning. The UE may report these capabilities in capability messages (such as LPP capability provision messages).

[0149] In the case of multiple target environment RFID devices, based on the capabilities of the target environment RFID devices, the location server can configure a separate frequency shift for each RFID device (assigned to the backscattered signal by the RFID device) and provide the target UE with a set of paired RFID device IDs and their assigned frequency shifts. That is, each RFID device ID will be provided to the UE, paired with the frequency shift assigned to that RFID device.

[0150] On the one hand, for UE-assisted positioning, within the measurement report, the UE can report measurements to the location server in a set of pairs, where each pair includes the device ID (of the UE or environmental RFID device) and the measurement associated with that device. For example, refer to Figure 10 For example, UE 1030 can report a location measurement “m1” with the ID of UE 1030, a location measurement “m11” with the ID of RFID tag 1, a location measurement “m21” with the ID of RFID tag 2, and a location measurement “mM1” with the ID of RFID tag M.

[0151] For UE-based positioning, within the measurement report, the UE can provide a set of multiple estimated locations to the location server. Each estimated location is associated with a device ID (of the UE or the RFID device in the target environment) to indicate the device to which the positioning estimate is applied. For example, the UE can report these measurement pairs (device ID and measurement) or positioning pairs (device ID and estimated location) in an LPP (Location Provided) message.

[0152] For UE-based positioning, as supplementary information, a list of specific group delays of RFID devices in the target environment can be provided to the UE (e.g., by a location server). For example, group delays can be provided in the LPP (Local Persistent Positioning) supplementary data message.

[0153] Figure 11 An example method 1100 for wireless communication according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1100 may be performed by a first network node (e.g., a UE or a TRP).

[0154] At 1110, the first network node acquires one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between the UE and the location server. In one aspect, when the first network node is a UE, operation 1110 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range radio transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of these components can be considered as parts for performing the operation. When the first network node is a TRP, operation 1110 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range radio transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of these components can be considered as parts for performing the operation.

[0155] At 1120, the first network node acquires one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscattered signals of one or more reference signals during a positioning session, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental RFID devices. In one aspect, when the first network node is a UE, operation 1120 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of these components can be considered as parts for performing the operation. When the first network node is a TRP, operation 1120 can be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 360, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or positioning component 388, any or all of these components can be considered as parts for performing the operation.

[0156] As will be understood, the technical advantages of method 1100 include power savings at the first network node and the need for fewer resources to locate both the first network node and the environmental RFID device.

[0157] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those in the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be regarded accordingly as incorporated into the description, where each clause may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended for use (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0158] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network node, the method comprising: obtaining one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server; and obtaining one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscattered signals of the one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0159] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, the method further comprising: sending the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements to the location server.

[0160] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 2, wherein sending the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements comprises: sending an identifier of a corresponding second network node among the one or more second network nodes for each of the one or more first positioning measurements; and sending an identifier of a corresponding environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices for each of the one or more second positioning measurements.

[0161] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, the method further comprising: determining the estimated location of the first network node based at least in part on the one or more first positioning measurements; and determining the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices based at least in part on the one or more second positioning measurements.

[0162] Clause 5. The method according to Clause 4, the method further comprising: sending to the location server the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0163] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 5, wherein sending the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices comprises: sending an identifier of the first network node together with the estimated location of the first network node; and sending the identifier of the environmental RFID device for each estimated location of the environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0164] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 6, the method further comprising: sending a capability message to the location server, the capability message indicating at least that the first network node is capable of jointly processing the location measurements of the one or more second nodes and the location measurements of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0165] Clause 8. The method according to Clause 7, wherein the capability message further indicates the maximum number of environmental RFID devices from which the first network node can jointly process location measurements.

[0166] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 7 to 8, wherein the capability message further instructs the first network node to estimate the location of the UE, estimate the location of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or both.

[0167] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, the method further comprising: receiving auxiliary data from the location server, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least an identifier of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0168] Clause 11. The method according to Clause 10, wherein the auxiliary data further comprises: frequency shift of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, group delay of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or any combination thereof.

[0169] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 10 to 11, wherein: the first network node is the UE, and the auxiliary data further includes the location of each of the one or more second network nodes.

[0170] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the one or more second network nodes are one or more Transmit / Receive Points (TRPs), the one or more reference signals are one or more downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS), and the positioning session is a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0171] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 12, wherein: the first network node is a Transmitting Receiver Point (TRP), the one or more second network nodes are the UE, the one or more reference signals are one or more Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), and the positioning session is an Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0172] Clause 15. A first network node comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: acquire one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server; and acquire one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscattered signals of the one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0173] Clause 16. The first network node according to Clause 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to transmit the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements to the location server via the one or more transceivers.

