Methods, devices, apparatuses, and media for resource scheduling

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and media for resource scheduling. The method includes receiving first interference information determined by a second network device, and transmitting, to the second network device, a resource scheduling policy based at least on the first interference information, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with scheduling of a first user equipment by the second network device on resources for transmission of a sensing signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure relate to the field of communications, and more specifically to methods, apparatuses, devices, and computer-readable media for resource scheduling. Background Technology

[0002] Communication is the transmission of information between two or more points, while sensing is the detection of parameters of the physical environment, such as speed measurement and target location. Radar is a typical sensing method. Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) refers to the fusion of communication and sensing functions, enabling future communication systems to possess both communication and sensing capabilities simultaneously. Furthermore, while transmitting information over a wireless channel, the system actively identifies and analyzes the channel's characteristics to sense the physical features of the surrounding environment, thereby achieving mutual enhancement of communication and sensing functions. For example, base station signals can be designed to sense information about the surrounding environment, thus avoiding obstacles and improving communication performance. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a first network device is provided. The first network device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the first network device to: receive first interference information determined by a second network device; and, at least based on the first interference information, send a resource scheduling policy to the second network device, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of resources for the transmission of sensing signals for a first user equipment.

[0004] In a second aspect of this disclosure, a second network device is provided. The second network device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured, together with the at least one processor, to cause the second network device to: transmit first interference information determined by the second network device to a first network device; and receive a resource scheduling policy from the first network device, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of resources for the transmission of sensing signals for a first user equipment.

[0005] In a third aspect of this disclosure, a method implemented in a first network device is provided, the method comprising: receiving first interference information determined by the second network device; and sending a resource scheduling policy to the second network device based at least on the first interference information, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of a first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a method implemented in a second network device is provided, comprising: sending first interference information determined by the second network device to a first network device; and receiving a resource scheduling policy from the first network device, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of a first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: components for receiving first interference information determined by the second network device; and components for sending a resource scheduling policy to the second network device, at least based on the first interference information, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of a first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: components for transmitting to a first network device first interference information determined by the second network device; and components for receiving from the first network device a resource scheduling policy, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of resources for the transmission of sensing signals for a first user equipment.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processing unit, configure at least one processing unit to perform the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processing unit, configure at least one processing unit to perform the method according to the third aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the description in the Summary of the Invention is not intended to limit the key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to restrict the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are presented by way of example, and their advantages are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication environment in which the example embodiments described in this disclosure may be implemented is shown;

[0014] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an ISAC network in which example embodiments described in this disclosure may be implemented is shown;

[0015] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a frame structure in which an example embodiment described in this disclosure may be implemented is shown;

[0016] Figure 4A and 4B A schematic diagram is shown illustrating a frame structure change that can be implemented in the example embodiments described in this disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5 Schematic diagrams of cross-link interference and uplink communication interference according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure are shown;

[0018] Figure 6 A schematic signaling flow of a resource scheduling process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 A schematic signaling flow of a resource scheduling process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 8A and 8B A schematic flow diagram of a resource scheduling process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating the process of a method for resource scheduling according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 10 A flowchart illustrating the process of a method for resource scheduling according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 11 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0024] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] In all the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0026] Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the invention will be thorough and complete, and its scope will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the example embodiments shown in the drawings is not intended to be limiting. In the drawings, the same numerals denote the same elements.

[0027] The specification may refer to “a,” “an,” or “some” (or more) embodiments in several places. This does not necessarily mean that each such reference is for the same embodiment, or that the feature applies only to a single embodiment. Individual features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. As used herein, unless expressly stated otherwise or understood from the context, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are also intended to include the plural forms. It should also be understood that, when used in this specification, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and / or “including” specify the presence of the stated feature, integer, step, operation, element, and / or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. In other words, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and / or “including” should be understood as open-ended. As used herein, whenever the phrase “at least one of the following” precedes a list of elements, where the elements are connected by “and” or “or,” it means that there is at least any one element or at least all of the elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations and arrangements of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0028] Conditional language—such as “may” or “may”—unless explicitly stated otherwise, or understood otherwise in the context in which it is used, is generally intended to convey that some embodiments may include certain features, elements, and / or steps, while other embodiments may not include certain features, elements, and / or steps. Therefore, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or steps are required in any way for one or more embodiments. It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements. Furthermore, as used herein, “connected” or “coupled” can include wireless connection or coupling.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. It will be further understood that terms such as those defined in common dictionaries shall be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant field, and shall not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0030] The accompanying drawings depict a simplified structure, showing only a few elements and functional entities, all of which are logical units whose implementations may differ from those shown. The connections shown are logical connections; actual physical connections may differ. Furthermore, all logical units described and depicted in the drawings include the software and / or hardware components required for the unit to function. Further, each unit may implicitly include one or more components within itself. These components may be operatively coupled to each other and configured to communicate with each other to perform the functions of the unit.

[0031] The term "circuit system" as used herein may refer to at least one of the following:

[0032] a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only);

[0033] b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware and (ii) any part of (multiple) hardware processors having software (including (multiple) digital signal processors, software, and (multiple) memories, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions); or

[0034] c) Multiple hardware circuits and / or multiple processors, such as multiple microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when the software is not required to operate.

[0035] The definition of "circuit system" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claim. As yet another example, as used herein, the term "circuit system" also encompasses an implementation of only hardware circuitry or a processor (or processors), or a hardware circuitry or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. The term "circuit system" also encompasses, for example (and if applicable to a particular claim element), baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits used in mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or networking devices.

[0036] Before explaining the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure in detail, some general principles of wireless communication systems and mobile communication devices will be briefly explained to help understand the technology behind the described examples.

[0037] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and so on. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices within the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols and / or any other currently known or future protocols. Furthermore, any suitable wireless communication technology can be utilized, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future. The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, including but not limited to terrestrial communication systems, non-terrestrial communication systems, or combinations thereof. Given the rapid development in the field of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can be used to implement this disclosure. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

[0038] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, low-power nodes such as femtoseconds or picoseconds, and so on. In some example embodiments, the radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). An IAB node consists of a mobile termination (IAB-MT) part and a DU part. The IAB-MT part is similar to user equipment (UE) to the parent node, while the DU part is similar to a base station to the next-hop IAB node.

[0039] Network equipment may also include network equipment for the core network, which can be any computing device or system including the hardware (e.g., at least one processor and at least one memory) and software of one or more network functions of the core network. Examples of core network nodes may include access and mobility management functions (AMF), sensing functions (SF) (e.g., SF can be sensing management functions (SeMF)), network exposure functions (NEF), and application functions (AF).

[0040] As used herein, the term "user equipment" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as communication equipment, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, and devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks. User equipment can also correspond to the mobile termination (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment", "user equipment", and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0041] Figure 1 An exemplary communication environment 100 that can be implemented by an exemplary embodiment is shown. For example... Figure 1As shown, the communication environment 100 can be part of a communication network, which may contain multiple network devices, including a first network device 110, a second network device 120, and a third network device 130. In some exemplary embodiments, the first network device 110 may operate as a network device of the core network mentioned above (e.g., SF or SeMF). In other exemplary embodiments, the first network device 110 may operate as a network device mentioned above, such as a RAN device. In some exemplary embodiments, the second network device 120 and the third network device 130 may operate as network devices serving user equipment (e.g., gNB). For example, the second network device 120 and the third network device 130 may be the sender (or transmitter or transmitting node) and receiver (or receiver and receiving node) of the sensed signal (also referred to as the sensing signal or sensing node) in the ISAC network, respectively. Furthermore, the second network device 120 and the third network device 130 may communicate with the user equipment. For example, as Figure 1 As shown, the second network device 120 can communicate with or serve the user equipment 140 within its coverage area (e.g., a cell).

[0042] In some embodiments, the transmission direction from the second network device 120 to the user equipment 140 is referred to as the downlink (DL), and the transmission direction from the user equipment 140 to the second network device 120 is referred to as the uplink (UL). In the DL, the second network device 120 is a transmitter (Tx) device, and the user equipment 140 is a receiver (Rx) device. In the UL, the user equipment 140 is a Tx device (or transmitter), and the second network device 120 is an Rx device (or receiver).

[0043] It should be understood that Figure 1 The devices and their numbers shown are merely illustrative and not limiting. Example communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices, such as network devices and terminal devices, configured to implement example embodiments of this disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more other devices may be deployed in communication environment 100.

[0044] In some embodiments, the communication network may be an ISAC network. Figure 2 Exemplary ISAC network 200 that can be implemented through some exemplary embodiments is shown, wherein the ISAC network 200 is a non-single-site network mode, i.e., it includes network devices as transmitters of sensed signals and network devices as receivers of sensed signals. Figure 2As shown, the ISAC network 200 includes network device 210, network device 220, network device 230, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) distribution center 240. Network devices 210-230 can be... Figure 1 The second network device 120 or the third network device 130 in the communication environment 100 shown. Network device 210 can be the sender of sensing signals in the ISAC network 200, network device 220 can be the receiver of sensing signals in the ISAC network 200, and UAV distribution center 240 can be used to allocate one or more UAVs to one or more clients. Furthermore, in the ISAC network 200, network device 220 communicates with UE 250, for example, it can schedule the uplink communication signals of UE 250, and network device 230 communicates with UE 260, for example, it can schedule the downlink communication signals of UE 260. UE 250 and UE 260 can be... Figure 1 User equipment 140 in the communication environment 100 shown.

[0045] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, the UAV distribution center assigns UAV 242 to customer 270 and UAV 244 to customer 280. Then, UAV 242 flies to customer 270's location based on UAV route 1, and UAV 244 flies to customer 280's location based on UAV route 2. Network device 210, as the sender of sensing signals, can detect the speed, target location, etc., of UAV 242 and UAV 244 by sending sensing signals (e.g., sensing reference signals). Furthermore, after receiving the sensing reference signal, UAV 242 and UAV 244 send echo signals corresponding to that sensing reference signal. Network device 220, as the receiver of sensing signals, completes its sensing of UAV 242 and UAV 244 after receiving the echo signals sent by UAV 242 and UAV 244.

[0046] In some embodiments, the network device 220, as the receiver of the sensed signal, is susceptible to various types of inter-cell interference. For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, network device 220 is susceptible to inter-cell interference from network device 230, or in other words, the wireless signals of network device 220 and network device 230 interfere with each other due to factors such as similar frequencies. In this case, the signals transmitted by neighboring network devices (such as network device 230) may interfere with the echo signals received by network device 220, thereby affecting the accuracy of sensing.

[0047] In other embodiments, network device 220, as the receiver of the sensing signal, may be subject to interference from the light-of-sight (LoS) path of network device 210, which is the sender of the sensing signal. In other embodiments, cross-link interference is introduced by the uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) allocation or dynamic switching of existing communication networks. For example, as... Figure 2 As shown, network device 220 schedules the uplink communication signals of UE 250 (which may be an edge UE of the cell covered by network device 220), and network device 230 schedules the downlink communication signals of UE 260 (which may be an edge UE of the cell covered by network device 230). UE 250 located in a neighboring cell of UE 260 may cause cross-link interference to UE 260.

[0048] In other embodiments, network device 210 may receive echo signals from UAV 244, thus causing self-interference in network device 210. In other words, the sensing reference signal transmitted by network device 210 and the received echo signal interfere with each other. In other embodiments, the ISAC network 200 may be deployed in a low-altitude environment, such as a densely populated environment, in which case the sensing signal or echo signal is susceptible to severe environmental clutter interference.

[0049] To implement a low-altitude ISAC network in the 4.9 GHz band, frames with specific frame structures are specified. Table 1 shows several frame structures that can be implemented using exemplary embodiments.

[0050] Table 1

[0051]

[0052] Taking frame structure number 1070 as an example, Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an example frame structure is shown. (e.g.) Figure 3 As shown, the DL / UL cycle of this frame is DDDSU-DDSUU, where the D slot includes 14 downlink D symbols, the U slot includes 14 uplink U symbols, and the S slot includes 10 downlink D symbols, 2 guard period (GP) symbols, and 2 uplink U symbols.

[0053] In some embodiments, considering Figure 3 The frame structure shown can support perceptual performance, such as Figure 3As shown in the shaded area of ​​the frame structure, a sensing reference signal can be generated and transmitted using DDS-DDS slots every 5ms while sensing a frame. In other words, a sensing reference signal is generated and transmitted using 1.357ms of symbols (14 D symbols in D slots + 14 D symbols in D slots + 10 D symbols in S slots) every 5ms while sensing a frame.