[0174] Clause 17. The first network node as described in Clause 16, wherein the one or more processors configured to transmit the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements include the one or more processors individually or in combination configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, for each of the one or more first positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding second network node among the one or more second network nodes; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, for each of the one or more second positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0175] Clause 18. A first network node according to any one of Clauses 15 to 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: determine the estimated location of the first network node based at least in part on the one or more first positioning measurements; and determine the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices based at least in part on the one or more second positioning measurements.

[0176] Clause 19. The first network node as described in Clause 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices to the location server.

[0177] Clause 20. The first network node as described in Clause 19, wherein the one or more processors configured to transmit the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices include the one or more processors configured individually or in combination to: transmit the identifier of the first network node together with the estimated location of the first network node via the one or more transceivers; and transmit the identifier of the environmental RFID device for each estimated location of the environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices via the one or more transceivers.

[0178] Clause 21. A first network node according to any one of Clauses 15 to 20, wherein the one or more processors are individually or in combination further configured to: send a capability message to the location server via the one or more transceivers, the capability message indicating at least that the first network node is capable of jointly processing location measurements of the one or more second nodes and location measurements of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0179] Clause 22. The first network node as described in Clause 21, wherein the capability message further indicates the maximum number of environmental RFID devices from which the first network node can jointly process location measurements.

[0180] Clause 23. A first network node according to any one of Clauses 21 to 22, wherein the capability message further instructs the first network node to estimate the location of the UE, estimate the location of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or both.

[0181] Clause 24. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 15 to 23, wherein the one or more processors are individually or in combination further configured to receive auxiliary data from the location server via the one or more transceivers, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least the identifier of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0182] Clause 25. The first network node as described in Clause 24, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: frequency shift of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, group delay of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or any combination thereof.

[0183] Clause 26. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 24 to 25, wherein: the first network node is the UE, and the auxiliary data further includes the location of each of the one or more second network nodes.

[0184] Clause 27. A first network node according to any one of Clauses 15 to 26, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the one or more second network nodes are one or more Transmit / Receive Points (TRPs), the one or more reference signals are one or more downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS), and the positioning session is a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0185] Clause 28. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 15 to 26, wherein: the first network node is a Transmitting Receiver Point (TRP), the one or more second network nodes are the UE, the one or more reference signals are one or more Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), and the positioning session is an Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0186] Clause 29. A first network node comprising: components for obtaining one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server; and components for obtaining one or more backscattered signals of one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0187] Clause 30. The first network node as described in Clause 29, further comprising: a component for sending the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements to the location server.

[0188] Clause 31. The first network node according to Clause 30, wherein the component for transmitting the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements comprises: a component for transmitting, for each of the one or more first positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding second network node among the one or more second network nodes; and a component for transmitting, for each of the one or more second positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0189] Clause 32. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 31, the first network node further comprising: means for determining an estimated location of the first network node based at least in part on the one or more first positioning measurements; and means for determining an estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices based at least in part on the one or more second positioning measurements.

[0190] Clause 33. The first network node as described in Clause 32, further comprising: a component for transmitting to the location server the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0191] Clause 34. The first network node as described in Clause 33, wherein the component for transmitting the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices comprises: a component for transmitting an identifier of the first network node together with the estimated location of the first network node; and a component for transmitting an identifier of the environmental RFID device for each estimated location of the environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0192] Clause 35. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 34, the first network node further comprising: a component for sending a capability message to the location server, the capability message indicating at least that the first network node is capable of jointly processing the location measurements of the one or more second nodes and the location measurements of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0193] Clause 36. The first network node as described in Clause 35, wherein the capability message further indicates the maximum number of environmental RFID devices from which the first network node is capable of jointly processing location measurements.

[0194] Clause 37. A first network node according to any one of Clauses 35 to 36, wherein the capability message further instructs the first network node to estimate the location of the UE, estimate the location of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or both.

[0195] Clause 38. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 37, the first network node further comprising: a component for receiving auxiliary data from the location server, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least an identifier of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0196] Clause 39. The first network node as described in Clause 38, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: frequency shift of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, group delay of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or any combination thereof.

[0197] Clause 40. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 38 to 39, wherein: the first network node is the UE, and the auxiliary data further includes the location of each of the one or more second network nodes.

[0198] Clause 41. A first network node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 40, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the one or more second network nodes are one or more Transmit / Receive Points (TRPs), the one or more reference signals are one or more downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS), and the positioning session is a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0199] Clause 42. The first network node according to any one of Clauses 29 to 40, wherein: the first network node is a Transmitting Receiver Point (TRP), the one or more second network nodes are the UE, the one or more reference signals are one or more Sounding Reference Signals (SRS), and the positioning session is an Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0200] Clause 43. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first network node, cause the first network node to: obtain one or more first positioning measurements during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes; and obtain one or more second positioning measurements during the positioning session of one or more backscattered signals of the one or more reference signals, wherein the one or more backscattered signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

[0201] Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 43 further includes, when executed by the first network node, computer-executable instructions that cause the first network node to perform the following operations: send the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements to the location server.

[0202] Clause 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 44, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the first network node, cause the first network node to transmit the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements, include computer-executable instructions, when executed by the first network node, causing the first network node to: transmit, for each of the one or more first positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding second network node among the one or more second network nodes; and transmit, for each of the one or more second positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0203] Clause 46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 45, further comprising, when executed by the first network node, computer-executable instructions that cause the first network node to: determine an estimated location of the first network node based at least in part on the one or more first positioning measurements; and determine an estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices based at least in part on the one or more second positioning measurements.

[0204] Clause 47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 46 further includes, when executed by the first network node, computer-executable instructions that cause the first network node to perform the following operations: send the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated location of the one or more environmental RFID devices to the location server.

[0205] Clause 48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 47, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the first network node, cause the first network node to transmit the estimated location of the first network node and the estimated locations of the one or more environmental RFID devices, include computer-executable instructions, when executed by the first network node, causing the first network node to: transmit an identifier of the first network node together with the estimated location of the first network node; and transmit the identifier of the environmental RFID device for each estimated location of the environmental RFID device among the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0206] Clause 49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 48, further comprising, when executed by the first network node, computer-executable instructions that cause the first network node to: send a capability message to the location server, the capability message indicating at least that the first network node is capable of jointly processing the location measurements of the one or more second nodes and the location measurements of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0207] Clause 50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 49, wherein the capability message further indicates the maximum number of environmental RFID devices from which the first network node can jointly process location measurements.

[0208] Clause 51. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 49 to 50, wherein the capability message further instructs the first network node to estimate the location of the UE, the location of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or both.

[0209] Clause 52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 51, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising, when executed by the first network node, computer-executable instructions causing the first network node to: receive auxiliary data from the location server, wherein the auxiliary data includes at least an identifier for each of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

[0210] Clause 53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 52, wherein the auxiliary data further includes: frequency shift of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, group delay of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or any combination thereof.

[0211] Clause 54. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 52 to 53, wherein: the first network node is the UE, and the auxiliary data further includes the location of each of the one or more second network nodes.

[0212] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 54, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the one or more second network nodes are one or more Transmit / Receive Points (TRPs), the one or more reference signals are one or more downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRS), and the positioning session is a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0213] Clause 56. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 43 to 54, wherein: the first network node is a Transmitter Receiver Point (TRP), the one or more second network nodes are the UE, the one or more reference signals are one or more sounding reference signals (SRS), and the positioning session is an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning session.

[0214] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0215] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0216] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using 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 components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0217] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0218] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, which includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include: compact optical discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0219] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly stated otherwise. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” etc., are intended to include one or more of the described elements. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “having,” “comprising,” “including,” etc., do not exclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., element “having” A may also have B). Furthermore, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “at least partially based on” unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be open-ended when used in a series and is interchangeable with “and / or” unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., if used in conjunction with “any” or “only one”), or these alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Additionally, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms may also be considered unless explicitly stated as singular. Therefore, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “described” are intended to include one or more of the described elements. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” include “one” component, function, action, or instruction that performs or is capable of performing the described or claimed functionality, and also include “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions that perform or are capable of performing the described or claimed functionality in combination.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first network node, the method comprising: obtaining one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server; and obtaining one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscatter signals of the one or more reference signals during the positioning session, wherein the one or more backscatter signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: transmitting the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements to the location server.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements comprises: transmitting, for each first positioning measurement of the one or more first positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding second network node of the one or more second network nodes; and transmitting, for each second positioning measurement of the one or more second positioning measurements, an identifier of a corresponding environmental RFID device of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

4. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: determining an estimated position of the first network node based at least in part on the one or more first positioning measurements; and determining an estimated position of the one or more environmental RFID devices based at least in part on the one or more second positioning measurements.