[0054] In some embodiments, in order to effectively achieve dual static sensing or even multi-static sensing at the transmitter of the aforementioned sensing signal, the receiver of the sensing signal is correspondingly changed. Figure 3 The frame structure shown is designed to enable the receiver of the sensing signal to receive the sensing signal from the sender. Figure 4A and 4B An illustration of a change in frame structure that can be achieved through an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0055] like Figure 4A As shown, network device 210 sends a sensing signal, such as a sensing reference signal, to sensing target 410. After receiving the sensing signal, sensing target 410 sends a sensing reflection signal, i.e., an echo signal. Network device 220 can receive the sensing reflection signal from sensing target 410, and it can also receive the line-of-sight (LoS) signal of the sensing signal from network device 210. Figure 4B As shown, in order to receive sensing signals from network device 210, network device 220 can... Figure 3 The frame structure shown is converted from DDDSU-DDSUU to DUUUU-UUUUU. In other words, network device 220 will... Figure 3 In the frame structure shown, the DDS-DDS slots used for transmitting sensing signals are converted to UUU-UUU slots, thus enabling the reception of sensing reflection signals from sensing target 410 via uplink U symbols. For example... Figure 4B As shown, the frame structure of network device 210 is still DDDSU-DDSUU.

[0056] It should be understood that Figure 3 , Figure 4A and Figure 4B The frame structure shown is only an example of frame structure number 1070 in Table 1 and is not restrictive. Although not shown, it should be understood that the frame structures used by network device 210 and network device 220 may be other frame structures in Table 1.

[0057] However, as mentioned above, in order to achieve an effective dual static detection mode (e.g.) Figure 2 The frame structure changes (from the perception of network device 210 to network device 220), which in turn leads to... Figure 2The cross-link interference and uplink interference of network device 220 shown have a significant impact on the sensing process of the ISAC network.

[0058] Figure 5 This illustration shows interference following a change in the frame structure of an exemplary embodiment. Figure 5 As shown, network device 220 schedules UE 520 via the uplink. At this time, if network device 220 converts the frame structure to as follows... Figure 4B When the DUUUU-UUUUU shown receives the sensed reflected signal from the sensed target 410, the uplink between network device 220 and UE 520 will interfere with the uplink between network device 220 and the sensed target 410, i.e., causing uplink interference. Furthermore, if UE 520 is an edge UE of the cell covered by network device 220 and UE 510 is an edge UE of the cell covered by network device 210, the signal transmitted by UE 520 will interfere with the downlink communication between network device 210 and UE 510, i.e., causing cross-link interference. The aforementioned uplink interference and cross-link interference will affect the sensing accuracy of the ISAC network 200.

[0059] To address this, some embodiments of this disclosure propose a solution for resource scheduling. In this solution, a second network device 120 determines first interference information and sends it to a first network device 110; the first network device 110 receives the first interference information determined by the second network device 120; the first network device 110 sends a resource scheduling policy to the second network device 120, based at least on the first interference information, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device 120's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for transmitting sensing signals; the second network device 120 receives the resource scheduling policy from the first network device 110, thereby avoiding or limiting the second network device 120's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for transmitting sensing signals, for example, limiting uplink or downlink scheduling of the first user equipment. Through this method, the first user equipment can be scheduled on resources used for transmitting sensing signals, thus avoiding conflicts between communication between the first user equipment and the second network device 120 and the transmission of sensing signals, effectively reducing uplink interference and cross-link interference, and improving sensing efficiency and performance.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 acquires the network load level of the second network device 120; based on determining that the network load level is below a threshold level, it sends an instruction to the second network device 120 regarding converting one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving sensed signals. For example, this instruction may be used to instruct the second network device 120 to convert one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving sensed signals. Figure 3 The time-domain resources of the DDS-DDS shown are converted into time-domain resources for receiving sensing signals in the UUU-UU array. This method optimizes time-slot resource allocation and improves the sensing performance of the ISAC network 200.

[0061] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 transmits a signal in a specific subframe, enabling the network device receiving the signal to measure interference in that specific subframe and receive third interference information indicating the interference from the network device receiving the signal. This method allows for the dynamic configuration of special subframes (SSFs) for transmitting or listening to sensing signals, thereby adapting to the scene based on target motion, resolution requirements, and interference measurement results to coordinate adjustments between the sender and receiver of the sensing signal.

[0062] SSF (Subframe Frame) is a type of subframe included in the frame structure. A frame may contain normal subframes (NSFs), or it may contain several NSFs and some SSFs. For example, in Time Division Duplexing Long Term Evolution (LTE TDD), uplink and downlink data are transmitted on different subframes within the same frame, and SSFs can be included between uplink and downlink subframes for buffering uplink and downlink transmissions. SSFs may include downlink pilot slots, guard intervals (GPs), and uplink pilot slots. Downlink pilot slots may include orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for downlink transmission, and uplink pilot slots may include OFDM symbols for uplink transmission. GPs are used to prevent downlink transmissions from interfering with uplink transmissions.

[0063] Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 6 and Figure 7 A schematic signaling flow of a resource scheduling process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0064] When the second network device 120 acts as the receiver of the sensing signal, it can refer to Figure 6 A schematic signaling flow 600 describes the resource scheduling process. The first network device 110 can be a core network device such as an SF (e.g., a SeMF), or a network device such as a RAN device. The second network device can be a network device serving user equipment, such as a gNB.

[0065] like Figure 6 As shown, the second network device 120 sends (634) first interference information to the first network device 110. Correspondingly, the first network device 110 receives (636) the first interference information from the second network device 120. Furthermore, the first network device 110 sends (644) a resource scheduling policy to the second network device 120. Correspondingly, the second network device 120 receives (646) the resource scheduling policy from the first network device 110. This resource scheduling policy is at least related to the second network device 120's scheduling of resources for the transmission of sensing signals for the first user equipment. For example, the second network device 120 may be... Figure 5 The network device 220 shown can be any of the UEs scheduled by the second network device 120, or it can be an edge UE of the cell covered by the second network device 120, such as... Figure 5 The UE 520 shown.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first interference information is related to uplink interference of the second network device 120, for example, the second network device 120 may be... Figure 5 The network device 220 shown, the first interference information and Figure 5 The uplink interference between the network device 220 and UE 520 is shown.

[0067] In some embodiments, the second network device 120 sends the sensing signal; receives the echo signal of the sensing signal; and determines the first interference information based on the measurement of the echo signal.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the echo signal of the sensed signal measured by the second network device 120.

[0069] In other embodiments, when the echo signal is received from the radar by the second network device 120, the first interference information may include the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the radar signal measured by the second network device 120. For example, the SINR of the radar signal can be obtained by the following formula:

[0070]

[0071] Among them, the radar cross section (RCS) of the target object is σ, E N It is the energy of noise, E I P is the energy of the interference, and τ is the duration of the sensed signal. TFor transmission power, G T For the transmit antenna gain, G R Let λ be the receiving antenna gain, and λ be the wavelength of the sensed signal. L represents the total loss of the antenna system, including the losses of the transmitting antenna, transmission feed line, receiving antenna, and receiving feed line. R is the sensing distance.

[0072] In some embodiments, the energy E of the interference I This can include uplink interference and inter-cell interference, line-of-sight interference, and environmental clutter interference from multiple cells. Inter-cell interference can be mitigated by configuring directional antennas at other interfering base stations or at the receiver of the hypothetical sensed signal. Furthermore, other network devices different from the first network device 110, the second network device 120, and the third network device 130 can be distinguished using orthogonal coding (such as Walsh, PN, Golden, etc.).

[0073] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 determines (642) whether the interference level of the second network device 120 is greater than or equal to a threshold level based on the first interference information, wherein the transmission of the resource scheduling policy is in response to determining that the interference level is greater than or equal to the threshold level. For example, the condition for triggering the transmission of the resource scheduling policy can be defined as follows: when the uplink interference and cross-link interference levels measured by the second network device 120 are higher than a certain threshold level, the first network device 110 generates and transmits the resource scheduling policy.

[0074] In some embodiments, the resource scheduling policy includes restricting uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals. In other words, after the second network device 120 receives (646) the resource scheduling policy, it restricts (648) the uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals (UUU-UUU as shown in FIG. 4). For example, the first user equipment may be all UEs scheduled by the second network device 120, thereby avoiding uplink interference to the sensing signals caused by all UEs scheduled by the second network device on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 can avoid / limit uplink scheduling of the first user equipment by receiving and analyzing signals from the user equipment in uplink communication within the cell.

[0076] For example, the first network device 110 can limit the quality of service requirements of the first user device within the cell. Based on service levels or user needs, the first network device 110 can adjust the transmission priorities of different user devices, such as disabling transmission priority for non-real-time applications.

[0077] For example, the first network device 110 can use an optimization algorithm to solve the optimization problem of limiting the uplink scheduling of the first user device. For example, while maintaining the minimum acceptable uplink communication level, the optimization algorithm obtains the optimal resource allocation scheme to minimize the interference of uplink communication on the receiver of the sensed signal (the second network device 120).

[0078] For example, the first network device 110 can implement an effective power control strategy to ensure that the signal power transmitted by the first user equipment remains within an appropriate range, especially for UEs at the cell edge and UEs close to the second network device 120. This method avoids excessive or insufficient transmission power, thereby preventing interference caused by excessive or insufficient transmission power.

[0079] For example, the first network device 110 may take measures to prevent or alleviate network congestion, such as restricting access for new user devices, dropping some data packets, or dynamically adjusting the transmission rate.

[0080] In some embodiments, the third network device 130 sends second interference information to the first network device 110. Correspondingly, the first network device 110 receives (640) the second interference information determined by the third network device 130. The resource scheduling policy is further determined based on the second interference information and is also associated with the scheduling of resources used by the second network device 120 for second user devices different from the first user device for the transmission of sensing signals. The third network device can act as a transmitter of the sensing signal.

[0081] In some embodiments, the second interference information is determined at least based on interference information of the cross-link between user equipment scheduled by the second network device 120 and user equipment scheduled by the third network device 130. In this case, the second user equipment may be an edge UE of the cell covered by the second network device 120. Furthermore, the resource scheduling strategy also includes restricting the uplink scheduling of the second user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals. In other words, after the second network device 120 receives (646) the resource scheduling strategy, it restricts (650) the uplink scheduling of the second user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals (UUU-UUU as shown in FIG. 4). Thus, it is possible to avoid the edge UE scheduled by the second network device causing cross-link interference to the sensing signals on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 may acquire the network load level of the second network device 120. For example, the second network device 120 sends (626) the network load level to the first network device 110. Correspondingly, the first network device 110 receives (628) the network load level from the second network device 120. The first network device 110 may also acquire the network load level itself, for example, from the AMF. Furthermore, based on the network load level, the first network device 110 sends (630) an instruction to the second network device 120 to convert one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving sensing signals. Correspondingly, the second network device 120 receives from the first network device 110 an instruction to convert one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving sensing signals. For example, the instruction may be used to instruct the second network device 120 to convert the time-domain resource DDS-DDS shown in FIG. 4 into the time-domain resource UUU-UUU.

[0083] For example, network load levels can include the number of currently connected users, the amount of data transmitted per user, overall bandwidth utilization, transmission rate, latency, etc. The first network device 110 can analyze the collected data to determine the current level of network load, for example, whether the network of the second network device 120 is in a fully buffered (high load) or non-fully buffered (low load) state. If the network of the second network device 120 is in a fully buffered state, it indicates that the second network device 120 does not support changing the frame structure because the second network device 120 needs to serve the current uplink / downlink demands of its corresponding normal user equipment. If the second network device 120 is in a non-fully buffered state, it indicates that the second network device 120 can support changing the frame structure due to sensing requirements.

[0084] In this context, different strategies can be employed to further optimize the utilization of sensing resources, and the resource allocation algorithm can be more flexible. Table 2 illustrates the sensing performance after optimizing sensing resource utilization according to some example embodiments of this disclosure.

[0085] Table 2

[0086]

[0087]

[0088] As shown in Table 2, the coherent processing gain and the maximum distance of dual static sensing in the sensing performance have both been improved.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 transmits a signal in a specific subframe to enable a network device receiving the signal to measure interference in that specific subframe; and receives third interference information indicating interference from the network device receiving the signal. The network device receiving the signal may be at least one of the second network device 120 and the third network device 130, or in other words, the network device receiving the signal may be at least one of the receiver and the sender of the sensing signal.

[0090] For example, such as Figure 6 As shown in option A, the first network device 110 can send signals (602 and 606) to the second network device 120 and the third network device 130, which are network device pairs (i.e., receivers and senders of sensing signals), in a specific subframe. Correspondingly, the second network device 120 and the third network device 130 receive (604 and 608) the signal from the first network device 110, and the third network device 130 performs a sensing measurement (610) on the second network device 120. Furthermore, after the sensing measurement, the second network device 120, as the receiver of the sensing signal, sends (612) third interference information to the first network device 110. Correspondingly, the first network device 110 receives (614) third interference information from the second network device 120.

[0091] For example, such as Figure 6 As shown in option B, the first network device 110 may send a signal (616) to the sender of a potential sensing signal in a specific subframe to initiate intra-network device negotiation. Correspondingly, the third network device 130 receives (618) this signal from the first network device 110 and performs sensing negotiation (620) with the second network device 120. Subsequently, after sensing negotiation, the second network device 120, as the receiver of the sensing signal, sends (622) third interference information to the first network device 110. Correspondingly, the first network device 110 receives (624) the third interference information from the second network device 120.