5. The method of claim 4, the method further comprising: transmitting the estimated position of the first network node and the estimated position of the one or more environmental RFID devices to the location server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein transmitting the estimated position of the first network node and the estimated position of the one or more environmental RFID devices comprises: transmitting an identifier of the first network node with the estimated position of the first network node; and transmitting, for each estimated position of an environmental RFID device of the one or more environmental RFID devices, an identifier of the environmental RFID device.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: transmitting a capability message to the location server indicating at least that the first network node is capable of jointly processing positioning measurements of the one or more second nodes and positioning measurements of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the capability message further indicates a maximum number of environmental RFID devices from which the first network node is capable of jointly processing positioning measurements.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the capability message further indicates a capability of the first network node to estimate a position of the UE, estimate a position of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or both.

10. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: receive assistance data from the location server, wherein the assistance data comprises at least an identifier of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the assistance data further comprises: a frequency shift of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, a group delay of each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the assistance data further comprises a location of each of the one or more second network nodes.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the one or more second network nodes are one or more transmission reception points (TRPs), the one or more reference signals are one or more downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRSs), and the positioning session is a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning session.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first network node is a transmission reception point (TRP), the one or more second network nodes are the UE, the one or more reference signals are one or more sounding reference signals (SRSs), and the positioning session is an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning session.

15. A first network node, the first network node comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to: obtain, during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes; and obtain, during the positioning session, one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscatter signals of the one or more reference signals, wherein the one or more backscatter signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

16. The first network node of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements to the location server.

17. The first network node of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors configured to transmit the one or more first positioning measurements and the one or more second positioning measurements comprise the one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to: ​ transmit, via the one or more transceivers, an identifier of a corresponding second network node of the one or more second network nodes for each first positioning measurement of the one or more first positioning measurements; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, an identifier of a corresponding environmental RFID device of the one or more environmental RFID devices for each second positioning measurement of the one or more second positioning measurements.

18. The first network node of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to: determine an estimated position of the first network node based at least in part on the one or more first positioning measurements; and determine an estimated position of the one or more environmental RFID devices based at least in part on the one or more second positioning measurements.

19. The first network node of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the estimated position of the first network node and the estimated position of the one or more environmental RFID devices to the location server.

20. The first network node of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors configured to transmit the estimated position of the first network node and the estimated position of the one or more environmental RFID devices comprise the one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, an identifier of the first network node with the estimated position of the first network node; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, an identifier of an environmental RFID device of the one or more environmental RFID devices for each estimated position of the environmental RFID device.

21. The first network node of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a capability message to the location server indicating at least that the first network node is capable of jointly processing positioning measurements of the one or more second nodes and positioning measurements of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

22. The first network node of claim 21, wherein the capability message further indicates a maximum number of environmental RFID devices from which the first network node is capable of jointly processing positioning measurements.

23. The first network node of claim 21, wherein the capability message further indicates a capability of the first network node to estimate a position of the UE, estimate a position of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or both.

24. The first network node of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors, individually or in combination, are further configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers from the location server, assistance data, wherein the assistance data comprises at least an identifier of each environmental RFID device of the one or more environmental RFID devices.

25. The first network node of claim 24, wherein the assistance data further comprises: a frequency shift for each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, a group delay for each of the one or more environmental RFID devices, or any combination thereof.

26. The first network node of claim 24, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the assistance data further comprises a location of each of the one or more second network nodes.

27. The first network node of claim 15, wherein: the first network node is the UE, the one or more second network nodes are one or more transmission reception points (TRPs), the one or more reference signals are one or more downlink positioning reference signals (DL-PRSs), and the positioning session is a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning session.

28. The first network node of claim 15, wherein: the first network node is a transmission reception point (TRP), the one or more second network nodes are the UE, the one or more reference signals are one or more sounding reference signals (SRSs), and the positioning session is an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning session.

29. A first network node, the first network node comprising: means for obtaining, during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes; and means for obtaining, during the positioning session, one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscatter signals of the one or more reference signals, wherein the one or more backscatter signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first network node, cause the first network node to: obtain, during a positioning session between a user equipment (UE) and a location server, one or more first positioning measurements of one or more reference signals transmitted by one or more second network nodes; and obtain, during the positioning session, one or more second positioning measurements of one or more backscatter signals of the one or more reference signals, wherein the one or more backscatter signals are transmitted by one or more environmental radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.

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