[0092] In some embodiments, the specific subframe is a special subframe SSF. A frame may contain normal subframe NSFs, or it may contain several NSFs and some SSFs. NSFs are typically used for downlink data transmission, while SSFs are typically used for sensing signal transmission or eavesdropping. The number of NSFs and SSFs depends on the configuration of the first network device 110 based on the actual sensing scenario. For example, the frame number of an SSF can be determined by the following formula:

[0093] i SSF =μ*n NSF

[0094] μ can be configured by the first network device 110, and n NSFIt can be an index of NSF. Based on the perceived scene, target movement speed, resolution, and potential blocking probability, the first network device 110 can select an appropriate value μ to adjust the SSF, including location and configurable phase, to improve perception quality.

[0095] In some embodiments, specific processing can be applied to particular temporal resources, such as subframes or symbols, identified by the letter "S" in Figure 4. For example, in the initial stage, each network device uses the frame structure DDDSU-DDSUU.

[0096] In some embodiments, the SSF is configured for uplink transmission to the user equipment from the receiving end of the sensing signal. Specifically, the S-slot shown in FIG4 contains 14 symbols and functions similarly to a standard slot, facilitating uplink and downlink transmission. The S-slot contains a GP, which can be used to mitigate propagation delay and reduce intra-cell interference, promoting inter-cell coexistence. However, due to the timing advance characteristics of network devices, a GP is not required between uplink and downlink transmissions. Therefore, the symbol allocation in the time slot of the second network device 120 can be configured as 0 downlink, 0 symbol guard interval, and 14 uplink (0:0:14), i.e., configured for uplink transmission to the user equipment. Subsequently, if possible, this can be reversed and reconfigured (i.e., the second network device 120 acts as the transmitter of the sensing signal, the third network device 130 acts as the receiver of the sensing signal, and the symbol allocation in the time slot can be configured as 0 downlink, 0 symbol guard interval, and 14 uplink (0:0:14)) to see how the interference level changes.

[0097] In some embodiments, the S-slot of the SSF can be used for preliminary sensing interference measurement, the interference of which may include... Figure 2 The LoS interference shown is other dynamic object or environmental clutter that does not need to be perceived.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first network device 110 may determine at least one of the sender and receiver of the sensed signal based at least on the third interference information. For example, the first network device 110 may determine that the second network device 120 is the receiver of the sensed signal and the third network device 130 is the sender of the sensed signal based on the interference level indicated by the third interference information (e.g., the second network device is experiencing less interference).

[0099] When the second network device 120 acts as the sender of the sensing signal, it can be referred to Figure 7 A schematic signaling flow 700 describes the resource scheduling process. The first network device 110 can be a core network device such as SF or SeMF, or a network device such as RAN equipment. The second network device 120 can be a network device serving user equipment, such as gNB.

[0100] like Figure 7 As shown, the second network device 120 sends (728) first interference information to the first network device 110. Correspondingly, the first network device 110 receives (730) the first interference information from the second network device 120. Then, the first network device 110 sends (732) a resource scheduling policy to the second network device 120. Correspondingly, the second network device 120 receives (734) a resource scheduling policy from the first network device 110. This resource scheduling policy is at least related to the scheduling of resources for the first user equipment by the second network device 120 on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals. For example, the second network device 120 may be... Figure 5 The network device 210 shown can be used where the first user equipment can be an edge UE scheduled by the second network device 120, such as... Figure 5 The UE510 shown.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first interference information is determined based at least on interference information of the cross-link between user equipment scheduled by the second network device 120 and user equipment scheduled by the third network device 130. In this case, the first user equipment may be an edge UE of the cell covered by the second network device 120.

[0102] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the resource scheduling strategy includes restricting uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals. In other words, after the second network device 120 receives (734) the resource scheduling strategy, it restricts (650) the uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals (UUU-UUU as shown in FIG. 4). This avoids cross-link interference to the sensing signals caused by edge UEs scheduled by the second network device 120 on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0103] In some embodiments, the second network device 120 determines (726) the first interference information based on at least one of the following: the average throughput within the coverage area of ​​the second network device and the throughput at the edge of the coverage area. For example, the second network device 120 can measure cross-link interference by evaluating the average throughput of all users within the coverage area or by evaluating 5% of the throughput of users at the edge of the coverage area. The average throughput within the coverage area and the throughput at the edge of the coverage area can reflect the intensity of cross-link interference to some extent.

[0104] It should be understood that Figure 7 Steps 702 to 724 shown can be referenced to Figure 6 The description of steps 602 to 624 is shown. Among them, Figure 7 The second network device 120 in Figure 6The third network device 130 is the sender of the sensing signal. Figure 7 The third network device 130 and Figure 6 The second network device 120 is the receiver of the sensing signal. For simplicity, this part will not be described in detail.

[0105] It should be understood that Figure 7 The steps and / or features related to the second network device 120 shown also apply to Figure 6 The third network device 130 is shown. For simplicity, this part will not be described in detail.

[0106] In some embodiments, since channel and interference conditions can change over time, the transmitter / receiver of the sensing signal can dynamically adjust the resource allocation strategy used for sensing. For example, the transmitter / receiver of the sensing signal can periodically perform channel state and interference estimations and reallocate the scheduling of user equipment resources for sensing signal transmission based on the latest channel state and interference estimates.

[0107] In some embodiments, the second network device 120 may also send at least one of the following to the first network device 110: detected changes in network conditions and / or sensing task requirements; sensing intervals determined based on refresh rate; determined signal changes and / or environmental factors; information related to at least one of the capabilities, available resources, workload, and suitability for the requested sensing task of the receiver of the sensing signal; a negotiation mechanism between the capabilities of the receiver of the sensing signal and the sensing task; the sensing performance of the sender and receiver of the sensing signal; the security sensing decision of the receiver of the sensing signal and the assessment of the potential security risks of the sensing signal; the accuracy of the sensing results when the receiver of the sensing signal performs the sensing task at different power consumption levels; and the transmission time of the first interference information.

[0108] Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 8A and 8B A schematic flow 800 of a resource scheduling process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. This flow 800 involves base station 801, base station 802, AMF 803, SF 804, NEF 805, and AF 806.

[0109] Base station 801 can be Figure 6 The third network device 130 or Figure 7 The second network device 120 and base station 802 can be Figure 6 The second network device in the system is 120. SF 804 can be... Figure 6 and Figure 7 The first network device in the system is 110.

[0110] In some embodiments, SF 804 can be a sensing SF network element in a 5G-A ISAC network, a 6G ISAC network, or a future communication network, i.e., a sensing independent network element, which can provide functions such as transmission gateway, sensing service control, and even sensing computing, data aggregation and forwarding. Specifically, SF 804 can be responsible for at least one of the following functions: service authorization involving privacy checks of UE, area, and environment; selection of sensing methods, selection and configuration of sensing nodes (such as the sender and receiver of sensing signals); measurement data collection, processing, and transmission of sensing results / outputs. In some embodiments, SF 804 can be a sensing management function (SeMF), or SeMF can be one of multiple functions handled by SF 804.

[0111] In some embodiments, SF 804 can be located in a network device (e.g., LMF, AMF 803) or an end device. In other words, SF 804 and AMF 803 can be integrated into the same network device.

[0112] In some embodiments, the nodes that transmit and receive the sensing signal are defined as a sensing device, which may be a 3GPP-related RAN device, gNB, UE, etc., or may be other detectors or sensors not included in 3GPP.

[0113] like Figure 8A As shown, base stations 801 and 802 register (812) their sensing capabilities with AMF 803 and / or SF 804. The registered subscription information may include the following: device identifier (e.g., global personal subnet identity (GPSI), subscription permanent identifier (SUPI)), function (e.g., as a sender or receiver of sensing signals), location information (e.g., location, indoor / outdoor, geographic location), hardware information affecting sensing performance (e.g., frequency, bandwidth, number of antennas, gain, and aperture), and time information (e.g., a specific time period occupied by the sensor).

[0114] In option A, SF 804 configures (814) an SSF for each base station pair to enable the base station pair to perform preliminary interference measurements. As mentioned above, the preliminary interference measurements may include inter-cell interference, line-of-sight interference, and environmental clutter interference. Then, SF 804 sends (816 and 820) signals to base station 801 and base station 802 respectively in the configured SSF, enabling base station 801 to perform preliminary interference sensing measurements (824) on base station 802. Correspondingly, base station 801 and base station 802 receive (818 and 822) signals from SF 804 respectively. Finally, base station 802, as the receiver of the sensing signals, sends (826) the result of the sensing measurement, i.e., the result of the preliminary interference measurement, to SF 804. Correspondingly, SF 804 receives (828) the result of the sensing measurement from base station 802. It should be understood that specific embodiments of steps 816 to 828 can be found in the description of steps 602 to 614 above. For the sake of simplicity, this disclosure will not go into further detail.

[0115] In option B, SF 804, in the configured SvF, sends signal (830) to a potential sensing signal sender, such as base station 801, to enable base station 801 to perform sensing negotiation (834) with base station 802. Correspondingly, base station 801 receives signal (832) from SF 804. Finally, base station 802, as the receiver of the sensing signal, sends (836) the result of the sensing measurement, i.e., the result of the preliminary interference measurement, to SF 804. Correspondingly, SF 804 receives (838) the result of the sensing measurement from base station 802. It should be understood that specific embodiments of steps 830 to 838 can be found in the foregoing description of steps 616 to 624. For simplicity, this disclosure will not repeat them further.

[0116] Subsequently, when a moving target needs to be sensed, AF 806 sends a (840) sensing service request to SF804 via NEF 805. Correspondingly, SF 804 receives the sensing service request from AF 806 via NEF 805.

[0117] In some embodiments, a perception service request may include at least the following information: perception service type (e.g., intrusion detection, gesture recognition, localization, drone tracking); perception requirements (e.g., requirements for parameters such as speed, ranging resolution and accuracy, latency, period, refresh rate, localization estimation accuracy, confidence level, false alarm probability, maximum perception service latency, refresh rate, etc.); geometry or location of the sensing target (e.g., location could be a bedroom, yard, or factory); perception range of interest; perception scene environment (e.g., indoor, outdoor, line-of-sight, non-line-of-sight (non-LoS, NLoS), urban, rural); and perception target type (e.g., whether it is a moving or stationary drone, car, or person, and the associated RCS value).

[0118] SF 804 can send (844) a service status request for base station 802 to AMF 803 to determine the network load status of base station 802. Correspondingly, AMF 803 receives (846) a service status request for base station 802 from SF 804. Then, AMF 803 can send (848) a service status report for base station 802 to SF 804 to inform SF 804 of the network load status of base station 802. Correspondingly, SF 804 can receive (850) a service status report for base station 802 from AMF 803, and determine (852) the load balance status of base station 802 based on the service status report.

[0119] like Figure 8B As shown, when SF 804 determines that the load balance state of base station 802 is not fully loaded, it can send an instruction (854) to base station 802 to convert the time domain resources of base station 802, for example, to convert the time domain resource DDS-DDS of base station 802 to the time domain resource UUU-UUU. Correspondingly, base station 802 receives an instruction (856) from SF 804 to convert the time domain resources of base station 802. It should be understood that specific embodiments of steps 844 to 856 can be referred to the description of steps 626 to 632 above. For simplicity, this disclosure will not repeat them.

[0120] SF 804 will send (858 and 862) instructions for dual static sensing measurements to base stations 801 and 802 respectively, to instruct base stations 801 and 802 to provide feedback sensing specialized indicators (SSIs). After receiving (864) the dual static sensing measurement instructions, base station 802 assesses uplink communication interference (868) and sends (870) the uplink interference-related SSI to SF 804. After receiving (860) the dual static sensing measurement instructions, base station 801 performs sensing measurements on base station 802 (874), and then assesses cross-link interference (876), sending (878) the cross-link interference-related SSI to SF 804. Correspondingly, SF 804 receives (872 and 880) the uplink interference-related SSI and the cross-link interference-related SSI from base stations 801 and 802 respectively.

[0121] Based on the aforementioned uplink interference-related SSI and cross-link interference-related SSI, SF 804 determines (882) the scheduling policies corresponding to base station 801 and base station 802 respectively, and sends (884 and 888) the scheduling policies corresponding to base station 801 and base station 802 respectively. Correspondingly, base station 801 and base station 802 receive (886 and 890) the corresponding scheduling policies respectively. It should be understood that specific embodiments of steps 870 to 890 can refer to the descriptions of steps 634 to 646 and steps 726 to 734 above. For simplicity, this disclosure will not repeat them.

[0122] Base stations 801 and 802 perform resource scheduling based on scheduling strategies. For example, ... Figure 8B As shown, in response to cross-link interference, base station 801 avoids or restricts (892) DL scheduling for cell edge user equipment in the sensing time slot (DDS-DDS as shown in Figure 4), and base station 802 avoids or restricts (894) UL scheduling for cell edge user equipment in the converted sensing time slot UUU. For example, in response to uplink communication interference, base station 802 avoids or restricts (896) UL scheduling for all user equipment in the converted sensing time slot UUU. Finally, base stations 801, 802, AMF 803, and SF 804 establish (898) a normal sensing session based on the proposed scheme. It should be understood that specific embodiments of steps 892 to 896 can be referred to the foregoing description of steps 648 to 650 and step 736. For simplicity, this disclosure will not repeat them.

[0123] Figure 9 A flowchart of a process 900 for a resource scheduling method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Process 900 may be implemented, for example, in example environment 100 and ISAC network 200, such as at a first network device 110. The following description uses the first network device 110 as an example.

[0124] In box 910, the first network device 110 receives first interference information determined by the second network device 120.

[0125] In block 920, the first network device 110 sends a resource scheduling policy to the second network device 120 based at least on the first interference information. The resource scheduling policy is associated at least with the second network device 120's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 may be the receiver of the sensed signal.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first network device 110 may acquire the network load level of the second network device 120; and based on determining that the network load level is below a threshold level, send an instruction to the second network device 120 regarding converting one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving the sensed signal.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the first interference information is related to uplink interference of the second network device 120.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the echo signal of the sensed signal measured by the second network device 120 or the SINR of the radar signal measured by the second network device 120.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the resource scheduling strategy includes restricting uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the first network device 110 may acquire and receive second interference information determined by the third network device, wherein the resource scheduling policy is also determined based on the second interference information, and the resource scheduling policy is also associated with the scheduling of second user devices different from the first user device by the second network device 120 on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the second interference information is determined based at least on interference information of the cross-link between user equipment scheduled by the second network device 120 and user equipment scheduled by the third network device.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 is the sender of the sensing signal.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the first interference information is determined based at least on interference information of the cross-link between user equipment scheduled by the second network device 120 and user equipment scheduled by the third network device.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the resource scheduling strategy includes restricting downlink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the first network device 110 may acquire a signal transmitted in a specific subframe so that the network device receiving the signal may measure interference in the specific subframe; and receive third interference information indicating the interference from the network device receiving the signal.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the signal is sent to at least one of the receiver and the sender of the sensing signal.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the specific subframe is a special subframe SSF.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the SSF is configured for uplink transmission to the user equipment in the direction of receiving the sensed signal.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first network device 110 can acquire at least one of the sender and receiver of the sensed signal based on the third interference information.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the first network device 110 can obtain the first interference information to determine whether the interference level of the second network device 120 is greater than or equal to a threshold level, wherein the resource scheduling policy is sent in response to determining that the interference level is greater than or equal to the threshold level.

[0142] Figure 10 A flowchart of a process 1000 for a resource scheduling method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Process 1000 may be implemented, for example, in example environment 100 and ISAC network 200, for example, at a second network device 120. The following description uses the second network device 120 as an example.

[0143] In box 1010, the second network device 120 sends the first interference information determined by the second network device 110 to the first network device 110.

[0144] In block 1020, the second network device 120 receives a resource scheduling policy from the first network device 110, which is associated with at least the scheduling of the first user equipment by the second network device 120 on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 is the receiver of the sensing signal.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 may receive from the first network device 110 an instruction to convert one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving the sensed signal.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the network load level of the second network device 120 is below a threshold level.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the first interference information is related to uplink interference of the second network device 120.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 may send the sensing signal; receive the echo signal of the sensing signal; and determine the first interference information based on the measurement of the echo signal.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the echo signal of the sensed signal.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the echo signal is received by the second network device 120 from the radar, and the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the radar signal.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the resource scheduling strategy includes restricting uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the resource scheduling policy is also associated with the second network device 120 scheduling a second user device, different from the first user device, on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 is the sender of the sensing signal.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the first interference information is determined based at least on interference information of the cross-link between user equipment scheduled by the second network device 120 and user equipment scheduled by the third network device.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 may determine the first interference information based on at least one of the following: the average throughput within the coverage area of ​​the second network device 120 and the throughput at the edge of the coverage area.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the resource scheduling strategy includes restricting downlink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the second network device 120 may receive signals in a specific subframe; measure interference in the specific subframe based on the received signals; and send third interference information indicating the interference to the first network device 110.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the specific subframe is a special subframe SSF.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the SSF is configured for uplink transmission to the user equipment in the direction of receiving the sensed signal.

[0161] In some example embodiments, at least one of the sender and receiver of the sensing signal is determined based on the third interference information.

[0162] In some example embodiments, an apparatus for resource scheduling may include components for performing corresponding steps of process 900. These components may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the components may be implemented as circuit devices or software modules. The apparatus may include: components for receiving first interference information determined by the second network device 120; and components for sending a resource scheduling policy to the second network device 120 based at least on the first interference information, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device 120's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0163] In some example embodiments, an apparatus for resource scheduling may include components for performing corresponding steps of process 1000. These components may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, components may be implemented as circuit devices or software modules. The apparatus may include: components for transmitting first interference information determined by the second network device 120 to the first network device 110; and components for receiving a resource scheduling policy from the first network device 110, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device 120's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

[0164] Figure 11 This is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. Device 1100 can be used to implement a first network device 110 or a second network device 120 in example environment 100. As shown, device 1100 includes one or more processors 1110, one or more memories 1120 coupled to the processors 1110, and a communication module 1140 coupled to the processors 1110.

[0165] Communication module 1140 is used for bidirectional communication. In some example embodiments, communication module 1140 may have at least one antenna to facilitate communication. In some example embodiments, communication module 1140 may have one or more communication interfaces. A communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0166] Processor 1110 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include, but is not limited to, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal controller (DSP), and a controller-based multi-core controller architecture. Device 1100 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-subordinate to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0167] Memory 1120 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 1124, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, optical disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 1122 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power-off periods.

[0168] Computer program 1130 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by associated processor 1110. Computer program 1130 may be stored in ROM 1124. Processor 1110 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading computer program 1130 into RAM 1122.

[0169] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by means of computer program 1130, enabling device 1100 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 6 to 10 Any process discussed in this disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the computer program 1130 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may include in device 1100 (such as in memory 1120) or other storage devices accessible by device 1100. The computer program 1130 may be loaded from the computer-readable medium into RAM 1122 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0171] Figure 12 An example of a computer-readable medium 1200 in the form of a CD or DVD according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. A computer program 1130 is stored on the computer-readable medium 1200.

[0172] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or represented using some other illustration, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as, as in the non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0173] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be non-transitory. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, which execute in a device on a real or virtual processor of a target to perform the above-referenced... Figure 6 The process is described in section 600. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of program modules can be combined or divided among them as needed. The machine-executable instructions for a program module can execute on a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules can reside on both local and remote storage media.

[0174] Computer program code used to implement the methods of this disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. This computer program code may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code may be executed entirely on a computer, partially on a computer, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server.

[0175] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried on any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, and so on. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, sound, or other forms of propagation signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc.

[0176] A computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or relating to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of computer-readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0177] Furthermore, although the operation of the methods of this disclosure is described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in that specific order, or that all of the operations shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may be performed in a different order. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be broken down into multiple steps. It should also be noted that the features and functions of two or more devices according to this disclosure may be embodied in one device. Conversely, the features and functions of one device described above may be further divided and embodied by multiple devices.

[0178] While this disclosure has been described with reference to several specific embodiments, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed. This disclosure is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A first network device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory including computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code being configured, together with said at least one processor, to enable the first network device to: Receive the first interference information determined by the second network device; as well as Based at least on the first interference information, a resource scheduling policy is sent to the second network device, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

2. The first network device according to claim 1, wherein the second network device is the receiver of the sensing signal.

3. The first network device of claim 2, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the first network device to: Obtain the network load level of the second network device; and Based on the determination that the network load level is below a threshold level, an instruction is sent to the second network device to convert one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving the sensed signal.

4. The first network device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first interference information is related to the uplink interference of the second network device.

5. The first network device according to claim 4, wherein the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the echo signal of the sensed signal measured by the second network device or the SINR of the measured radar signal.

6. The first network device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the resource scheduling policy includes restricting uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

7. The first network device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the first network device to: Receive the second interference information determined by the third network device. The resource scheduling strategy is further determined based on the second interference information, and the resource scheduling strategy is also associated with the second network device's scheduling of a second user device on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal, which is different from that of the first user device.

8. The first network device according to claim 7, wherein the second interference information is determined based at least on interference information of the cross-link between the user equipment scheduled by the second network device and the user equipment scheduled by the third network device.

9. The first network device according to claim 1, wherein the second network device is the sender of the sensing signal.

10. The first network device according to claim 9, wherein the first interference information is determined based at least on interference information of cross-links between user equipment scheduled by the second network device and user equipment scheduled by the third network device.

11. The first network device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the resource scheduling policy includes restricting downlink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

12. The first network device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the first network device to: Transmitting a signal in a specific subframe to enable a network device receiving the signal to measure interference in the specific subframe; and The network device that received the signal receives third interference information indicating the interference.

13. The first network device of claim 12, wherein the signal is sent to at least one of the receiver and the sender of the sensed signal.

14. The first network device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the specific subframe is a special subframe (SSF).

15. The first network device of claim 14, wherein the SSF is configured to perform uplink transmission to the user equipment in the direction of receiving the sensed signal.

16. The first network device according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the first network device to: Based at least on the third interference information, at least one of the sender and receiver of the sensing signal is determined.

17. The first network device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the first network device to: Based on the first interference information, determine whether the interference level of the second network device is greater than or equal to a threshold level. The resource scheduling policy is sent in response to determining that the level of interference is greater than or equal to the threshold level.

18. A second network device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory including computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code being configured, together with said at least one processor, to enable the second network device: Sending first interference information determined by the second network device to the first network device; and The resource scheduling policy is received from the first network device, and the resource scheduling policy is associated with at least the scheduling of the first user equipment by the second network device on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

19. The second network device according to claim 18, wherein the second network device is the receiver of the sensing signal.

20. The second network device of claim 19, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the second network device to: Receive an instruction from the first network device to convert one or more time-domain resources into time-domain resources for receiving the sensed signals.

21. The second network device of claim 20, wherein the network load level of the second network device is below a threshold level.

22. The second network device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein the first interference information is related to uplink interference of the second network device.

23. The second network device of claim 22, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the second network device to: Send the sensing signal; The echo signal of the sensed signal is received; and The first interference information is determined based on the measurement of the echo signal.

24. The second network device of claim 23, wherein the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the echo signal of the sensed signal.

25. The second network device of claim 23, wherein the echo signal is received by the second network device from the radar, and the first interference information includes the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the radar signal.

26. The second network device according to any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the resource scheduling policy includes restricting uplink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

27. The second network device according to any one of claims 19 to 26, wherein the resource scheduling policy is further associated with the second network device scheduling a second user device, different from the first user device, on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

28. The second network device according to claim 18, wherein the second network device is the sender of the sensing signal.

29. The second network device of claim 28, wherein the first interference information is determined based at least on interference information of cross-links between user equipment scheduled by the second network device and user equipment scheduled by the third network device.

30. The second network device of claim 29, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the second network device to: The first interference information is determined based on at least one of the following: the average throughput within the coverage area of ​​the second network device, and the throughput at the edge of the coverage area.

31. The second network device according to any one of claims 28 to 30, wherein the resource scheduling policy includes restricting downlink scheduling of the first user equipment on the resources used for the transmission of the sensed signal.

32. The second network device according to any one of claims 18 to 31, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured, together with the at least one processor, to also enable the second network device to: Receive signals from a specific subframe; Based on the received signal, the interference in the specific subframe is measured; and Send a third interference message indicating the interference to the first network device.

33. The second network device according to claim 32, wherein the specific subframe is a special subframe (SSF).

34. The second network device of claim 33, wherein the SSF is configured to perform uplink transmission to the user equipment in the direction of receiving the sensed signal.

35. The second network device according to any one of claims 32 to 34, wherein at least one of the sender and receiver of the sensed signal is determined based on the third interference information.

36. A method implemented in a first network device, comprising: Receive the first interference information determined by the second network device; as well as Based at least on the first interference information, a resource scheduling policy is sent to the second network device, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

37. A method implemented in a second network device, comprising: Send the first interference information determined by the second network device to the first network device; as well as The resource scheduling policy is received from the first network device, and the resource scheduling policy is associated with at least the scheduling of the first user equipment by the second network device on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

38. A first device, comprising: A component for receiving first interference information determined by the second network device; as well as A component for sending a resource scheduling policy to the second network device based at least on the first interference information, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

39. A second device, comprising: A component for sending first interference information determined by the second network device to a first network device; A component for receiving a resource scheduling policy from the first network device, the resource scheduling policy being associated at least with the second network device's scheduling of the first user equipment on resources used for the transmission of sensing signals.

40. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processing unit, configure at least one processing unit to perform the method according to claim 36 or 37.

41. A computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to claim 36 or 37.

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